If you run a business or are the boss of any employees at all then you may be interested in increasing employee productivity, which is often tied to their happiness with their job. If an employee is happy with their job then they will be more motivated to perform and perform well. What better way to help encourage employee satisfaction than with an employee recognition program? When your employees do a good job and work hard they deserve some recognition. Here are some tips on how to get an employee recognition running smoothly.
- Communicate Your Goals
Employee recognition requires something to be recognized. When beginning a program like this, communicate with your employees about the goals of the company. This not only strengthens the performance goal in their minds but also prevents them from feeling cheated by the system of rewards. Knowing what you are rewarded for and being able to work towards that goal will make your recognition program a more precise and successful system. - Remember Who Your Employees Are
When creating a series of rewards, be sure that you offer rewards that all of your employees will be able to find enjoyment in. Offering rewards is good, but if your employees have no motivation to work towards the rewards this not good. For example, if you have mainly young, single people on your staff, you may not want to create a reward program that focuses on a lot of family-oriented rewards. - Ask the Employees
Nobody knows better what your employees want to work towards more than they do. Survey your staff, find out what sort of rewards they would want to work towards. Implement some suggestions, but also come up with your own ideas based on the general trends within your employees’ opinions. If many employees request rewards at a particular restaurant, but the restaurant is too expensive for your program budget, keep in mind that they were requesting money for eating out. If this is a popular option then you could implement similar rewards at different locations. - Keep it Simple
A reward system is good, but you do not want it to pull attention away from performing jobs in the first place. Keep your system simple and easy to keep track of. When employees are not stressed about the reward system they are able to keep focused on work while still feeling good about the coming rewards. When the system is too complex it will only create additional stress, and in turn, actually be bad for the workflow of your business. - Avoid Problems
Understand what your employees want from a recognition program, and know your employees on a more personal level. If some of your employees are more closed off then do not make their rewards very public and flashy. Tailor your rewards so that each individual employee will be happy about them and look forward to their rewards. Through this, you will find your business a more productive and enjoyable place.
