Remember how you felt the last time someone told you what a great job you were doing?
That’s why it’s so important to make time to praise employees for a job well done.
Recognition makes people feel good about themselves. It also motivates employees to keep up the good work. Positive reinforcement sets an example for everyone in your company, showing them the kind of work you value most.
And it doesn’t have to be an elaborate event. Here are 10 employee recognition ideas you can start using today.
- CEO for the day
Let an employee be “CEO for the Day”. Have them shadow you and spend the complete day working as the CEO designate. Not only will they feel super important they will definitely remember and treasure the experience, memories and memories.
- Lunch with the boss
Take your employees out to lunch and let them choose the location. Do your best to keep work related discussions to a minimum. Take this time to get to know more about what your employee’s interests and hobbies are beyond their work lives.
- Team shopping spree
If you hit a certain number-based milestone, such as a sales goal, take that number and use it as the basis for a celebration. Let’s say you hit $70 million in sales. Take everyone on a virtual shopping spree. Give them all a digital gift card with the rules that they have 70 minutes to spend as much of the money as possible and they must spend the money on themselves (not kids, not a spouse – nobody but themselves).
- ‘Thank you’ meeting
Call an employee into your office or on a video call just say thanks. It’s most impactful if you simply say thanks for a particular thing and nothing else. Don’t discuss other issues; only talk about the good work.
- Random CEO awards
Put a gift card in your hand and walk the office/factory/shop floor. If you spot an employee going above and beyond or living your company values to the extreme, then give them a
- Recognition in front of peers
Highlight your employees’ achievements by recognising them in a company meeting, newsletter or on your company Intranet site. Find out what that employee likes to eat or drink and have it delivered to their home or the office.
- Peer-to-peer recognition
Develop a peer recognition program that lets employees give each other on-the-spot accolades your company’s employee Facebook page. This allows employees to recognize their peers directly. Each month, the employees receiving awards could be entered into a drawing for a gift card or other award.
- Points reward system
Develop a points system for a reward program. This provides a perfect platform for ongoing recognition. Employees receive points every time they go above and beyond. After accumulating a certain amount, employees can redeem their points for gifts. You could offer a variety of rewards for the employees to select from.
9. Wall of fame
Create a “Wall of Fame.” Post customer compliments, charts/graphs depicting positive progress, copies of certificates (e.g. training completed, awards, acknowledgment of achievement, etc.), peer-to-peer notes of thanks, etc.
- Cover a major expense
When an employee goes above and beyond in a truly significant way, you could pay for a major payment or purchase for that individual. Careful not to trigger FBT but nevertheless a gift in the form of a Visa Virtual Gift Card could do the trick.
