Importance Of Employee Recognition
Employee recognition is a method to make your employees feel appreciated. Learn about the benefits of recognition and top recognition software.
Employee recognition means acknowledging employees for their positive performance. It is easy to overlook the importance of employee recognition, especially in larger businesses. Recognizing how hard your employees work is an excellent way to keep your workers motivated. If your employees feel respected, they are more likely to perform better. Satisfied employees also means greater retention rates, so you do not have to worry about replacing or training new employees.
In order for employee recognition to work, it must be genuine. Employees can tell if you are only being respectful to improve performance. One of the easiest ways to show you care about your employees is keeping track of their progress and offering rewards when they do well. There are several different rewards you can issue, depending on what the employee has accomplished and your chosen profession. There are also multiple programs available to help you keep track of employee accomplishments.
Building a Positive Work Environment
Employee recognition is something that benefits the entire workplace. Even if an employee is not being directly rewarded, he or she feels better knowing the company actively pays attention to what happens in the workplace. Knowing there is a possibility of a reward for good work improves morale and creates a positive work environment. Employees are also more likely to go above and beyond at work when they know their efforts are appreciated.
Improving Employee Retention
Employee retention is the key to success for many businesses. Businesses prefer to promote employees from within as they develop new skills and training. It is easier to promote existing employees to hire positions because you know they are already familiar with company policy. Businesses are also willing to invest more resources into employees who intend to stay at the company. If your business is losing employees, it means you need to take the time to post job listings, interview candidates and train new employees. Even the most skilled workers take time to adjust to a new job, which has an overall negative impact on productivity. It also takes longer for new employees to learn how to work with existing employees.
Avoiding Burnout
Another reason employee recognition is so important is to avoid burnout. Work can be demanding, and even in a positive workplace, stress is bound to happen. Employees who feel stressed at work are less likely to remain if they are also unappreciated. If you recognize how hard employees work and make sure they are rewarded for their effort, they are more likely to recover from burnout.
Building Trust
Honoring your employees is a good way to build trust. If an employee makes a mistake, he or she must be comfortable reporting it. Employees who think they are going to be blamed or punished are more likely to keep the mistake hidden, which can have catastrophic results for the rest of the company depending on the error. If you recognize when your employees perform well, they feel safer and more secure and are less afraid of being judged unfairly for a mistake.
Rewarding Employees
One of the most effective ways to reward your employees is with a direct bonus. Raises and cash rewards are popular options, but not always viable. Even larger businesses do not have the resources to consistently provide a raise whenever an employee performs well. Cash rewards do not have to be permanent salary upgrades. Gift cards are acceptable options as well. Some businesses also reward employees with tickets for concerts or sporting events.
An alternative to cash rewards is upgrading perks or benefits. For example, you can provide better office space or additional vacation time. Even something as small as rewarding your employees with free dinner when they work late is a good way to make them feel appreciated.
While it may seem counter intuitive, another way to reward employees is with additional responsibilities. Giving an employee more duties shows you are confident in their abilities and believe they can do more for the business. This is a good way to signal to employees you are interested in promoting them to a higher position. If you reward employees with additional responsibilities, it is important to highlight why you are giving them more tasks, so they understand they are being selected for their abilities.
Publicly acknowledging hard work is another way to show employee appreciation. Some companies use employee of the month as a way to highlight exceptional performance, while others will issue certificates or similar awards. These rewards are good in small doses, but they can lose an impact if they are consistently offered for each task.
Nectar
Nectar is an employee recognition program meant for smaller companies. It allows you to create employee profiles for each user and track their accomplishments. You can set user permission to allow other users to make comments on accounts, which is a good way for managers to leave positive feedback for smaller accomplishments. Managers can also write recommendations and reviews after larger projects, as well as tracking what accomplishments the employee achieved.
Managers can also manage a reward program. This way, employees get to pick their rewards, so they are guaranteed to get something they enjoy. Nectar is also one of the most affordable options, costing $2.50 each month per user.
Assembly
Assembly is designed for both small and medium businesses, able to support up to 2,000 active users. It allows you to create an extensive rewards program for your employees. It also provides greater levels of feedback, such as surveys for both managers and employees to share their experiences. You can also set up the program to keep track of other important dates, such as employee birthdates. Assembly was also designed with integration in mind, seamlessly integrating with other business programs, including Slack, most Microsoft programs and Workday.
Assembly is free for the first 10 members. There are two separate pricing options, one for teams and one for businesses. Teams cost $2.80 per team member each month, while businesses are $4.50.