How your employees feel about the workplace can make or break your retention numbers. The experience they have each day influences their overall perception of the company. A poor experience could mean low attendance, high turnover, and no productivity.
Businesses, like yours, spend thousands to keep employees engaged and happy at work. It’s not an easy feat. All too often the money spent on trying to improve the employee experience feels like it’s going to waste. Consider all the ways your company is trying to improve how employees feel in the workplace. Do any of the methods involve employee recognition? If so, are you making a point to individualize the recognition that you are giving? If not, then listen up!
The best way to improve the employee experience is to give them a personalized experience.
Employees want to feel valued and respected. They want to know that their work is not unnoticed and they want to be appreciated for it. The same type of recognition may not work for everyone. In order to make the experience personal, it is important for you to identify the recognition needs of each employee and show appreciation accordingly.
Staff Favorites
Gathering information about how your employees want to be recognized can be a bit of a challenge. It takes keen observational skills and some background knowledge of personality types to determine how each individual wants to be recognized. This may not always be feasible, especially if you are anxious to get an employee recognition underway. So, what’s a better way to determine how your employees want to be recognized? As them.
Learn about your employees by asking them to fill out our Staff Favorites Questionnaire. The questionnaire asks employees about their favorite foods, activities, and treats. It also asks employees to select types of apparel and drinkware they’re most likely to use if received as a gift.
Many employee recognition programs implement branded merchandise as a way to show employees appreciation for a job well done. Apparel and drinkware featuring the company logo is a great way to boost morale and recognize your staff for being a valued part of your company.
Asking your employees to complete the questionnaire takes only a few minutes, but opens up an array of opportunity when it comes to developing an employee recognition program everyone will enjoy.
When to Recognize
Now that you know a little more about your employees, it’s time to start recognizing! You may be asking, “When do I recognize my employees? How do you I use all this information?”
The answers are, “Right now!” and, “We’ll show you!”
Get in the habit of providing your staff with frequent recognition. There are several opportunities to thank your employees each day. It should be fair and equal for each person, and systematic in giving out rewards and incentives to those who earn it. As an employer, it’s your job to stay observant and watch for moments that deserve celebration.
One of the best ways to ensure your company’s recognition program truly motivates employees is to recognize specific behaviors or actions.
Give on-the-spot recognition by surprising a deserving employee with their favorite candy. Recognize your sales team for record-breaking numbers by gifting them all company shirts. Celebrate the bittersweet retirement of a long-time employee with a farewell gift of tickets to a favorite sporting event or a gift card to enjoy their favorite hobby now that their days won’t be spent at the office.
Keep in mind that it’s important to continue to build strong relationships your employees and help them to connect to their coworkers and the company. Take recognition one step further by hosting a fun get-togethers outside the office. Don’t let anyone talk about work! Instead, ask about their hobbies, their kids, or about the things happening in their personal life. Having these details can help you find new ways to recognize your employees and show them you appreciate them for the people they are both in and out of the office.
Celebrate birthdays and milestone anniversaries by taking employees out to lunch for their favorite food, or invite the entire staff to enjoy catered desserts in the break room. Congratulate them on meeting their goals both in their professional and personal lives. The list goes on and on as to how you can use the information you gathered from the staff surveys Remember, recognition doesn’t have to be formal or for any reason than just to say, “Thank you for being part of our team.”