Holidays are days to celebrate important events in human history, anniversaries are special days to celebrate how far we have come.
Celebrating milestones at the workplace, a place where we spend most of our lives is a memorable time to compensate employees for their dedication to the organization and how far they have come in their careers.
Therefore, celebrating employees’ work anniversary should go beyond an email or instant text message from the boss. It should be commemorated with service awards.
Your staff work hard. Implementing an employee recognition program in your company can help retain and engage them.
It makes them feel appreciated and let them know you appreciate their contribution to the company’s success. It also encourages them to become more productive.
In this guide, we will explore how you can efficiently implement the employee recognition awards program and create a culture of appreciation in your organization.
What are employee recognition awards?
Employee recognition awards are ways an organization acknowledges and celebrates its employees’ achievements, contributions, and positive behaviors.
It can take many forms and does not necessarily involve monetary compensation but anyway, it is presented, that the main intention is to show that the company values its workforce.
Types of employee recognition awards
There are many different types of recognition awards, which can be categorized in a few ways:
- Performance-based awards: They recognize employees’ performance over a rating period or completion of a major project. Examples include Sales Leader of the Year awards.
- Tenure-based awards: These awards are presented in recognition of an employee’s loyalty and commitment to the company over time. Examples include Retirement Recognition Awards and Long Serving Awards.
- Behavior-based awards: They are presented to employees who propel the company’s brand image such as in teamwork or while attending to customers. Examples of such awards include the Customer Champion Award and Team Player Award.
Meanwhile, employers implement various ongoing recognition programs to celebrate employees for a variety of achievements.
The achievement typically determines the type of employee recognition award that is presented.
- Long service or tenure awards
- Innovation awards
- Leadership awards
- New hire awards
- Employee choice awards
- Rookie Marketer of the Month/Quarter/Year awards
- Teamwork awards
- Work anniversary awards
- Safety awards
- Mentorship awards
- Best performer awards
- Company influencer awards
- Excellent listener awards
- Attendance awards
- Creativity awards
Why employee recognition matters
Several studies have confirmed that employee recognition if done right could have a huge impact on any company’s staff performance.
Some of the benefits of this program confirmed by research include:
Employee engagement
Employee engagement refers to the level of enthusiasm and dedication of a company’s workforce towards their jobs. An engaged staff performs and contributes to the success of a company not just because of the paycheck but because they care about the performance of the company and want it to succeed.
Organizations that give recognition to employees’ performance and contribution have great employee engagement.
Workplace recognition motivates, provides a sense of accomplishment, and makes employees feel valued for their work.
Staff morale
Staff morale is a measure of how your employees feel about working for you. It encompasses how they feel about coming to work and their attitude when handling assigned tasks.
Employee appreciation can significantly boost staff morale, encouraging better collaboration and team efficiency.
Motivated employees are also less likely to resign, hence, the company gets to keep its top talent and easily attract others.
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the amount of work an employee can effectively handle within a certain period.
The more productive employees are, the better the return on investment (ROI) on money spent for hiring and paying salaries or wages.
When employees feel valued, they are more likely to go the extra mile for their employer, thereby improving productivity.
When you should present employee recognition awards
Time is of the essence when it comes to employee recognition. Delaying the presentation of an award for instance can make you lose a top talent before you even realize it.
Below are some of the perfect times to present employee recognition awards;
- Employee’s first day
- Birthdays
- Employee appreciation day
- Work anniversary
- Project completion
- Year-end
- Quarterly review
How to create an efficient employee recognition program
Employee appreciation programs can be broadly classified into two categories: structured or unstructured and private or public.
Structured employee recognition programs follow certain rules and guidelines. For example, the management staff may set certain metrics such as sales volume to reward the best-performing employee monthly, quarterly, or yearly.
Unstructured programs are spontaneous. It creates continual employee appreciation instead of periodical recognition.
It could be given to an innovative employee who came up with an ingenious idea during a recently completed project. The award may be in the form of a bonus, or sponsored trip.
Combining structured and unstructured employee recognition programs can help maximize the benefits.
Before implementing an employee recognition program, it is also vital to understand your staff to decide if you will be appreciating them privately or publicly.
Below are the key steps you can follow to establish a successful employee recognition program in your company:
- Identify why you need the program
- Set objectives
- Allocate a budget
- Outline policies for the program
- Familiarize managers with the program
- Inform employees of the program and remind them often
- Measure the results and be ready to make necessary adjustments if needed
