Employee recognition programs are important for motivating employees and rewarding them for hard work. Unfortunately, too many companies overlook the importance of prioritizing employee recognition. Don’t make that mistake. If you need some inspiration, we rounded up 20 ideas to get you started.
What Is an Employee Recognition Program?
Employee recognition programs are designed to thank employees for accomplishing goals and achievements. They could range from gift cards to company-wide congratulatory emails.
What Is an Employee Recognition Program?
Employee recognition programs seek to acknowledge and reward workers for a range of accomplishments. The awards can be bestowed on an individual, a team or the workforce at large. Companies favor these programs because they can lead to improved employee morale, help retain and attract key employees and increase productivity and competitiveness.
4 ready-to-use templates to effectively plan, execute and measure your employer brand.
Types of Employee Recognition Programs
While employee recognition can be given in private or public, companies can develop employee recognition programs around more specific types of recognition:
- Private: Recognition given directly to an individual employee. This could take the form of a private message, email or one-on-one conversation, and it often involves more personalized feedback.
- Public: Recognition given in a setting where other employees can see it. This could be a social media post, a team meeting announcement or an employee spotlight in a company newsletter.
- Structured: Recognition that is more formal and often requires permission from company personnel, such as employee-of-the-month awards and end-of-the-year ceremonies.
- Peer-to-Peer: Recognition from a coworker instead of a supervisor. This can be either private or public feedback, and it can be encouraged by managers or surveys.
- Team- or Project-Based: Recognition delivered to a team or a group that worked on a project, highlighting how each employee contributed to success.
- Performance-Based: Recognition given to an individual or group for meeting specific goals. This can include giving an employee a raise for exceeding quota or praising a team’s success in a company-wide email.
- Values-Based: Recognition provided to an employee whose behavior aligns with the company’s core values.
- Milestones: Recognition given to an employee who reaches a major professional milestone, such as five years at the company.
Depending on the company culture and the individual employee, different types of recognition might be more effective. One employee might appreciate a company-wide shoutout of their accomplishment, while another might prefer a one-on-one acknowledgement.
How to Set Up an Employee Recognition Program
Employee recognition programs work best with the participation of department heads, who help select award recipients. These department heads can ensure time is set aside in meetings, for example, to recognize employees for their hard work. Here are some additional guidelines to follow for creating an employee recognition program:
- Set concrete goals for the program
- Gather employee feedback on preferred types of recognition
- Choose multiple incentives and list any awards
- Determine eligibility and approval requirements
- Develop a schedule for award presentations and other celebratory events
- Evaluate the program regularly and make changes as needed
Public Employee Recognition Program and Reward Examples
Company-Wide Congratulatory Email
One of the greatest benefits of a company-wide congratulatory email is the speed at which employee recognition can be acknowledged. This fast and efficient form of recognition can be delivered within minutes of the employee’s noteworthy work. Also, this virtual pat on the back can be saved in your email and referenced when you are writing performance reviews.
Employee Appreciation Event
Consider an event that’s designed to honor employees for their hard work. The beauty of this employee recognition program is it can be as creative and on budget as you’d like, from a simple fare served in a conference room to a lavish dinner at a Michelin-rated restaurant.
Employee of the Month
Like clockwork, this employee recognition program rolls around every month. As a result, it may be handy to have employees also participate with their nominations to go along with management’s nominations. The employee is honored with an announcement or celebration in a monthly meeting.
Employee-to-Employee Recognition Wall
Employees name their co-workers for this grassroots recognition program, which includes posting messages of appreciation on the wall. This employee recognition program not only gives kudos to co-workers but it may also prompt colleagues to ramp up their game to receive similar recognition.
MVP Awards
This program aims to acknowledge employees who consistently go above and beyond and with results. This award is likely given out annually versus every month like the employee of the month recipient.
Newsletter Kudos
Highlighting employee kudos in a newsletter may carry the same weight as in a newspaper for some employees because the presentation is more formal than an email appreciation and is more lasting than a brief conversation.
Social Media Shoutouts
Social media provides a great platform for shouting out employee accomplishments. Achievements can be recognized as they are happening and the distribution can be wide. Companies may benefit when picking this form of employee recognition, because it gives job seekers an inside look. You may also want to post photos of these employees and tag them in your post.
Company Mission Awards
Employees want to find a greater purpose in their work, and company mission statements contribute to this. A mission statement with well-defined core values clarifies to employees what kind of behavior is encouraged in the workplace. You may choose to give a ‘team player’ award to someone who helps a coworker with a task, a leadership award for completing a stretch assignment or an ‘innovation’ award for coming up with a creative solution.
Community Service Award
Employees who volunteer on behalf of the company in the communities where you operate not only do good for the community but also for your company. Once you establish the committee and criteria to select the recipient, consider having a joint-award presentation with not only a leader from your company but also a leader from the organization that benefited from your employee’s good work.
Customer Service Award
The criteria for this program can range from having the highest customer retention rate to the fastest time to resolve customer issues. In announcing this award during a company meeting or event, consider showing screenshots or videos of customers’ glowing comments as the award is handed out.
Years of Service Award
Over the years, employees have been recognized for the length of service at a company with a watch at retirement to a backpack with the corporate logo blazed across the front at the one-year anniversary mark. This employee recognition program is important, especially when job hopping is more common.
Private Employee Recognition Program and Reward Examples
CEO Appreciation Video
A video thank-you message from the CEO is a unique way to show an employee they are recognized and appreciated. This type of employee recognition program may be particularly special for remote workers, giving them confirmation their work is greatly appreciated at the highest levels of the company even without their physical presence in the office.
Event Tickets
Offering tickets to an event is a great way to get employees excited and reward them for raising their performance. Honor hard workers with tickets to the hottest concert in town or target it to their particular interests, such as admission to the local art museum, for a job well done.
Gift Cards
Gift cards are frequently used as a thank you in employee recognition programs. In fact, 80 percent of employees would choose gift cards compared to other non-taxable rewards like gym memberships, event tickets and health savings contributions.
Handwritten Note
In this era of email communication, a handwritten note expressing gratitude tends to stand out more. That’s because handwritten notes generally take more time to craft and leave the recipient with a tangible, personal form of recognition that they can hold versus looking at an email on the screen.
Home Delivery Gift Box
There’s a certain joy that many people experience when opening a gift box and your employees are likely no different — a fact that many companies seem to realize. In a 2021 survey of 300 U.S. companies, Coresight Research found that 40 percent of corporate gifting was for employee recognition programs or internal awards.
One-on-One Lunch With the CEO
The benefits of a one-on-one lunch with the CEO are multi-faceted. It not only provides recognition to an employee for their contribution to the company but also an opportunity for both employee and CEO to learn more about each other and discuss their views on ways to potentially improve the organization.
Monetary Recognition Award
While financial incentives often work best when paired with non-financial incentives, they still play a role in improving employee motivation and loyalty. Companies can offer a raise for high-performing employees while also taking the time to mention employees during team meetings and offering other rewards.
Preferred Parking
Time is money and trolling for a parking space in a crowded company parking lot is far from fun. The value of this employee recognition award is not lost on the University of California at Berkeley, which provides free lifetime parking on its main campus for its faculty who received the esteemed Nobel Prize.
Meal at a Top-Rated Restaurant
Ever wonder if the way to an employee’s heart is through their stomach? The odds of getting there may be better when you use a Michelin-rated restaurant for your employee recognition award. And a potential twofer, consider teaming it with a one-on-one meal with your CEO.
4 ready-to-use templates to effectively plan, execute and measure your employer brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are employee recognition programs effective?
It depends on what a company wants to achieve with its employee recognition program. At the very least, employee recognition programs can serve as crucial tools for increasing employee engagement, productivity and employee retention, according to analysis by Gallup.
How to create an employee appreciation program?
When starting an employee appreciation program, establish clear-cut goals for the program and gather feedback from employees on what rewards resonate the most with them. Then, offer a range of popular incentives to motivate employees. Develop a cadence for re-evaluating the program as well and make any needed adjustments.
