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Steve holds a Ph.D. in Education and works as the Regional Training Director for Airgas, LLC and Adjunct Professor at Western Washington University.
The company president asked his employees to attend a ceremony for one of his truck drivers, Bill. At the ceremony, the company president praised Bill for his 15 years of safe driving with the company, shaking his hand and giving Bill a beautiful wood plaque and a safe driver pin to put on his hat or jacket. Bill smiled from ear to ear as the room erupted into applause, thinking how great it is to be recognized for his hard work. Bill's recognition ceremony is an example of a successful employee recognition program and an actual story played out in many organizations. The purpose of this lesson is to provide you with information on how, when and why a company decides to recognize employees for their good work through the creation of a recognition program.
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A successful employee recognition program requires proper planning on the part of management seeking to achieve a particular result. Employees feeling recognized for their good work is one reason for a recognition program; another reason is an increase in the bottom line. A happy employee is often a productive and safe employee, which increases the company's value. Therefore, a recognition program is a win-win for both the employee and the company.
Once management decides to build a recognition program, they must decide two things: when an employee deserves to be recognized for their work, and what methods best demonstrate the company's recognition of the employee's good work.
Employees understand their responsibility to their work and will either meet or exceed those responsibilities. True, there are those employees who don't meet their responsibilities, but that is a discussion for another lesson. Managers want to recognize those employees who exceed their responsibilities and do exceptional work. You might ask what exceptional work looks like when performed by an employee. Some examples of exceptional work include finishing one's job and then lending a hand to help others finish their work; carrying out groceries for a customer although it isn't a requirement; or keeping the doors open and helping the customer who arrived after closing time. Employees who demonstrate such excellent work by going above and beyond what they are required to do deserve to be recognized. Once the manager identifies an employee to be recognized for his/her extra efforts, the manager must decide how to best recognize the employee.
There are three primary ways to recognize an employee for their exceptional work, either through direct praise, earning employee of the month, or offering a monetary reward.
Praise is often a favorite method for recognizing good work both by the employee and management. When asked, many employees express the joy they feel when the boss pats them on the back and tells them they did a good job. Management understands the good feelings praise gives the employee and will use it in place of a promotion or monetary reward. While the company isn't spending money when praising the employee and offering a pat on the back, some employees might tell you that the pat on the back lasts longer than a monetary reward.
An employee of the month recognition is a great way to lift an employee who has performed exceptional work for the company. Companies often include various perks when they award their employees this way, such as a plaque, a private parking space with their name on it, or maybe a gift card for dinner. Cash-based gift cards might be considered, but they often come with very complicated financial regulations and tax issues most companies prefer to avoid. However, there are certainly other monetary rewards used by companies.
Monetary rewards can provide employees with an incentive to continue excelling in their work and often create excitement for others to do the same. Most everyone enjoys extra money. Managers will want to discuss what amount is appropriate and ensure the reward matches the exceptional work performed. Also, managers will want to decide if the cash reward will be delivered on the employee's regular paycheck or as a separate paycheck. Either way, management might want to hold a ceremony and maybe create a large facsimile of the check to give to the employee in front of their peers.
The one caution management might consider is that, while money makes an excellent tool for an incentive, once spent, it ceases being a reward, where a pat on the back is often enjoyed over a longer period of time.
In this lesson, we discussed the strategies for a successful employee recognition program. A successful employee recognition program creates a win-win situation for both the employee and the company. When developing a recognition program, management needs to decide when employees deserve to be recognized for their exceptional work and the best way to reward them. Once management makes the decision to award an employee for his/her exceptional work, they might consider praising the employee, making him/her an employee of the month, or offering a monetary reward. No matter the type of award, any recognition will likely be received with thankfulness by the employee.
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Developing Employee Recognition Programs2 chapters | 10 lessons
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