Starting Your Employee Recognition Program

Research has proven time and time again that having an Employee Recognition Program is an excellent way to build a strong and loyal workforce of employees who engage and strive to succeed in their positions.  If your company does not currently have this type of program, the idea of starting one can seem intimidating but you can’t be discouraged.  Here is a planning guide for starting your employee recognition program to get you up and running today.

Develop Program Guidelines

Before you can plan and implement the logistics of your employee recognition program you need to understand why you are creating one, aside from your own benefit.  Studies have shown that the number one reason employees leave a job is from feeling underappreciated.  While employee retention is an obvious goal for these programs, you should be more specific for your objectives.  Go over your company’s values and see how you can create a program that recognizes your employees who exemplify those values. 

Develop a Plan of Attack

Once you understand why you are creating an employee recognition program, you can begin to plan how to apply it to your business.  Some of the questions you should ask include:

• Will recognition take place annually, quarterly or on-going? 
• Who will be eligible for recognition?
• How is an employee recognized?
• Can an employee be recognized more than once?

Select the Types of Awards and Recognition

It is also important to select the type of recognition and awards that employees are eligible for.  There are many different ways to set up these types of programs, which means you can select the choices that best fit your workforce.  Understanding your employees and what will motivate them is a vital aspect of creating a successful employee recognition program.  Some possible awards include:

• Certificates
• Personalized trophies or plaques
• Gift cards

Invite the Entire Team to Participate

One of the more successful types of programs are peer-to-peer programs, which involve the entire workforce.  These programs give the employees the control to recognize their peers for outstanding work, going above and beyond and are worthy of recognition. 

Work with a Professional

One of the best ways to create a successful employee recognition program is to employee the help of a professional with experience doing just this.  Here at Williams Recognition, we help you create and manage employee recognition programs to ensure you create a tailor-made program that works best for your company. Contact us now and start getting your employees motivated today!