Everyone likes to be recognised for a job well done and in today’s evolving workplace it is of little surprise that employers consider introducing an employee recognition scheme. After all, although there is no legal requirement to do so, there are many benefits of promoting employee recognition at work.
You should keep in mind that introducing a staff recognition programme could help improve employee morale and overall productivity. At the same time, staff who feel appreciated at work are likely to feel a greater affinity towards their employer and may be less inclined to look for work elsewhere as a result.
Creating an employee recognition policy will perhaps be the best place to start, as this will allow you to effectively outline your approach. Policies will typically include details of how high-performing employees will be identified and what form any recognition will take, which may vary from an employee of the month award to an extra days’ annual leave.
You may choose to express this recognition privately during one-to-one performance reviews or opt to announce this publicly during team briefings. Either way, you must ensure any recognition is truly earned and not merely given as a token gesture.
To ensure the best possible results you may consider surveying staff beforehand to find out which form of recognition would be most preferable. After all, for the scheme to be effective it is important that staff feel motivated to perform.
Whilst employers may traditionally provide staff with a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates in recognition of a job well done, you should survey staff beforehand to ensure this would be suitable as this practice could unfairly exclude those with certain dietary requirements or religious beliefs.
There
can be a misconception that employee recognition schemes are expensive to
implement, however this is not necessarily the case. Whilst you can choose to
reward high-performing staff with a day’s annual leave or shopping vouchers,
cost-friendly alternatives include providing individuals with certificates or
allowing them to finish work early at the end of the working week. Therefore,
you should consider which method best suits your budget before deciding on your
approach to employee recognition.[1]
[1] Reproduced with permission of Croner Taxwise