Top Reward, Recognition, Award, and Thank You Ideas

I'm a big fan of employee recognition. It's a line item in the budget and encompasses everything from quarterly pizza lunches for a perfect safety record to individual awards for outstanding performance. In one client company, we use a "thank you" card process. When an employee goes above and beyond, their supervisor writes a thank you note (copy to their file) that specifies the behavior that is being rewarded.

The employees may then present their card at HR and receive a small company logo gift such as a t-shirt, a car trouble kit, or a deck of cards. Employees like the gifts, but they treasure the hand-written cards and display them for months at their work stations. Take a look at additional ideas for employee recognition.