Employee Recognition, Rewards, Awards, and Thank You Ideas

This is an excerpt from the fully-revised and expanded second edition of Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works (Berrett-Koehler May 2009) The book is written for managers. This chapter focuses on how HR can help them to provide the best possible recognition for employees.

Prioritize employee recognition to ensure a positive, productive, organizational climate. Provide employee recognition to say “thank you” and to encourage more of the actions and thinking you believe will make your organization successful. People who feel appreciated are more positive about themselves and their ability to contribute. These...

You can tell your colleagues, coworkers and staff how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long.

Employee recognition is limited in most organizations. Employees complain about the lack of recognition regularly. Managers ask, “Why should I recognize or thank him? He’s just doing his job.” And, life at work is busy, busy, busy. These factors combine to create work places that fail to provide recognition for employees. Managers who...

Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people...

The advancement of an employee from one position to another position that has a higher salary range, a higher level job title, and more job responsibility is called a promotion. A promotion is a form of recognition for successful employees.

Employee of the Month is an organizational recognition that companies have used - both successfully - and unsuccessfully - for years. In some organizations, Employee of the Month is a joke, a popularity or take-turns contest for management fawning employees. In others, Employee of the Month is cherished. With so many forms of employee recognition available, why pursue Employee of the Month?

Employee of the Month is an organization’s positive effort to recognize an employee’s achievements and contributions. But, publicized criteria for selection as Employee of the Month is most frequently non-existent. The employee who is Employee of the Month rarely knows why he or she was selected. Lacking criteria, other employees find the selection process an unmotivating fog. With so many forms of employee recognition available, why pursue Employee of the Month with its inherent problems?

This tip about reward and recognition will help you create a profitable business and develop the talented workforce you need for progress, resiliency and agility. You need solid criteria in place before providing recognition that involves money and rewards. Everyday recognition that shows appreciation needs nothing but your commitment to...

In a client company, the Culture and Communication Committee developed a recognition process for employees who practiced team work, went the extra mile, and contributed to the company's success. Awardees were nominated by other employees who filled out a nomination form. Learn more.

Giving employees employee recognition cards or gifts for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and the anniversary of their start date in your office is appreciated. Add the dates for these employee recognition cards to your tickler system.

These tips about reward and recognition will help you create a profitable business and develop the talented workforce you need for progress, resiliency and agility. What makes reward and recognition memorable? The element of surprise is big for effective reward and recognition. Learn more.

You can avoid the employee recognition traps that: single out one or a few employees who are mysteriously selected for the recognition; sap the morale of the many who failed to win, place, or even show; confuse people who meet the criteria yet were not selected; or sought votes or other personalized, subjective criteria to determine winners. Learn more.

Some people work for personal fulfillment; others work for love of what they do. Others work to accomplish goals and to feel as if they are contributing to something larger than themselves. The bottom line is that we all work for money and for reasons too individual to assign similarities to all workers. Learn more.

A leader makes other people feel important and appreciated. The leader excels at creating opportunities to provide rewards, recognition and thanks to his or her staff. A leader creates a work environment in which people feel important and appreciated. Learn more about rewards and recognition in this fifth article in my Leadership Success series.

Employee of the Month is an organizational recognition that companies have used - both successfully - and unsuccessfully - for years. In some organizations, Employee of the Month is a joke, a popularity or take-turns contest for management fawning employees. In others, Employee of the Month is cherished. With so many forms of employee recognition available, why pursue Employee of the Month?

How to research salary, salary calculators, salary surveys, salary comparisons, basically, all things salary, online, is one of the most frequent requests for information received by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). This makes sense when you consider the importance of salary to attract talented people, retain key employees, and maintain an excited, motivated workforce.

Looking for convenient, appreciated, reasonably cost-conscious ways to reward, recognize, demonstrate your appreciation, award, and say "thank you" for contributions that people make at work? These ideas will help.

Are you looking to provide an environment in which employees choose to be motivated? Bob Nelson’s site contains much useful information. Peer initiated recognition, recognition from customers, and informal recognition programs help motivate.