10/07/2015
10/07/2015
There’s a good chance that your company already has a recognition program in place. According to a SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) Employee Recognition survey, 81% of companies reported having one (http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/shrm-globoforce-employee-recognition-2015.aspx). While it’s great that so many companies are recognizing how important recognition is, some of the top employee complaints (in the same survey!) are that these programs don’t have much impact and can be impersonal, showing that there’s still room for improvement. So the question we may want to ask ourselves is how do we create a recognition program that feels more authentic?
There’s a good chance that your company already has a recognition program in place. According to a SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) Employee Recognition survey, 81% of companies reported having one (http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/shrm-globoforce-employee-recognition-2015.aspx). While it’s great that so many companies are recognizing how important recognition is, some of the top employee complaints (in the same survey!) are that these programs don’t have much impact and can be impersonal, showing that there’s still room for improvement. So the question we may want to ask ourselves is how do we create a recognition program that feels more authentic?
For most companies, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about ways to recognize employees is metrics. While that’s certainly one side of an employee’s performance, outside of numbers, there are other things that make up their overall contribution. Recognizing people for their unique skills or talents helps show appreciation for what they bring to the table. Have someone on your team who creates killer Excel spreadsheets? While that person definitely isn’t me, it's a valuable skill that can help everyone out and showing appreciation for it can go a long way.
Recognition can be simple things like:
• Giving a face-to-face thanks
• Celebrating birthdays and important life events
• Taking a few minutes in meetings to give props
You can also make things even more personal by finding out what your employees actually value. Building strong relationships with your team helps you tailor the rewards to the person. You can outright ask what would be best. Send a survey to see how people prefer to be recognized and what rewards would hold the most meaning to them. Depending on the person, this could be anything from a team lunch for someone who prefers in-person recognition to a paid day off for someone who’s family-oriented. Taking the time to get to know what works for each individual helps you create a unique experience and leaves a bigger impact.
Here are a few ideas of other types of recognition you may want to try on for size:
Values Based
Consider tying your recognition program to your company’s values. At Zappos, Deliver WOW Through Service is our number one Core Value for a reason. Great service is our bread and butter. Our Sharing Great Calls program recognizes our Customer Loyalty Team members for providing exceptional customer service by sending weekly email blasts to the company that is straight from customer feedback. There are quarterly prizes given for Sharing Great Call earners that range from team to team. What are your company's values? For instance, a company that puts an emphasis on teamwork may choose to recognize employees who go out of their way to help others. This type of award could be voted on by the team to make it feel even more special.
Culture
At Zappos, our strong culture is a product of the people who work here. For us, it makes sense to celebrate those that do everything they can to push the culture forward. The Culture Drivers award is given in our Customer Loyalty Team to folks that received at least 2 nominations based on their cultural involvement. Is there a way to reward those drivers that help keep your company’s culture alive?
Peer To Peer
Recognition can also hold stronger meaning when it’s given from the people you work with day in and day out. At Zappos, letting someone know that they WOWed you can be done in the form of a $50 co-worker bonus. The reason for the bonus is published internally and you can even Facebook-style “like” other people’s nominations. Three are chosen as winners for a bigger monthly prize and company-wide email announcement. Another honor, the Mystical Egg, is a peer-based award passed along each month in our Tech department. At the first meeting of each month, the previous winner presents a plastic, decorated egg to someone who blew them away that month. That person then becomes responsible for adding to or decorating the egg and keeping the tradition going.
One of the biggest underlying reasons for recognition is to help people feel valued. In a survey done last year by Tiny Pulse on Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture, only 21% of employees said that they felt valued (https://www.tinypulse.com/2014-employee-engagement-organizational-culture-report), which shows a strong recognition program may be needed now more than ever. Whether you create a more structured plan or go big and host a company-wide recognition bash, don't forget that even a few genuine words can leave a lasting impact and create a happier work environment.
“Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune.” - Sam Walton
For most companies, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about ways to recognize employees is metrics. While that’s certainly one side of an employee’s performance, outside of numbers, there are other things that make up their overall contribution. Recognizing people for their unique skills or talents helps show appreciation for what they bring to the table. Have someone on your team who creates killer Excel spreadsheets? While that person definitely isn’t me, it's a valuable skill that can help everyone out and showing appreciation for it can go a long way.
Recognition can be simple things like:
• Giving a face-to-face thanks
• Celebrating birthdays and important life events
• Taking a few minutes in meetings to give props
You can also make things even more personal by finding out what your employees actually value. Building strong relationships with your team helps you tailor the rewards to the person. You can outright ask what would be best. Send a survey to see how people prefer to be recognized and what rewards would hold the most meaning to them. Depending on the person, this could be anything from a team lunch for someone who prefers in-person recognition to a paid day off for someone who’s family-oriented. Taking the time to get to know what works for each individual helps you create a unique experience and leaves a bigger impact.
Here are a few ideas of other types of recognition you may want to try on for size:
Values Based
Consider tying your recognition program to your company’s values. At Zappos, Deliver WOW Through Service is our number one Core Value for a reason. Great service is our bread and butter. Our Sharing Great Calls program recognizes our Customer Loyalty Team members for providing exceptional customer service by sending weekly email blasts to the company that is straight from customer feedback. There are quarterly prizes given for Sharing Great Call earners that range from team to team. What are your company's values? For instance, a company that puts an emphasis on teamwork may choose to recognize employees who go out of their way to help others. This type of award could be voted on by the team to make it feel even more special.
Culture
At Zappos, our strong culture is a product of the people who work here. For us, it makes sense to celebrate those that do everything they can to push the culture forward. The Culture Drivers award is given in our Customer Loyalty Team to folks that received at least 2 nominations based on their cultural involvement. Is there a way to reward those drivers that help keep your company’s culture alive?
Peer To Peer
Recognition can also hold stronger meaning when it’s given from the people you work with day in and day out. At Zappos, letting someone know that they WOWed you can be done in the form of a $50 co-worker bonus. The reason for the bonus is published internally and you can even Facebook-style “like” other people’s nominations. Three are chosen as winners for a bigger monthly prize and company-wide email announcement. Another honor, the Mystical Egg, is a peer-based award passed along each month in our Tech department. At the first meeting of each month, the previous winner presents a plastic, decorated egg to someone who blew them away that month. That person then becomes responsible for adding to or decorating the egg and keeping the tradition going.
One of the biggest underlying reasons for recognition is to help people feel valued. In a survey done last year by Tiny Pulse on Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture, only 21% of employees said that they felt valued (https://www.tinypulse.com/2014-employee-engagement-organizational-culture-report), which shows a strong recognition program may be needed now more than ever. Whether you create a more structured plan or go big and host a company-wide recognition bash, don't forget that even a few genuine words can leave a lasting impact and create a happier work environment.
“Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune.” - Sam Walton