Employee Appreciation Awards
Why are some employee award programs so successful at encouraging and motivating others? What makes an award program outstanding? We know a positive corporate culture matters as studies show that organizations with engaged employees outperform those without them by a whopping 202%!
Building a great work culture takes consistency and effort. Employee appreciation gifts are the perfect way to begin especially if you keep the following 3 tips in mind.
Set Clear Expectations
A formal recognition program should differ from daily feedback in the office. The idea behind the program is to instill a particular set of values in your workplace and recognize employees who live out those values.
Start with your organization’s mission, vision, or set of values. What do those values and ideals look like in action? What kind of behavior would demonstrate those characteristics in the workplace? This way you can be sure that you’re not only recognizing the importance of those values, you’re also giving employees a standard of behavior to reach for. Next, be sure to give your corporate award a name that reflects those same values.
Keep the Awards Program Inclusive
While recognizing employees for meeting customer service or sales goals is important, these types of awards are not ideal choices for a company-wide awards program. Only a select number of employees are eligible to win, and those left in the fray are bound to feel annoyed and resentful.
As we mentioned, starting with your mission is the perfect way to keep the program inclusive. Any and every employee should be able to live out your mission and be recognized for it. Don’t forget to give your winners something they can be proud to show off. Employee appreciation gifts such as paperweights, desk sets, and clocks are both functional and stylish.
Express Appreciation Informally
Formal award programs are pretty great. Who doesn’t love getting their moment to shine in the spotlight? Just be sure to avoid getting so caught up in formal recognition that you forget the value of informal recognition.
Informal recognition can be provided more frequently and even at random to boost morale. The idea is to focus on behaviors and actions in the workplace that make the environment more productive and enjoyable. If your team has a daily standup call or monthly department meeting, this is a great time to share a few quick shout outs. Or allow employees to pass out recognition cards on their own to co-workers who have gone above and beyond.
For more ideas on how to recognize your employees with employee appreciation gifts that truly shine, contact us at Allogram!