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5 Simple Ways to Recognize Your Employees

Employees who are engaged are more productive, more empowered in their work and more likely to remain in their job. Yet, only a third of workers say they are engaged, according to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report – and many are actively disengaged. Research shows that organizations with high levels of employee engagement have higher revenue and profitability. That’s because engaged employees work harder to achieve company goals, take fewer days off and tend to stick around. Happy employees are also great advocates, leading to a healthier culture, enhanced external reputation and better customer service. They’re more likely to recommend working with or for your organization, share your content on social media and spread positive word of mouth about your products and services.

But keeping your workforce engaged doesn’t always come easily. Employee engagement is multi-faceted and touches every interaction your staff has throughout a typical workday. It’s more than just the way in which we communicate or a snapshot in time captured in an employee survey; it’s the entire employee experience, every day throughout the year. Think about job satisfaction, work-life balance, trust and respect.

Changing your company culture is a long-term effort but building a culture of recognition helps employees feel like valued members of the team. A Great Place To Work® Trust Index™ study that analyzed 1.7 million employee survey responses gathered between 2018 and 2020 across small, mid-sized and large companies, found employees who feel recognized at work are twice as likely to say they are willing to go above and beyond for their work. That same study also linked employee recognition to higher job satisfaction and production of more quality work.

Here are five simple ways to show employees you appreciate them:

1. Share positive feedback.

Sending a personal email of gratitude is nice, but sharing a job well done with the entire team is even better. Taking the extra effort to compliment an employee during a team meeting will likely go a long way in making your employees feel valued and will motivate them to work harder to achieve business goals. Take it a step further and brand your recognition communications for further impact by developing a fun slogan and visual marker to add a cohesive feel and lend importance to recognition efforts.

2. When providing feedback and recognition, try to use at least two different channels.

For example, send an email to the team that acknowledges remote or hybrid employees, but also hang something that looks similar on a bulletin board at the office. It’s important to keep in mind that not every employee wants to receive recognition or absorbs information in the same way; some prefer quiet acknowledgement in an email message, while others respond better to a short video or something posted in a shared work space.

3. Amplify recognition outside your organization.

Share highlights of employee events and accomplishments not only on internal social media like Yammer, but also on LinkedIn. Recognizing employees publicly demonstrates a culture that values employees and their accomplishments. In addition to making your employees feel special, you’re sending a message to future talent that your organization is a place they might like to work.

4. Celebrate occasions.

In addition to birthdays and work anniversaries, take time to recognize employees when they have gone above and beyond. For example, give a shout out to employees when they’ve accomplished something for the first time, met or exceeded a critical deadline or established a new and helpful relationship.

5. Establish a mechanism for peer-to-peer recognition.

Providing a channel for peer-to-peer recognition allows team members to recognize coworkers for a job well done. While a formal program is nice, you can achieve similar results by simply incorporating time during meetings for each team member to share something about a co-worker who deserves appreciation or requesting positive feedback from co-workers to share during annual reviews. Not only does peer recognition make employees feel valued, but it can improve teamwork and collaboration which can elevate quality of work, engagement and morale.

We’d love to work with you to cultivate a culture of recognition within your organization. Whether it’s helping to establish a creative employee recognition program or think outside the box to help your employees feel more engaged with their work, connect with us to learn how we can help.

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