Employee appreciation is a great tool when used properly. When not used properly employee appreciation efforts can be ineffective and can cost an organization money with no ROI. Ensure your employee appreciation program works for you and your employees by following 3 easy steps.
- Lead by example: Creating a culture of appreciation goes through the typical vertical channels (boss to subordinate), but a true culture of appreciation provides opportunities for peer recognition. Peer recognition is more powerful because it shows genuine, unselfish appreciation for colleagues. These interactions build relationships and create team camaraderie.
- Cash bonuses aren't as effective as employee requested rewards: Cash bonuses are great, because who doesn't need a little extra money in the bank? However, cash can be perceived as impersonal, and often gets lumped in with the employees' standard compensation. Gift cards are a great way to increase personalization of rewards by offering a variety of brands like CVS/Pharmacy, The Cheesecake Factory and Speedway gas and allowing employees to choose the brand that works for them. An employees memory of the personal reward they got from their employer will last a lot longer than an extra bit of cash in the bank.
- Pair appreciation with goals and projects: Employee recognition should be paired with goals in the long term and successful completion of projects in the short term. Providing a direct correlation between employee behavior and the reward sets a clear precedent for repeating desired behavior.
