Different Types Of Recognition: A Beginner's Guide

People are not machines. They can’t be set to a certain task and left to churn out the same thing forever. Employees want to feel like they’re contributing, see their work making a difference, and feel like they’re growing in their careers while remaining on the job. Understanding what employees want, then, is essential if you don’t want to lose your best employees or good candidates when looking to hire. That’s why recognition plays such an important role in the employee experience. It makes people feel appreciated as individuals and helps them see how their contributions make a difference to the company as a whole. There are so many ways that we can recognize and appreciate our employees at work; it’s just about knowing which ones are best for your company at this moment in time.

In the words of Jim Harter, author of “Getting Gamers: Understanding and Engaging the Newest Workforce”, “recognition is any acknowledgement that directly or indirectly signals recognition.” Within the context of the modern workplace, there are many different ways to acknowledge employees for the work they do. In fact, there are so many types of recognition programs available that it can be difficult to know which one is right for your company. This article will explore some of the different types of recognition in the workplace so that you know where you stand currently and what areas need some work from you as an employer.

What Is Employee Recognition?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of different recognition practices, it’s important to understand what recognition is exactly. Recognition refers to any positive reinforcement of an employee’s work that encourages them to keep up the good work, learn from it, and perform better in the future. This can come in a number of different forms, from verbal praise and public accolades to more tangible rewards, like gift cards and paid time off. Typically, employee recognition happens after an employee has achieved a certain goal or completed a significant project that has had a positive impact on their team and company as a whole. It encourages them to keep going and do even better in the future, and it shows them that their work is appreciated. It is a great way to improve morale and helps build trust between employees and employers.

Rewards and Recognition Programs

Rewards and recognition programs are a great way to show your employees that you care and that you appreciate the work that they do. There are a number of ways that you can set these up, but one of the most common is to tie them to specific milestones on the path toward professional development. Once an employee has hit a certain number of milestones, they earn a reward, which can take a number of different forms. Rewards and recognition programs can also be tied to certain goals that your team is trying to achieve as a whole. You can set up a program where employees earn rewards every time they contribute to a certain project or initiative, or you can tie them to company goals and the milestones that employees need to hit to achieve them. Here are three categories of recognition programs in the workplace.

Peer-to-peer Recognition

While most forms of recognition come from a manager or someone in charge, peer-to-peer recognition is recognition that comes from an employee’s peers. This could be something as simple as leaving a note on a whiteboard that encourages others to keep up the good work, or it could take the form of setting up a gratitude jar for employees to drop a dollar into every time they see someone do a great job at work. Peer-to-peer recognition can help to create a culture of appreciation that encourages further growth and creativity from employees at all levels. It can be used to recognize both positive and negative behavior, though you’re often better off using it to encourage the behavior that you want to see more of in the office.

Pay Raises

Not all recognition needs to come in the form of tangible rewards. According to one study by the Workplace Research Foundation, simply increasing employee engagement investments by 10 percent can increase an organization’s profits by $2,400 per employee per year. One of the most common forms of recognition on the market today is a pay raise, though you may want to wait until the year-end to give them out so that they’re reflected on the employees’ W-2 forms. If you’re going to give out raises, make sure that they’re well-deserved. You don’t want to slap them on willy-nilly or end up hurting your company in the long run. Instead, wait until you know the employee is deserving of the raise and that it won’t hurt your company financially. Raises are a great way to reward employees for their hard work and show that you value their contributions to the company. If you’re ever wondering what to give as a reward, a raise is a great option since it isn’t something that most employees get very often.

Vacation Time and Flexibility

Vacation time and flexibility are two benefits that not all employers provide for their employees. According to a report by Businessweek in 2007, the best way to get more done may be to spend more time doing less. If you do decide to offer these, however, they make great recognition methods. You can wait until an employee has worked at the company for a certain amount of time or has hit a certain milestone before providing them with more vacation time or a more flexible work schedule. These benefits can be great motivators, especially if they’re something that the majority of the company doesn’t have access to. If you can, try to wait until you have enough employees to cover certain duties before offering these so that they don’t put too much extra pressure on other employees.

Here are some other types you can explore.

Employee Rewards Ideas For The Workplace in 2022

Although many types of programs exist, the most common type is to tie it to a specific event, called a milestone recognition program. Giving them a free cake on their birthday is a great start; more meaningful incentives can take things to the next level. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to make your employees happy. With just a little creativity and some inexpensive materials, you can put together employee rewards programs that greatly impact team morale, productivity levels, and retention rates. Check out these ideas for employee rewards in the workplace in 2022:

Coffee and tea

Coffee and tea are a great way to reward employees who are extra deserving of recognition. Coffee and tea rewards don’t cost a lot and are easy to distribute, but they can still make employees feel appreciated. If your workplace culture is very coffee- or tea-focused, this is an ideal and affordable reward. If your workplace culture is not very coffee- or tea-focused, but you’d like to start including it as an employee reward, you can find inexpensive coffee and tea rewards at most grocery stores or large department stores. You can also put together your own coffee or tea gift basket.

Wellness programs

Wellness programs are great ways to show employees that you care about their health and well-being while encouraging them to make positive health choices. Wellness rewards can take a lot of different forms, depending on what types of positive health behaviors you would like to encourage. Depending on your location, you could offer rewards for things like attending yoga classes, getting flu shots, or joining local health-related meetups. You could also offer rewards for things like tracking your health data, maintaining a healthy diet, or achieving healthy lifestyle milestones, like losing a certain amount of weight.

Food truck lunch

If your workplace culture allows for a bit of creativity and spontaneity, then a food truck lunch reward could be a great way to show employees that you appreciate them. If you decide to go with this reward, you will want to schedule it for a time when you know that most of your staff members will be available. You’ll also want to select a time when the food truck will be nearby. You can make this reward a bit more formal by purchasing gift cards from local food trucks, so your employees can choose what they want to eat.

Company retreat

If your employees are especially deserving of recognition, then a company retreat reward could be a great way to show them that you appreciate their hard work. Retreats can vary widely in duration and price, depending on the location and type of retreat that you choose. You might want to consider having your employees bring their spouses or significant others so that the retreat is both work- and family-friendly. A company retreat is a great reward for exceptional employees, but it is also something that can be done once or twice a year, so you don’t have to go overboard with the costs.

Video games

If your workplace culture is dominated by gamers, then a video game reward could be a great way to show your employees that you appreciate them. You can choose a game that is appropriate for the ages of your employees, or you can provide rewards for each employee that let them choose their own game. You can purchase video game rewards online or at your local game store, or you can also put together your own custom game gift baskets.

Benefits and Perks

In addition to having recognition and reward programs, as an employer, providing your employees with benefits and perks that come just for being a part of the team already puts you one step ahead of most companies. This has more to do with rewarding the collective effort of the team, which usually serves as an incentive for improved productivity and performance. There are several different kinds of benefits and perks that you can provide to show how much you appreciate your employees’ hard work. Health insurance, flextime, and education and training programs are just a few examples. Make sure that you’re not just offering these to employees who work a certain amount of hours or have been at the company for a certain amount of time. These benefits and perks should be available to all employees at every level.

Company-led Culture Change

Having an effective recognition and rewards system in your company goes a long way in determining the strength of a company’s culture. The culture of an organization is represented by the different values and ideals that they strive to uphold and the number of ideals that they want employees to strive towards in the workplace. These are often a part of the company’s mission statement, but they can also extend to areas like diversity, inclusion, and other factors that affect the workplace as a whole. You can use recognition as a tool to encourage your employees to uphold these ideals. For example, if you want your employees to be more inclusive of people from different backgrounds and cultures, you can tie rewards and recognition programs to positive examples of this.

Bottom Line

As a manager, it’s important to recognize your employees for their hard work and contributions. They expect it, and they deserve it. There are a number of different ways that you can show them that you appreciate them. Be sure to choose one or two methods that you’ll be able to commit to in the long run, and then make sure to stick to them. It’s also important to remember that recognition doesn’t have to be grandiose. You don’t have to wait until someone has been with the company for five years to give them a raise. You can recognize employees for their hard work every day. All you have to do is be mindful of your employees’ needs and take the time to recognize them for their work.