It’s no secret that recognition is a powerful tool. Orgs that utilize employee recognition awards can see effects like increased workplace engagement, stronger culture, and boosted productivity. Employee recognition awards should be an essential part of every company. Recognizing employees for their hard work ensures they feel seen and is a crucial cornerstone of a healthy company culture.
Companies can instill a culture of appreciation by recognizing employees for their hard work. Aside from small daily recognition, employers can achieve larger cultural change by starting an employee recognition program. These efforts empower leaders to recognize valuable company members, peers to recognize one another, and teams to recognize cross-functionally. Recognition programs would likely include a budget for awards and a timeline/criteria for recognition.
Throughout this article, we will discuss 15 ideas for influential recognition awards, as well as some FAQs around recognition awards, why employee recognition is important, and how to give inspiring and meaningful awards. Let’s dive in.
15 Inspiring and Meaningful Recognition Gifts
Here are a few employee recognition ideas that are meaningful and inspiring. These are the types of gifts that employees will love and appreciate. Remember, not all inspiring gifts need to cost money either; some of the best meaningful gifts are those that are given with genuine gratitude for the employee.
Personalized Employee Recognition Awards
Teamwork Award
This is perfect for the employee that is a true team player. They always go the extra mile to ensure that their team is thriving, and look out for more than just themselves.
Leadership Award
A leadership award would go to an employee who is a natural leader in their team/work environment. One that strives to create a work environment that is positive and helps others achieve their goals.
Exceptional Listener Award
An exceptional listener award would go to an employee who has taken feedback and truly applied it in the workplace. They always strive to be their best and listen to constructive criticism.
Coaching Champion Award
A coaching champion award would go to an employee who has gone the extra mile to coach their fellow employees and help them grow.
Customer Service Award
Finally, a customer service award would inherently go to the employee who ensures all customers feel valued and cared for. This award is perfect for the employee who truly shows they care for the customer.
Tangible Employee Recognition Awards and Gifts
Professional Photoshoot
A professional photoshoot is a great way to show employees you care. It gives them an opportunity to update their professional headshots and helps them feel good about themselves.
Donations In Their Name
A truly generous idea. Find out their favorite charity or a cause they care deeply about and make a donation in their name.
Engraved Jewelry
Gifting engraved jewelry (cufflinks, necklace, tie pin/clip) is a great option to show employee appreciation in a meaningful way.
Customized Decor
Customized decor could include something fun like a personalized bobblehead (think Dwight Schrute), a custom star map, a plant, or a personalized desktop organizer.
Service Pin
A service pin is perfect for employees who have been at their company for a number of years and the company would like to highlight their time. To ensure that the employee finds this meaningful, attach a customized thank you card or work anniversary card with examples of how the employee has impacted the company.
Thoughtful Employee Recognition Gifts/Awards
Gift Card For A Class (Cooking, Art, Etc.)
If the employee is into learning and developing talents, a gift card for an experience is a thoughtful and inspiring award.
Paid Professional Development Opportunities
Awarding an employee with an opportunity to boost their career through professional development is a beautiful way to show gratitude (and give the employee a chance to advance in the workplace).
Handwritten Thank-You
A handwritten thank-you note is a timeless and meaningful way to show your appreciation for employees. This is a great, cost-effective, everyday way to incorporate employee appreciation.
Lunch With Senior Leadership
Another cost-effective and inspiring reward would be to invite employees to have lunch with senior leadership. This would give them an opportunity to stand out and feel valued by the company’s higher-ups.
Shout-Out Kudoboard
A shout-out board with Kudoboard is a great way to involve leadership and team members and let employees know they are valued.
What are the Benefits of Employee Recognition?
Employer Benefits
Making room in the budget (time and money-wise) for employee recognition will significantly benefit the company. Companies can see a positive impact from employee recognition through:
Greater Employee Retention
Employee retention is significant for employers. Not only does retaining current employees cut costs, but it also encourages a positive work culture.
Improved Productivity
Employees who feel seen and appreciated are more likely to be motivated and inspired to do their best. In fact, 77.9% of employees would be more productive if they were recognized more frequently.
Positive Company Culture
Employers with great recognition efforts in the workplace often see improved company culture. This encourages engagement with core values, improves employee happiness, and more.
Attracting Top Talent
Word tends to spread when a company has a positive recognition culture, and employers may see increased applications on open positions. They may also attract a great quality of candidate that values a positive working environment.
Enhanced Engagement
Staff members that experience high amounts of employee recognition often feel a greater connection and sense of belonging. When recognition is an office value, they feel more in tune with the culture and work.
Employee Benefits
Of course, the employees also benefit greatly from recognition awards. Aside from feeling proud and grateful when receiving the award, employees can also see:
- Boosted Employee Morale
- Increased Job Satisfaction
- Better Teamwork
- Reduced Stress
- Enhanced Employee Well-being
Criteria For Recognition
A good employee recognition program would include specific criteria for the award to ensure that there are no hurt feelings or favoritism. These requirements also help employees understand what they should do to receive an employee award. These criteria include performance, innovation/creativity, teamwork, and leadership/initiative.
Recognition Criteria: Performance
An obvious one: performance is the first element that comes to mind for many. Performance could include aspects such as:
- Motivation and engagement in their job
- Quality of work
- Investment in organizational/team goals
Measuring performance can sometimes be complicated, so it is helpful to break it down in specific categories.
Recognition Criteria: Innovation and Creativity
Companies can also gauge who should receive an award by measuring innovation and creativity. It can be challenging to measure these concepts because they are often multifaceted. However, leadership can use ideas like nomination forms, time allocation (see how employees allocate their time between routine tasks and creative problem solving), measuring project success, and customer/market feedback.
Recognition Criteria: Teamwork
Having teamwork as a criterion for measuring recognition is great because it encourages employees to work together. Not only will employees be more engaged, but this also helps create a more positive workplace and employee experience. Human resources can measure teamwork by utilizing employee surveys and observing conflict resolution, project success, team productivity, and overall quality of work.
Recognition Criteria: Leadership and Initiative
Measuring leadership and initiative in the workplace involves assessing how individuals take charge, demonstrate responsibility, and continuously contribute to the organization’s success. Companies can use the following to measure this criterion: problem-solving skills, project leadership, performance metrics, strategic thinking, leadership training participation, and impact on team morale and performance.
Types Of Awards For Employee Recognition
There are several different types of employee recognition awards. These include personalized achievements (think Dundee award from The Office but more meaningful), team-based awards, innovation recognition, and time/service awards. Each award is integral to establishing a culture of appreciation in the workplace.
Personalized Achievements
Personalized achievements are awards given to employees that highlight their individualized achievements at the company. Personalized achievements are remarkable for meaningful awards because they are specific to the person receiving them.
Team-Based Awards
While it is important to recognize individuals, recognizing teams is another way to foster a culture of appreciation in the workplace.
There are several ways to give a recognition award to a team. Some ideas include team events, a catered lunch, a shout-out in the company newsletter, and more.
Innovation Recognition
Innovation awards and accolades are given to individuals or teams with creativity and exceptional innovative thinking in developing their company’s products, services, or solutions. These awards could be bonuses, an actual award (e.g., a crystal award with a unique engraving), or a shout-out in the company newsletter or on a virtual board.
Time and Service Awards
Time and service awards would be given for working at a company for a specific time. These awards are meant to recognize not just time spent at a company, but also the employees’ efforts and professional development throughout their time spent at a company.
Many organizations recognize the different key career stages of an employee in an organization. When first start, they’re learning the skills needed to fit into their careers. As the years progress, employees are gaining more expertise, and towards the end of their careers, employees are known as veterans and mentors.
Some great time and service awards include time off, symbolic awards (certificates, service pins), and recognition from leadership.
Why Give Inspiring Gifts
While many gifts would be appreciated, inspiring gifts make an impact on employees. Let’s discuss why inspiring gifts matter in employee recognition and some general dos/don’ts for giving and choosing inspiring employee recognition gifts.
Inspiring Awards “Dos”
- Make it personal/specific to the person receiving it.
- Anticipate problems before they grow too big (e.g. lack of transparency about awards, eliminating any views of favoritism, inconsistency)
- Ask for feedback from employees to ensure they are feeling valued.
Inspiring Awards “Don’ts”
- Don’t give generic awards (these are not meaningful).
- Don’t leave people out/practice favoritism.
- Don’t reward only performance.
- Don’t make it about money.
Ways to Incorporate Recognition In The Workplace
Incorporating employee recognition can be as simple as saying “thank you” more often and recognizing employees’ hard work. However, there is more that can be done so let’s go over several ways companies can incorporate recognition in the workplace. A few ideas include:
Recognition Program
A Recognition program is a perfect way to start recognizing employees more often. An employee recognition program is a system through which company employees’ achievements are recognized. Having a recognition program encourages employee retention, boosts employee morale, and improves employee performance. To make sure a recognition program will benefit your company, follow these steps:
- Set objectives
- Outline policies
- Allocate budget
- Ensure alignment with the company culture
Peer-to-Peer Recognition
Peer-to-peer recognition is a surefire way to improve employee retention and encourage a better working environment. Encouraging this type of recognition would include removing any obstacles that might prevent team members in their recognition efforts. A simple way to promote recognition among peers is through peer recognition messages.
Employee Of The Month/Quarter
A classic way to encourage more employee recognition is through an employee of the month or quarter. To be successful with an employee of the month/quarter, follow these steps:
- Choose your rewards
- Specify the parameters
- Get the employees involved
- Announce your decision in a big way.
- Encourage nomination forms
Regular Appreciation
Regular and continuous appreciation is essential because it ensures that employees routinely feel seen. It also helps solidify the culture of appreciation that your company is trying to set.
Appreciation is a robust everyday tool that leadership can use with their staff; it costs nothing to show gratitude for the employees who show up daily and work hard.
Leadership/Management’s Usage Of Employee Recognition
In any company, there are a lot of daily/weekly/monthly things to keep track of, so it can be challenging to ensure that recognition is being used regularly. The best way to go about this is to incorporate the process into management/leadership training and ensure they understand employee recognition’s value. Not only will recognizing employees make a manager’s job easier in the long run, but it will also increase things like employee engagement, employee morale, and more.
Employee Recognition Goes A Long Way
Employee recognition awards are more than simple tokens of appreciation; they are essential to a thriving workplace culture. Acknowledging the hard work and celebrating the achievements of employees benefits both the company and employees. Recognition helps employees feel valued and engaged and is a considerable morale boost. Employee recognition awards also influence company morale and overall productivity. In the end, employee recognition is not just about awards; it’s about fostering a culture of appreciation.
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FAQs About Employee Recognition Awards
What Are Employee Recognition Awards?
Employee awards are tangible tokens of appreciation given to employees or teams within a business for their outstanding contributions or achievements. Employee recognition awards are an essential component in creating a culture of appreciation.
What’s the Importance Of Employee Recognition?
Employee recognition is important, and the benefits go beyond positive feelings. Recognizing employees’ hard work not only helps them feel seen, but also helps the company by creating more engaged employees.
How Do I Fit It Into The Company Budget?
Remember, employee recognition doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Employees will be more likely to remember the effort behind the award instead of the award itself. There are plenty of ways to incorporate employee recognition on a tight budget. These include offering days off, work-from-anywhere days, and personalized awards with a special message.
How Often Should Employee Recognition Happen?
The critical thing to remember about employee recognition is to be consistent. Consistency ensures that employees feel seen for their hard work and help so no one feels left out. A good rule of thumb would be to offer awards on a quarterly, bi-annual, or annual basis. Companies can also utilize milestones and work anniversaries for employee recognition awards.
How Can Companies Be Inclusive With Recognition?
Companies can be inclusive with recognition by having recognition transparency. Communicate the recognition process and ensure employees understand how recognition decisions are made. Companies can also be sure not to include everyone by encouraging peer-to-peer recognition. Peer-to-peer recognition also helps foster a culture of appreciation.
How Can I Succeed With Employee Recognition?
Here are a few tips to have success with employee recognition:
- Be authentic with your praise. Don’t give generic praise; offer a thoughtful thank you with examples of why you value the employee
- Tailor employee recognition to individual achievements
- Be consistent with employee recognition
No one likes to feel left out or think that there is favoritism. A solid employee recognition program or plan can avoid these feelings.
