Employee recognition: 3 ideas that work
July 15, 2008 by Bill MeltzerPosted in: Company culture, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Our best management idea, Recognition programs
Any benefits HR/manager can adopt these ways to make workers feel more appreciated.
The common thread: using your own communication skills as a powerful tool for boosting morale.
1. Put in face time
When time permits, managers may want to put in some “face time” with employees. This in and of itself is a type of employee recognition. Example: There’s a lot of value in simply walking around the building, chatting with employees. Ask employees about the personal items they display at their workstations.
In the short-term, folks will notice and appreciate your interest. Long-term, this may inspire ideas for rewards and incentive programs. The same technique works at firms with multiple locations. Make a site visit to get a feel for the morale. This is much cheaper – and often more effective – than designing a formal benefits survey.
2. Send ‘em personalized stuff
Looking for a simple way to show employees that HR/Benefits cares? Create a template from which you can send personalized “Welcome” letters to new hires or “Happy Anniversary” notes for employees’ company anniversaries.
3. Target overlooked employees
Most firms have employees (e.g. part-timers) who aren’t eligible for the 401(k), health plan and other company-sponsored benefits. Small gifts help firms connect with these often-overlooked employees.
Example: On the first day of spring, send them a packet of flower seeds and attached a note from Benefits. Burston-Marsteller Worldwide has used this simple, low-cost idea and gotten good results.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Hi Bill,
I am the author of Make Their Day Employee Recognition That Works (www.maketheirday.com) and I whole-heartedly agree with #1. The personal connection with managers is a fantastic way to make employees feel valued.
#2 on the other hand, doesn’t match my research. Employees don’t much care that HR cares. HR would be more effective to send the card and a note to the manager and have him/her fill it out with personalized comments. This is more in keeping with #1.
#3 is very low cost and is a nice gesture, but I promise you employees would much rather HR focus on getting managers and supervisors involved in their recognition!
All the best,
Cindy Ventrice
July 17th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Cindy,
#2 does count. We send anniversary cards for service recognition but we also send birthday cards to each employee and they are always glad to be recognized. Many of the employees upon receiving their first card tell me that even their spouses are impressed with the gesture.
Beth Langley
July 17th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I am sorry to be the voice of dissention but there is no way that # would work in practice. Well, I’ll give you a 1 out of a million chance. A packet of seeds on hte first day of srping – aside from trying to keep a straight face in presenting them, I would be afraid of wearing the seeds before the end of the day.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:36 am
I agree with Beth that #2 does count. Each month we send to each employee who has a birthday that month a “Happy Birthday Flyer” to their home address. If they bring it into us then their names are put in the jar for a drawing for a $15.00 Gift Card at Walmart. Our employees seem to be very pleased with this recognition.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:27 pm
We award a different employee each payday with a $25 gift card to WalMart. We put their employee numbers on the outside of their paycheck envelopes and put a different number somewhere in the employee newsletter each payday. If they read the newsletter and find their employee number, they come to the office to pick-up their gift card. They seem to get really excited about that.
We also play safety bingo. The prize for the winner is a check for $25.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Beth and Lisa,
There are always a few exceptions. Try anonymously surveying employees about whether they value these cards as recognition. You will be surprised. If you can get managers to do the send out you will have a winner.
Glenda,
What you are doing is fun, inexpensive, and I don’t doubt employees enjoy it. It sounds like a good program, but it is not recognition and it won’t do a darned thing to increase satisfaction with recognition. Keep up the morale boosting but don’t confuse it with recognition.
All – please know that when employees talk about “recognition” the source needs to people they have had an effect on: coworkers, managers and supervisors, someone in their reporting chain. HR is usually outside this sphere of influence. The anniversary card from HR is as exciting as a birthday card from your life insurance company. Sorry.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Our managers and GM also award checks (usually from $50 – $100) to individuals when they have done an exceptional job or they have done something outside their realm of responsibility.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Different things appeal to different people. During the manager’s staff meetings I bring birthday cards for employees having birthdays the following month. All managers, VP of Operations, HR and Controller sing these. Each month I send out between 10-18 cards. I always have 2-4 people stop by my office saying thanks for their b-day card. I even had one upset employee who did not get one. Oops, for some reason she wasn’t on the list.
August 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I hold a birthday luncheon with pizza and cake once a month in our kitchen. The birthday people’s names are on the cake for that month, everyone enjoys the recognition and/or harrassment from their co-workers, we all eat together and have some laughs for an hour. I also give the employees a 1/2 day off with pay on their birthday (rules are you have to take it on your birthday if it falls on a sat/sun they can take mon or fri. Everyone loves this!