As a gift specialist I’m involved with various types of recognition programs and on occasion have been involved in the creation of such programs.

Although Employee Recognition programs on the surface are created to reward competencies and work performance many of them also hope to motivate under performers.  Unfortunately this mindset usually never works and can lead to unfriendly competition within the company and shouldn’t be considered when creating or continuing with an Employee Recognition program.

Creating a successful program that both rewards and recognizes performance starts and ends with communication:

1. Employees need to know what is expected.  Define what meeting expectation looks like and what exceeding them looks like and the impact it has on the business.  Are you going to reward for meeting, exceeding or both by offering a tiered awarded system.
2. Is recognition open to all employees? Recognition tends to relate to sales goals which can be easily tracked.  Does your program recognize support staff and non-sales employees?  Creating a program inclusive of all positions and levels is a challenge because it starts with clearly defined roles and performance expectations.
3. Peer and customer nominations. In some businesses, peers and or customers can nominate employees whom have gone above and beyond the call of duty.  This can be a great way to create a bottom up recognition program that highlights and encourages both the vision and mission statement of the business.
4. There is no “I” in Team. Offering individual, team or department rewards is something to consider.  A team may have its own set of expectations and through combined strengths stand out in the organization.
5. The reward. The options are endless.  From monetary to a paid day off.  From gift baskets to cruises, car leases and more… companies have a variety of options to reward their top performers.  And as pointed out on the Terryberry Employee Recognition Blog – Recognition letters are one of the top workplace motivators!

Tami Ross
Gift & Appreciation Marketing Specialist with OBB Nashville

Be Original! Give Original!