Recognition and Rewards Raise Results!
One of the best ways to keep your staff motivated is to give recognition and rewards for their efforts.
You may wonder, why bother to give recognition to your employees? Aren't they already being paid for doing their jobs? According to motivational expert Ron Kaufman, the more praise you give to your staff, the more effort and results you will receive.
Here are four simple guidelines for establishing an employee recognition system in your organisation.
Be fair
Decide what accomplishments you want to recognise, and document specific criteria an employee must meet in order to qualify. Everyone who meets or exceeds those criteria should have an equal chance of being recognised for their outstanding efforts. Avoid scenarios where employees vote on who gets to receive an award – such efforts often end up as popularity contests, which could result in deserving employees being overlooked.
Be creative
As well as giving recognition for traditional goals such as number of sales achieved and preset goals accomplished, consider recognising other achievements like ideas that saved the company time and/or money; going the extra mile to solve a customer service issue; and other behaviours that you would like your other staff to practise on a regular basis.
Be prompt
Wherever possible, give recognition for achievements as soon as possible after the action being recognised is completed. Instead of waiting for the end of the year or even the end of the month, Kaufman recommends recognizing your "Employee of the Moment" – acknowledging good actions whenever and wherever you see them.
Be specific
When an employee qualifies for an award, make sure to write down the accomplishment, what the results were, and how it benefited the company. Give a copy to the employee and his or her immediate supervisor, and place a copy in the employee's file. This will document the kind of performance that you want the employee and others to practise.
In the current employees' market, employee satisfaction is key to retaining your staff. Employee recognition translates to employee retention, as employees who feel that their company appreciates their work and contributions experience higher job satisfaction and are less likely to leave.
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