What to Avoid with Employee Recognition Programs
Almost every employer knows that a quality employee recognition program is an important strategy that will help businesses attract the best talent within their industry or trade. Furthermore, these programs are often key in helping to retain the top employee talent, even in competitive marketplaces where salary considerations can be hard to match.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of companies design and implement employee recognition programs that are both obsolete and redundant, and that do not reflect the aspirations, requests, and career ambitions of their best personnel. Below, we look at a few of the most common downsides of traditional employee recognition programs and offer a few ideas for how to devise a program that is both enticing and engaging.
A Complete Lack of Strategy
One of the most common failures of these types of programs is that they are thoughtlessly and sometimes haphazardly implemented without any underlying strategy. The thought here is that employees will be grateful for any type of reward or recognition, and fails to consider that the best employees have professional goals and ambitions that transcend monetary matters. A quality employee recognition program, thus, will firstly seek to understand the motivations of their best employees and subsequently formulate rewards, bonuses, and incentives that respond to these deeper aspirations.
No Long-Term Managerial Support
The best talent in the workplace will most certainly have an understanding of how the company operates. When it comes to rewards and recognition programs, if these aren’t actively supported and championed by upper management, chances are that they will be disregarded or blatantly snubbed by top employees. There is a huge difference between receiving recognition from your shift supervisor than from the vice president of company operations. The best programs, then, actively involve senior management in every step of the process from design to implementation.
The following presentation was made by a company that provides employee recognition programs: https://online-rewards.com/
Red Tape and Unclear Communication
Once an employee recognition program is in place and fully operative, it is essential that all personnel fully understand the program, the possible benefits, and how to obtain the available rewards. Poor execution is often the result of not clearly communicating the program and how it functions to the workforce. Furthermore, excessive red tape and bureaucratic requirements to access the rewards or recognitions can demoralize employees and actually lead to indifference and employee apathy towards the company’s goals.
Reverting to Cash Prizes
Coming up with innovative recognition and rewards that create enthusiasm and drive for employees is not always easy. It is far easier to simply revert the more standard cash reward. The common logic for these program goes like this: an employee exceeds expectations, and he or she gets a little bonus next payday. While very few employees will disparage a little extra payment, cash rewards are not always the best option and rarely can create the same level of engagement that comes with other types of well-designed employee recognitions programs.
Coming up with creative employee recognition programs that respond to a clear company strategy, involve senior management, are clearly and straightforwardly communicated to your workforce, and go beyond the minimal cash reward is certainly a challenge. However, the best programs will go a long way in helping your company attract and retain the best employee talent on the market.
