How to Create an Employee Recognition Program

Creating an employee recognition program is a great way to push workers to excel. Not only does a program generate results for the people who win awards, but it also tends to increase productivity and drive employees to give their most to the company. Employee recognition programs are nothing new, although companies are always finding new ways to make the most of their programs.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Create an Employee Recognition Program

1. Create two lists of goals, one for the company and one for the employees. Be clear on what the workers are expected to do within the program and what you want to achieve by creating it. Increasing sales, improving employee morale or rewarding hard workers are all acceptable goals, as long as you are clear on them.

2. Decide on the type of prize that will be awarded. Prizes can be symbolic (an actual certificate or medal, for example) or they can be material and focus on money rewards, special items (watches or pens) or long-term rewards, such as more time off or a raise.

3. Announce the timing of the program. It doesn't really matter if you plan on handing out awards on a monthly or quarterly basis, but you need to know this in advance. You also need to let the employees know what to expect and when. Once you announce the program, you can do updates throughout the month or quarter to show where the process is going and how everybody involved is doing.

4. Designate a leader to keep track of the system. This could be a manager, a worker who is not participating in the program or a secretary. Create a schedule or a follow-up system so employees can track themselves and make the process easier for the leader.

5. Decide in advance how the awards will be handed out. If the employee recognition program runs only twice a year, it makes sense to make a big deal of the awards ceremony by organizing a party or congregating at a restaurant. If, however, the awards are given out monthly, you will need to find a simpler way, such as handing them out along with paychecks.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you have decided on a prize, be consistent. Nothing is worse than having workers push hard to get something and then have them find out that you decided to change the prize on that particular month.