How to Build a Successful Employee Recognition Program
Implementing an employee recognition program won't magically solve existing workplace issues. However, an effective employee recognition program can, over time, improve employees' perception of your company and make them appreciate your efforts to acknowledge employee contributions. An effective employee recognition program can have a positive impact on employee morale and overall satisfaction, which can strengthen your employer-employee relationship. Building a successful employee recognition program takes time and commitment from human resources as well as other employees, who will all work together to create a cost-effective program that you can sustain.
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Instructions
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Discuss your employee recognition budget with your compensation and benefits specialist or your company's finance officer. Determine the average amount you can spend per employee on a program. For example, if you have 100 employees and you can allocate $100 per employee, your annual budget for an employee recognition program budget is $10,000. Consider this amount as part of your expenditures for employee benefits.
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Select members of your workforce or ask for volunteers to serve on an employee recognition committee. Choose approximately five to seven employees from various levels within the organization to gain perspective from different points of view. Include executives as well as front-line employees. Schedule regular meetings -- every month is reasonable to start. The committee may need more frequent meetings if you're planning special events.
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Draft the purpose of your employee recognition program. Read the company's philosophy and mission statement for guidance. Decide if you want to focus on recognizing employees who exemplify the company's philosophy through overall strong work ethic, or if you want to focus on employee tenure, employees who provide excellent customer service or those who adhere to workplace policies, such as awards for perfect attendance.
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Research other companies' employee recognition programs for ideas on types of awards, incentives and ways to present employee awards. If your committee is inclined to plan an employee event that involves a banquet or social event, consider additional funding and support such as human resources staff to assist with planning large events.
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Survey employees for ideas on the kinds of employee recognition they prefer. Ask for written suggestions or construct a brief questionnaire with choices for typical awards, such as plaques, gift cards, social outings or a luncheon or banquet. Tally employee responses and determine the number of votes for each option.
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Return the tallied responses to the employee recognition committee for discussion. Vote on employee responses considering factors such as employee opinions and order of preference, feasibility and budget. Draft guidelines and criteria for employee recognition, such as whether both full-time and part-time employees are eligible. Determine how to solicit nominations for awards and draft a nomination form for peer nominations as well as nominations from supervisors and managers. Consider soliciting customer feedback for employees who have extensive contact with your company's customers.
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Develop an employee communication announcing the new recognition program. Present details about the program during an all-staff meeting. Describe how nominations will be processed, how to write nomination forms and deadlines for submitting nominations. Publish the information about your new recognition program in your employee newsletter or distribute a memo with recognition program guidelines so employees have information they can refer to whenever they have questions or are preparing nomination forms. Designate a committee member to whom employees can direct questions.
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Schedule monthly employee recognition committee meetings to discuss awards and the method employee awards will be presented. Elect a committee member to manage the recognition program budget and to present regular reports on estimates for awards and expenses incurred. Continue to reevaluate the program's effectiveness and employee satisfaction with recognition program on an annual basis.
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