Effective Employee Recognition

Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.

When you consider employee recognition processes, you need to develop recognition that is equally powerful for both the organization and the employee. You must address five important issues if you want the recognition you offer to be viewed as motivating and rewarding by your employees and important for the success of your organization.

The Five Most Important Tips for Effective Recognition

• You need to establish criteria for what performance or contribution constitutes rewardable behavior or actions.

• All employees must be eligible for the recognition.

• The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded and recognized.

• Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward.

• The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behavior the employer wants to encourage.

You don't want to design a process in which managers "select" the people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed forever as "favoritism" or talked about as "it's your turn to get recognized this month." This is why processes that single out an individual, such as "Employee of the Month," are rarely effective.