Last week we heard from a reader who wanted to implement an employee recognition program in his small business. But unlike the cumbersome traditional recognition programs, he wanted something updated that would deliver recognition to an employee quickly and easily, without having to wait weeks or months for the next employee meeting.
Well, this reader is on the right track. Research and good common sense tells us that recognition given promptly is more reinforcing and effective. But before we think about speed, it’s best to be clear about three basic areas when designing any recognition program:
1) The types of behaviors and achievements you’ll recognize
2) The types of recognition you’ll be using (praise and acknowledgement only? tangible awards like plaques? money like gift cards and bonuses? or a combination)
3) Who can participate in giving recognition (management, employees)
For the types of behavior let’s say that health, wellness and workplace safety are important to your business; or it could be excellent customer service or maybe meeting sales goals takes priority. Choose. In addition you could recognize behaviors that support your company culture, like innovation or teamwork. Whatever you choose, it should be clear and well-known to employees. If someone gets recognition for something other’s weren’t aware was a big deal, you didn’t communicate enough.
For the types of recognition, you can always start small with only praise and acknowledgements and expand to tangibles later. Just make sure when you do, that it seems fair and proportionate. You don’t want to give a monetary bonus to someone for doing the same thing someone else did a year ago and that person was only given a “thank you”.
For the third item, deciding who can participate is possibly a no-brainer, because the literature is pointing to the effectiveness of peer-to-peer recognition. Plus, we now have web-based applications –with a similar platform as Facebook– that allow everyone to participate in recognizing others. The apps range in price and capability, and range from free kudosnow.com, to affordable giveawow.com (starts at $99/mo for 50 users) to high end achievers.com.
Of course, these technologies also give you unprecedented ease and speed. Think about it, you could easily recognize an employee in the afternoon for something great they did that same morning. Now, that’s fast.
©Copyright Eva Del Rio
