HR Insights
What should I include in an employee recognition program?
A well-designed employee recognition program will have several benefits for your business. Learn about the types of recognition it should include.
HR Insights
A well-designed employee recognition program will have several benefits for your business. Learn about the types of recognition it should include.
Isabel García
HR Consultant
3 of March, 2021
An employee recognition program is far from a pointless investment. Just like employee wellness programs, a recognition program can do wonders to improve your employer brand. It also has the benefit of increasing productivity as well as boosting employee engagement. In this article, we explain what makes a good employee recognition program and what it should entail.
You should tailor your employee recognition program so that it increases productivity and motivation without causing envy or aggressive competition. It is also important to cover mid-term as well as long-term recognition with different initiatives.
Moreover, a good employee recognition program shouldn’t be time-consuming. The key then is to automate most of the processes so that running the program doesn’t take up too much of your HR employees’ time. Sesame’s HR suite offers you all the tools you need to make all HR processes go as smoothly as possible, including delivering awards to your best employees.
There are two main types of employee recognition: structured and unstructured. Both types have their advantages and limitations, and both contain key elements to a successful recognition program.
This type of recognition is formal and planned. Structured recognition happens at regular times, for instance every month for certain events. It takes the form of ceremonies where managers praise and reward employees for various achievements. Structured recognition is infrequent because of its formal nature, but is still a great way to motivate employees in the long term.
There are several ways to include structured employee recognition in your program:
While structured award systems are great to maintain motivation in the long term, unstructured initiatives offer more frequent and spontaneous recognition. Moreover, in this case recognition doesn’t come only from the top, but is given between peers. It does create the risk of employees lacking objectivity and praising only their friends. But you can avoid this issue with good management.
Unstructured employee recognition can take the following forms: