16 Thoughtful Employee Recognition &Engagement Ideas for 2019
It pays to be great at employee recognition.
Organizations with a strong system to engage their staff enjoy more grounded commitment, a more positive morale, better client administration, and lower turnover.
Recognizing accomplishment can have genuine ROI – to the tune of 50% higher efficiency and as much as 20% expansion in business results.
Sounds like an easy decision, right? Well, all things considered, it’s not as simple as it seems.
For this to be successful, you have the right employee recognition app for your organization. To do that, it helps to get a better picture of employee engagement and how it works, first.
So…
It’s as much art as science, and the best recognition tactics do something no tchotchke or gift card ever can – they make employees feel valued, respected, and even loved.
The creative employee recognition examples and staff appreciation ideas below come from real companies that know a thing or two about making their employees feel cherished.
What is employee acknowledgment?
Employee acknowledgement concerns recognizing the diligent work and achievements of the people and groups inside your association. It’s essentially about making an emotional connection with your staff and your organization, all while supporting the work your employees do and remaining true to your organization’s qualities.
It’s as much art as science, and the best acknowledgment strategies accomplish something no Tchotchke or gift voucher ever can – they make representatives feel esteemed, regarded, and even adored.
The innovative employee engagement Ideas and employee appreciation examples below have been provided by real organizations that know the ins and outs of appreciating their employees:
16 Employee Recognition & Appreciation Ideas:
1. Awarding Points
Starting off the list is the Reward feature of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App, a mobile platform that employees can use to send points to each other to acknowledge their daily accomplishments.
One of the best parts of this feature is that you can exchange your points for a wide range of prizes, such as gift cards, cash or awesome gadgets!
Click here to learn more about how the Rewards feature works.
2. Keep a Good Book
They say the knights of the old times logged good deeds in books for future reference.
At Cloud 9 Living, company co-founder Bobby Augst keeps a book of a similar kind to acknowledge the good deeds of his staff:
“One employee recognition tactic that we have found effective is our ‘G’ Book.
The ‘G’ Book is a book of ‘Good Stuff’ that all employees are encouraged to write in recognizing team members for accomplishments – whether personal or work-related. Every week at an all company meeting we read aloud the past week’s ‘G Book’ entries.
It’s a great way to call out employee accomplishments that otherwise may go unnoticed, and it also empowers employees to recognize each other for accomplishments, as opposed to management always being the only ones providing recognition.”
The Recognition function of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App makes keeping a Good Book quick, fun and easy. Click here to learn more about it.
3. Scale staff recognition with a Recognition App
Internationally, people regard Yankee Candle as the creators of the “World’s Best Loved Candles.”
Within the company walls, the organization esteem themselves as the keepers of the “World’s Best Loved Employees.” When the organization grew globally, its employee acknowledgement plans lost confidence as many employees received chief milestone gifts in the mail, without a human touch.
The answer?
Providing all managers and staff with an employee recognition functionality that is easily accessible and not devoid of the human factor.
The Recognition function of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App does just that.
Click here to learn more about it.
4. Test recognition ideas by surveying your employees
Geocaching, the business behind the real-world treasure hunting mobile app, knows how to make their employees feel like treasures, too.
Laura Hughes, the HR Manager, describes how they approach employee appreciation:
“Find out what forms of recognition resonate most with staff members. Often, we equate a streamlined process with effectiveness– with recognition, this couldn’t be further from the truth. If we’re taking only one approach to recognition and thereby missing the mark in how we recognize others, it can be equivalent to not recognizing them at all. Encourage managers to ask employees how they most like to be recognized— you might be surprised at the answers that surface!”
The Survey feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App is easy to use and gathers all your employee’s feedback and suggestions effectively. Click here to learn how it works.
5. Implement a “Go the Extra Mile” Program
Employees in the transport team at the Staten Island University Hospital Radiology Lab have the challenging and draining job of wheeling patients around for tests. When they were missing the mark regarding their goal number of moves every hour, the recognition experts at Michael C. Fina came up with an employee recognition idea that got the hospital results:
the Go the Extra Mile or GEM program.
When a staff member observed another going the extra mile, they would recommend them for a GEM certificate. The program was straightforward and gave the employees credit they could hold in their hands, which went far towards making them feel genuinely valued.
The Recognition feature of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App would make implementing a GEM programme simple and effective. Click here to learn more about it.
6. Acknowledge your team by appreciating their passions
Omelet’s employee acknowledgement idea involves appreciating something at the core of every staff member’s heart: passions. The ad agency has a program called 60/60, which awards staff two hours per week to work on a project they love – and it doesn’t even have to be for a client!
Through the initiative, staff have been able to work on anything from sports sites to food blogs. When you appreciate an employee’s passions, they know you appreciate them as a unique individual.
The Rewards feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App is a great channel to use for appreciating the talents of your colleagues on their passion projects. Click here to learn more about it.
7. Stick to your culture
MINDBODY presents online business management software.
Their aim is to “leverage technology to improve the wellness of the world.”
This aim determines how they treat customers and their employee appreciation ideas.
Jeff Harper, Senior Vice President of People and Culture at MINDBODY, says:
“Employee recognition can have an amazing impact on culture of a company and employee behavior when done well. With all the various ways to approach employee recognition, one of the most important things to remember in developing a recognition program is: be true to who you are.
At MINDBODY our culture is core to everything we do, so we build our employee recognition programs to align with our company values. This approach helps connect employees’ behaviors to what we believe, while strengthening our brand.
For example, we are a purpose-driven organization focused on improving the wellness of the world. It’s an integral part of our own Core Values and Culture, and one that we offer to other companies through our Connect Workplace Program. This program provides employers with the opportunity to reward their employees and keep them engaged by promoting healthy behavior via the services of the nation’s largest network of wellness practitioners!”
Aligning your staff recognition initiatives to your culture is crucial, and sometimes the best ideas of doing this can be found within the workforce.
The survey feature of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App can collect your staff’s feedback and suggestions effortlessly. Click here to learn more about how it works.
8. Utilize your website
Your organization’s website is prime real-estate.
Why not devote a part of it to your hard-working staff?
Ground Floor Media, a Denver-based communications business, dedicates a substantial segment of their homepage space for staff stories.
The Recognition feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App would be an ideal channel to use for gathering this information to populate to your website. Click here to learn more.
9. Hold a “Crush-It” Call
The “Crush-It” Call is a customary tradition at Snacknation, an organization that sells and delivers healthy snacks to offices.
Each Friday afternoon, the team clusters together and goes around the room stating 2 things:
1. “Crush” a colleague whose work you want to acknowledge and why.
2. Something you are thankful for.
It’s a great opportunity for people to not only acknowledge each other and leverage positive thinking, but also bring hard work to the attention of the team.
Sometimes getting together can hold some challenges for everyone in the team.
The Activity Feed of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App makes instant messaging and “Crush-It” calls simple and fun. Learn more about it here.
10. Gift custom action figures
RoundPegg is an organization that focuses on culture and engagement.
They know how to keep staff acknowledgment ideas from getting stale inside their very own walls by offering each new employee their own one of a kind action figure.
The Reward feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App has many other ways of creating incentive amongst employees. Click here to see what they are.
11. Make employee appreciation part of your lingo
Sometimes a simple thank you is all it takes.
The Activity Feed feature of the Ezzely Employee Recognition Apphas a chat functionality that enables instant messaging to everyone in the organisation. This way, you can thank your colleagues on the go, and everyone in the team is also aware of the awesome job they’ve done.
Click here to learn more about how it works.
12. Celebrate more!
Alexander Kjerulf, also known as the Chief Happiness Officer, offered his take on employee recognition:
“Companies need to focus less on rewarding performance (which has actually been shown to reduce intrinsic motivation) and start celebrating performance. This can be done in many ways, but the point is to highlight and appreciate employees and teams who have made a spectacular effort, have achieved great results or helped others achieve them. Celebrating success is fun and energizing and shows employees that their efforts are being seen by leaders and by their peers.”
The Rewards feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App has numerous different ways of celebrating performance. Click here to learn more about it.
13. Try random acts of fun
You can most likely envision that working for a brewery is entertaining. When it comes to Deschutes Brewery, you’re completely right. Pat Gerhart, the HR Director, supports fun activities that praise everyone at the organization.
“At Deschutes Brewery, our representative acknowledgment program isn’t explicitly intended to feature one individual or little gathering, however to make support for our workplace in general, for everybody. For instance, we frequently do what could be called ‘irregular demonstrations of fun’.
Is there snow? We should complete a snow shoe climb with a barrel of lager and burritos at the haven bon fire. It’s a pleasant summer evening? How about we support co-proprietors for a nearby run/walk and have a fabulous time together with a lager and sharing stories after the occasion. Are a pack of crazed cyclists around the local area? We should convey our cyclocross group to join the fun and rivalry and host the greatest get-together Bend sees every year to celebrate!
We like to experience our basic beliefs—and this would reflect ‘Praise the way of life of specialty brew’.”
The Activity Feed of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App makes arranging and coordinating these acts of fun simple and easy. Click here to familiarize yourself with some of its features.
14. Forget performance, recognize holistic achievements
A few organizations acknowledge their workers for achieving organizational objectives. Others remember them for achieving individual objectives.
Ergodyne, a producer of protective equipment, boosts representatives by appreciating them when they achieve their very own wellness objectives. This reminds everyone that the organization has invested them as individuals, and not simply as worker bees.
The Rewards feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App streamlines acknowledging your colleagues on their own achievements. Learn more about it how it works here.
15. Recognize their other talents
You can probably appreciate the fact that your colleagues have gifts beyond what they contribute in the office. OpenDNS offers web security solutions, but they recognize their staff by exhibiting their internal creativity through a staff acknowledgment program called the “OpenDNS Art Experience.”
Through the program, the organization shows their staff that they admire their gifts in things like music, craftsmanship, and dancing.
The Rewards feature of the Ezzely Employee Recognition App streamlines acknowledging your colleagues on their talents. Learn more about it how it works here.
16. Recognize the value of helping others
Limeade’s office rewards initiative involves acknowledging staff who help others.
Their “Make Others Great” monthly reward acknowledges a staff member who embodies the sort of cooperation and collaboration it takes to help make others extraordinary.
The Recognition feature of the Ezzely Employee Engagement App is easy to access and use for recognizing your colleagues on helping others. Click here to learn more.
Last note:
Are you ready to start engaging and appreciating your employees today?
We invite you to try Ezzely. Just click here to see how it works or sign up fora free trial here.