How to Recognize and Reward Employees in the New Year
With the New Year approaching it’s the right time for organizations to consider their employees’ effort and plan purposeful strategies to incentivize them. Rewarding employees’ efforts is a way to boost morale, and make productivity, employees on board and loyalty higher. Here is how to celebrate your team and move to the New Year with positive energy;
1. Personalized Appreciation
Specific appreciation is what is valued most of the time leaving the generic compliment of praise overlooked. Remember to also make your recognition as formal as possible. They may include a heartfelt message on a greeting card, a verbal appreciation in front of the team members or one on one conversation, using contribution specific appreciation proves you are appreciating the effort contributed.
For example, instead of saying, “Good job,” be specific: ‘This was due to your creativity in redesigning the client’s website and thus enhancing the user base for our company considerably’. Many thanks for your imagination and hardwork.”
2. Workplace recognition and reward programs, Specifically, peer recognition programs
Promote employee recognition by starting the workforce recognition programs across the company. Examples of such tools are Kudos or bots in the Slack messenger that help employees to appreciate their colleagues. This not only enhances the key competency of teaming, but also fosters recognition of others initiative and contributions in the organization.
3. Offer Flexible Rewards
This implies that not all the workers have similar preferences for incentives. First, what works to one employee may not work well for another; some may find additional paid leave more appealing than others free gifts or vouchers, or career enhancement, or health care. Instead, you need to survey your employees with the intention of identifying what they would love to have as their reward. Having the choices in place makes the reward system to be meaningful and also inclusive for all the employees.
4. Host a New Year Celebration
Start the new year with a party to celebrate the accomplishments of your employees for the previous year. Whether the occasion is virtual event or team lunch or a New Year glamorous party, make it special. At the times of the accomplishment, it is important to focus on achievements, present trophies, and reveal one’s vision of the further work in order to motivate a team.
5. The need to build engagement channels that offer opportunities for growth.
Valuing your employees and recommending them for training based on their capability is one of the greatest things to do. Promote skills development by providing workshops, certification, or training or consideration mentees programs. These feelings can be long-term as well as beneficial to the employees and your organizational culture when the growth of its employees is encouraged.
6. Celebrate Success Magnificently
Organizing public recognition such as, through company’s newsletter, social media such as LinkedIn or even word of mouth to announce success errands achieved by your co-workers will go a long way in uplifting your co-workers morale. Public recognition enhances the self-esteem of workers and makes your business firm appreciated for its workers.
7. Taking advantage of Surprise and Delight.
Any unanticipated movement has potential to already greatly influence the situation. Leave small gifts for your employees like a box of chocolate, coffee token or a free day off for your employee. Such gestures let them know that much as officials may not find it necessary to formally acknowledge them for their work; they are not forgotten.
8. Get Commitment and Feedback
Practical appreciation is not only about offering gifts but also about valuing people’s opinions. Develop structures that will allow employees to express themselves in terms of opinions and ideas to forward to the company. Thank and respond to them on the extent that they want their work to be valued more than doing extra house chores.
9. Celebrate Milestones
Do not wait for an appraisal to take place for one to appreciate an employee. Hooray work anniversaries, project milestones, or even your friend’s birthday or favorite team member’s promotion. These instances help to build the bond with the employees and increases identity with the organization.
10. Establish a Clear Recognition Program
While random awards are nice, everyone wants to have a solid structured program in place. A clear path on how they can gain a form of recognition, what rewards will be provided and the frequency at which the rewards will be provided should also be established. Everyone should be treated equally and transparency fosters that kind of environment where everybody trusts each other at the workplace.
11. Prioritize Wellness
The New Year is a good time to focus on employees’ health and welfare. Offer programs such as gym, psychologist’s appointments or healthy resort stays. Understanding the significance of their health and welfare is a gift that employees will acknowledge most.
12. Incorporate Gamification
How about making the process of recognition rewarding and fun? Set targets and provide scores that represent them, badge your incentives or use points which employees can exchange for a variety of incentives. This is true because gamification and friendly competition make recognition fun, and fun recognition is exciting.
