Five Key Elements for a Successful Employee Recognition Program

By Dana Haase, Director of Project Management – Communications Strategy and Editorial
August 10, 2020

A strong employee recognition program can play a powerful role in an organization’s employee retention efforts.

Consider these statistics from a study conducted by Survey Monkey and Bonusly:  

• 82% of people consider recognition an important part of their happiness at work
• 63% of people who are “always” or “usually” recognized at work consider themselves “very unlikely” to seek a new job in the next 3-6 months 

Couple the above data points with the high cost of employee turnover and it’s clear the stakes are high for getting your employee recognition program right.   

What does a successful program look like? Here are five key elements for building a solid employee recognition program:  

1. Make sure your program is global.

Think outside geographical borders and specific office locations. Your program also needs to be inclusive of remote employees and non-desk workers. Be prepared to find innovative ways to make recognition visible and tangible to recipients regardless of where they are located or their role.  

2. Tie employee recognition back to your culture and values.  

Base the criteria for earning rewards on behaviors and actions that support your company’s core values.  This will make your program relevant to all employees and recognition achievable regardless of an individual’s specific job responsibilities.   

3. Make it timely.  

There’s a reason etiquette dictates sending thank you notes promptly after receiving a gift. When gratitude is expressed in a timely manner it feels more genuine and carries more weight. Structure your program so employees can quickly and easily be recognized “in the moment.”  At SPI Group, we show appreciation for one another by sending a “SPI Five,” a brief message that highlights how the team member went above and beyond for a client or colleague.  

4. Rewards must be applicable to everyone.  

The rewards offered should be universal benefits that all employees can enjoy.  We see the greatest success in programs that offer choices; often this is via a points-based system where employees can redeem points for a broad range of shopping, dining, entertainment, and travel experiences.  Cash rewards and paid time off are also options that are applicable to all employees.   

If you’re not sure what perks your employees value the most, ask them.  A short survey can be a path to building your program in collaboration with your employees and provide valuable insight into where you should direct your budget.  

5. Peer-to-peer recognition. 

Move beyond the top-down construct for recognition. When crafting their Finance Team Leadership Award program, our client empowered employees to nominate their peers. By allowing employees to both give and receive recognition, you’ll broaden the reach of your program and strengthen employee relationships.  

With these five elements at the core of your employee recognition program, your program will have a positive impact on employee engagement and retention — and that’s a reward in itself.