Will Employee Recognition Programs Truly Make Workers Feel Valued?

Given that 80% of HR professionals recognize employee recognition programs as a highly effective means of improving engagement, it would not be unexpected to see a rising trend in a number of companies engaging in such practices. There are various needs of employees that employers seek to meet, and one of the has come to be employee recognition programs.

As Shawnee Irmen-De Anda the Chief People Officer at Thriveworks observes, praising employees makes them happy and makes them more productive, “Thriveworks launched a peer to peer program “Win of the Week” where the team members commend each other’s efforts domestic or foreign exchange trading whether opening or contributing sales closaggio to efforts or projects.” “Employee recognition programs are a win-win outcome,” Irmen-De Anda recalls.

Yet some do not consider such initiatives as recognition programs in itself would be the magic bullet in ensuring the employees are constantly engaged. Roger Gerard, a management and executive consultant and author of Lead With Purpose, challenges the notion there is always one person who is an employee and one who is merely at the employer’s end to motivate. "Motivation comes from within," Gerard asserts. He makes it clear there is a thin line between what this society terms as incentives and what true recognition should be and by all means inspirational. Referring to a book written by one Alvin Kohn entitled Punished by Rewards, Gerard is of the opinion that people are more or less useless when other things including money and praise are used as motivating centers.

Perceptions, held by Giftpack which is engaged in the mechanism of gifting via reward points, are never the same. Co founder and chief executive raised in Taiwan Archer Chiang thinks that bringing back “gold stars” taps into the fun childhood reminiscences making this recognition aspect more personal which millennials and generation Z tend to appreciate. For them, this form of recognition does wonders in lifting their self-esteem and is suitable to them.

Alongside such success, Nectar recognition management has also served clients such as the Society for Human Resource Management and Major League Baseball. Such docs show that 70% of employeesare less likely to leave the job if they feel appreciated. Workhuman, a company that incorporates customer engagement through fun programs puts their money where their mouth is and does not hesitate to make this offer as they seek out clients.

However, these ideas have not found widespread acceptance among people who do not pay monetary rewards. Employees appreciate a direct impact of peer to peer thank you’s Uncle Tom’s influence in metrics is typical and probably seeks more activity from the employers. Like treats for children, Chiang also observes that it is important for organizations managers to set objectives in regard to the schedule of giving various recognition.

It is possible to benefit oneself by adopting recognition at the generation level. For instance, while the case is that the Boomers would prefer awards in the formal naming formal compliments, members of the generation Z would prefer badges and earning rewards through gami?ed systems.

Whatever the case, Brittany Barhite from Firstup points out how wearing their employees’ respect is cardinal. “When they feel appreciated, the employees put in more effort, they remain on the job for a bigger chunk of their life span, and they are contented to a bigger extent,” she says.

Conclusion: Although there are differences and how well recognition programs are executed recognition programs remain an essential feature of HR strategies today. If you want those members of your team who will be fully engaged, Tina Burke and Surinder Kaila at Burke Recruiting Inc. are ready to assist you with the right candidates necessary for accomplishing your business needs. Further information on how we will assist you in your recruiting process may be obtained from burkerecruiting.com.

Reference: Will HR-led 'gold star' programs make employees feel more appreciated? - WorkLife