Employee Recognition Strategies to Know Before Launching your Program

The sole purpose of the employee recognition program is to motivate staff to put on their best self to work. Corporate cultures can be stressful sometimes and can put a toll on mental as well as physical health.

With an employee recognition program, CEO or corporate leaders can uplift the spirit of employees and build a positive environment for them to work. It is also an efficient way to embrace company principles or positive impact on staff members.

The benefits of Employee recognition programs are many, but before you implement it is better to create a plan which makes executing better. In this article, we will take you through some of the beneficial employee recognition strategies to launch the program effectively.

What is Employee Recognition Programs

Employee recognition programs, if executed well, can harness the belief of gratitude and trust among employees. Hence, leaders need to recognizing employees.

Leaders running an enterprise or even a startup cannot just go and praise their employees. Everything is systemized and employee appreciation is no expectation. This is done through an employee recognition program that comes in all shapes and sizes.

A recognition platform can be strategized according to your objectives. Some programs or gestures promote short-term motivation while some boost long-term motivation. The best approach for a leader would be to have a mix of both action plans. 

 What Strategies to Consider before Launching the Program

1.   Bring on your Creativity to put your Brand Image in the Program

One of the most overrated methods of branding that we often see in a corporate or business environment is to put a logo on a certificate beside the recipient name. It is high time to stop this overly used personalization and offer clients something valuable.

Use brand elements that truly represent your brand personality to your employees. There are multiple ways for that, such as brand colors, language and tone of you or the brand, designs, and other elements.

2.   Curate a communication plan to share in advance

A pre-planned communication draft will make sure you convey the right message to your staff. It is important to share the program information with all your employees which also includes the management and support team. And this is the reason why Employee Recognition is Important. This is beneficial to your organization in two major ways: 

1. Everyone is clear with the objectives 

2. It entails excitement in team members for recognition and hence improves work efficiency and business results.

Once you have drafted your message the next important step is delivering it to your team members. So how do you do that? The good news is there are not one or two but many ways you can share recognition messages, let’s have a look.

• Share it on the email newsletter

• Use traditional advertising ways like flyers and handouts

• Scheduled emails to employees informing them about the program in advance

• Have an announcement in your team meetings and conferences

• Familiarize managers or senior executives with recognition programs early on through deliverables

These are some of the powerful things to get your team excited for the recognition award program. However, you have to make sure there is enough participation because they are the main actors for the program.

For those who use the recognition tool, many of the above elements will be already available for you to use.

3.   Introduce your People to your Audience

When you put images of your employees on your website instead of using stock images - it creates a great impact of your brand on your audience as well as your employees. You can post photos of your team on any platform your brand is active, be it social media, eCards, blogs, and more. It will be more engaging than the stock images.

4.   Unleash the power of Video for Real Leverage the power of video

Video is all over the internet, it is the most engaging content format that every business now uses to create all employee engagement. So why not use the power of videos in your employee recognition strategy!

You can make a short video clip on your employees or how they are adding value to your organization. You can even interview your loyal employees who have been with your organization for a prolonged time. It is a powerful approach to telling your staff how valuable they are for your company.

You don’t need to worry about filming video content, you don’t need any professionals. A short video taken from a mobile phone that is well-edited can also very well draw the attention of people.

5.   Ensure you have the Flexibility to Modify the Recognition Program as you go

Creating a timely recognition strategy is not a one-time thing. It needs constant updating as per new norms or work culture. Hence you must use an adaptable platform.

A strategic employee recognition program needs to be continuously improved, which means you’ll need a platform with the flexibility to adapt to your company’s needs.

For instance, a newbie company or startup does not require a large recognition program, they can start with a smaller program.

However, when the organization grows it will have to scale the program and so they need to have the flexibility to expand its program for the future. One of the useful ways to opt is the SaaS platform as it is highly flexible for change and gives you a chance to utilize various SaaS marketing strategies on the go. 

Measure and Report Results:

Recognition programs need monitoring after it is implemented because that entails workforce relevancy. You may be wondering how you measure this program. Think no more as we have simplified solutions. All you need to do is ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you being fair on the employee’s rewards, is it appropriate and adequate for your team?

• What is the opinion of your employees on the program? Do they find it meaningful?

• How often does your staff gain recognition?

• Have you informed your team members about the program with accuracy?

• What changes has the program has brought to your organization? Did it affect the initiation or work efficiency?

• How can you better the program, later on?

Conclusion:

Once you have created your strategies and have implemented the program, it’s time for you to evaluate them. Share the program’s data with the stakeholder. Analyze it thoroughly so you can improve it better. The process will be easier when you work with a SaaS provider, here you have access to the reports that are a great help in the process.

About Author: Ankit Thakor is a marketer by trade and a football player by passion. He is a Saas Marketing Specialist at SoftwareWorld. He specializes in using compelling content to capture consumer dollars for world-class SaaS brands, including Zoho, Freshworks, ClickUp, and more.