When you are trying to get the best out of your employees then it becomes very important that you appreciate their effort, time and again. Employee appreciation or recognition awards play a major role here.
This will instill the faith in the employees that their hard work is not going unnoticed instead if they work hard then it is helping them to grow in their career. There will be no one in the business who doesn’t like to grow and when you achieve what you really deserve then the taste of success becomes even sweeter.
Once they get into the habit of performing well, then they will be competing against themselves, trying to prove a point and raise the bar for themselves in order to be a leader rather than a follower.
Appreciating the effort doesn’t always mean that you have to do that in terms of money, instead you can also do that by providing some special incentives and employee gifts.
Even a small thing like, when someone is working hard to get the project completed within the deadlines, then make sure that he gets a day off the next day making him realize that he is being taken care of, as much as he is taking care of the company.
When the employees put the best foot forward to get things done and make the company earns profit, then it is equally important for the company to understand that they need to take care of the employees as well, or else the employees will lose out the motivation from inside and won’t take much effort in doing things passionately anymore. Today we will be discussing 50 ways of employee appreciation and recognition ideas.
If you are thinking that money will be the best compensation, then you are wrong because it is a matter of few days and the money will be gone instead you must make ways for some innovative way of surprising your hard working employee.
Something which will not only make them feel special but will also motivate them enough to get back to work again and challenge his own limitations. Following mentioned are some employee appreciation quotes sayings which help you more.
50 Creative Ways to Show Employee Appreciation and Recognition:
1. Recognition and appreciation mail to employee:
As soon as you are aware of any special initiative by an employee because of whom the company has made some profit or the productivity has increased, then don’t hesitate to mail to that particular employee keeping the Managers and executives in the loop about his hard work and presence of mind.
Through this mail, praise him for his effort and it will always make him feel good when he will notice that his hard work has been appreciated and is conveyed to every concerned person.
2. Make special appreciation column in the newsletter:
If your office brings out regular newsletter then make sure to come out with a special mention of names who have worked towards the increase of productivity helping the company in reaching their goals. Not only the Managers, even if a fellow colleague will also have something to say about the employee, then it will boost his confidence even more. You can also give them special appreciation certificates which every employee loves to achieve.
3. Showcasing their new talent:
You need to make sure that you encourage employees to come out with ideas to improve the process and help others to achieve the target as efficiently as other experts. Listen out and appreciate when someone is out with an idea to improve others performances.
4. Pamper your employees sometimes:
If your employees have been working really hard then make sure that they get proper relaxation too, and for that you will have to pamper them sometimes with an extra – break or a long lunch so that they have the time to unwind and when they are back to work then they will give more than 100% in whatever they do. You can call this as “Pamper Employee Program” 🙂
5. Getting them noticed:
In order to make their effort public what you can do is pin in a Thank You note in the place where everybody will notice like a lobby and don’t forget to mention the name and what he did in brief.
6. Freebies can work too
You can buy some freebies for your employees and distribute them so that they can enjoy it and work better in order to get more of it in near future.
7. Help them in moving
If someone is moving to a new place make sure that you take care of the basics for them so that he can take care of the work in his office peacefully without worrying about anything else.
8. Pets can help too
If someone is fond of their pets, then you can arrange a day when they can bring their pets and get them introduced to their colleagues. Some people are too attached to their pets, therefore when the company becomes sensitive towards them, then it motivates them to work better.
9. Flexibility benefits for employees are key as well
Allowing an efficient team to choose their working hours will only help you get increased productivity as they will be working in the office when they can concentrate fully on their work without worrying much about anything back home.
10. Casual Fridays can boost employee morale
Wearing formals can be boring, so let the employees let their hair down one day and enjoy their casuals.
11. Announce an Employee Appreciation fun pizza party
These employee appreciation ideas will help you to bring the team together on the same table once in a while and also make sure that they have fun and break the monotony of the office hours. These are good ways to show appreciation towards their employees.
12. Surprise birthday parties for employees
Make a list of your employees with their birthdays and ensure that they are provided some gifts along with a cake. These birthday gifts for an employee will always make you feel special.
13. Bonuses or Cash incentives for employees are always good
Cash reward has always been on the list since time immemorial and it is a good way to motivate your employees as well. These employee incentives help them know that the company takes good care of them.
14. Standing ovation
When your peer group gives you a standing ovation along with the Managers, then there is nothing more than that. It boosts up the confidence and makes you a confident person and this gives you enough reason to cheer for, as an employee.
15. Swapping task
Get into their shoes for a week or share their task and make them realize that you are fully aware of how hard their work is.
16. Dedicated wall
In your office dedicate a wall which will feature the name of the top performer.
17. Their favorites
Know what their favorites are and every time they work hard or achieve something give them their favorite thing. These small things add up in a bigger way.
18. Movie ticket
Provide the movie ticket of the recent hit film and let them enjoy during workdays only.
19. Monthly subscription
Get them the subscription of the magazine they are fond of as this will remind them of the appreciation they got due to their hard-work.
20. Arrange for concert ticket
A concert ticket is a great way of appreciating your employees’ hard work and if you can make the band shout out for them then you are a winner.
21. Family day
Make the family of the employee understand how much you value them as an employee and reach out to them with a thank you card.
22. Double treat
Make every break of theirs double for not only a day but for a week.
23. Trying out luck
Buy some lottery tickets and distribute amongst your employees as rewards for employees and ask them to try their luck if they win then the amount is entirely theirs.
24. Recording appreciation message
There are several photo frames which allow you to record messages in your own voice. So in the frame goes the appreciation certificate and in the recorder, leave a message appreciating the hard work. Keep it on the table and surprise your employee.
25. Employee of the month rewards
Start rewarding employee of the month with additional perks like extra hours of break or flexible working hours for a month. This employee rewards and recognition in the workplace will inspire others to perform better too so that they can also enjoy these kinds of perks.
26. Appreciating talent
They can be talented in any field, therefore when you are appreciating their hidden talent like winning any competition or even if they are on a strict diet and have lost weight, then appreciate their effort to make them feel important.
27. Go on the web
Put their name and achievement along with their picture on the official website, making every employee across the world know about their achievement.
28. Barbecues and fun
Even invite their families over for barbecue and fun party so that all the employees can enjoy their time.
29. Know them personally
When you need to work with them and extract the best performance out of them, then it is very important that you know them personally. Nothing better than a cup of coffee for this purpose.
30. Call by name
When you identify them by their name then it becomes much more personal and they will start getting involved in the betterment of the process personally as we all love to be called by our name instead of Ms. Mr. or Mrs.
31. Bragging made legal
Have a board where people will be allowed to brag about what they did which helped the company and if they want they can also praise their colleagues too.
32. Arranging appreciation quotes from colleagues
It is always nice to see that your colleagues telling some nice thing about you. So you can arrange for a white T-shirt and make all the colleagues write two words about their fellow colleague and sign it.
When everybody is done with it, then hand it over to the concerned person. It will surely touch the heart of the employee and they will love to keep on working hard.
33. Surprise achievement party
If one of the employees has been promoted then arrange a surprise party in the office itself with some snacks and beverages.
34. Engaging thought process for development
You can carry out suggestion program where you will need to ask your employees to submit ideas that he thinks will be helpful for the company.
35. Assignments as per choice
If someone has performed better then provide him the authority to choose his next assignments instead of you choosing it for him.
36. Special meeting invitation
Include them in meetings which they in general must not be a part of like the high official meetings. This will give them an insight into what is happening in the company at present.
37. Let them decide what fun activities they want
Do not dictate terms when it comes to having fun instead ask the employees to decide what they want and act accordingly.
38. Be attentive
Make your employee understand that they are important by listening to them or even by smiling at them or wishing them whenever you meet them. This way the employees will feel that you know about their existence.
39. Build the bridge
There should be a bridge between the top management and the staff so that both of them can communicate with each other efficiently. If they perform well, arrange a lunch with the President of the company so that everybody gets motivated to work better.
40. Nickname as per preference
If the work is boring, then make the environment full of energy by giving nicknames to the people as per their preferences.
So, if someone loves the movie Caribbean Pirates then give him this nickname only to honor their hard work.
41. Short hours of work
Had a hard day of work last week, then this week ask them to come in late and leave early without getting their pay slip affected.
42. Potluck
Ask everybody to bring in something from the home so that everybody can enjoy their meal together and gel with each other over food.
Apart from that, you can also ask them to bring in some possession of theirs that they would love to share with others.
43. Gifts for hard-work
A handwritten note along with gifts will surely make the day for your employee because he will know that his hard work is not only noticed but is awarded to. These gift ideas for employees will be a great boost to them.
44. The Exposure provided
Include them in official videos to let everybody know about the hard work and this will give them a huge exposure in front of the whole office.
45. Helping hand
Give them a helping hand for a week who will share his workload so that he can enjoy a relaxed day at work.
46. Selection of appreciation
Make everybody write a way of appreciation activities and place it in a jar. Then ask the employee to select one item from there to choose what appreciation they want.
47. Preferable music
Let your employee choose the song he wants to listen for the whole day
48. Watching TV
If any match is coming up and employees want to watch it, then have it as a reward and the employee who has worked efficiently gets to watch the match
49. Train them
It is important that you encourage your employees by training them in the respective field
50. Name it after star performer
Name an award after the name of a star performer to show your appreciation of the hard work and dedication he has shown.
