5 Major Mistakes to Avoid with Your Employee Recognition Program

Some estimate that about 80% of today’s employers have some type of employee recognition program in place. An organization or business can realize many benefits when they recognize employees with rewards. Recognition awards help retain your workforce and keep employees engaged and productive. A recognition award program works, as long as you work it right. Here are the five most common mistakes many companies make.

 Mistake 1: Basing the Awards Only on Performance

Even though stellar performance can, and should, be a factor in an employee recognition award program, it shouldn’t be the only basis for the reward. Don’t forget about other principles that deserve to be awarded as well. Consider qualities that align with your company’s culture and goals. For instance, rewarding effort, integrity, and enthusiasm can be aligned with the company’s purpose and goals. By linking the specific goals of the company with the employee recognition program, you can generate both tangle and intangible benefits for the organization.

Mistake 2: Practicing Just Top-Down Recognition

Your organization’s employees like to be recognized by supervisors, HRs and managers. But they also like being recognized by customers and peers. For some employees, these are the most memorable and meaningful types of recognition. With that being said, it’s also important to design a recognition program that uses input from leaders and peers from every area of our organization.

Mistake 3: Not Stating Clear Goals

To have a successful employee recognition rewards program, you can’t “wing it.” The program needs clearly stated goals for employees to achieve. Not only will this provide transparency for all participants, it also help avoid disappointment. The goals for the recognition program should be in place from the start. Is the goal to enhance employee engagement? Do you want to increase retention rates or improve production rates? Perhaps you want to lower absenteeism. You cannot measure the effectiveness of the program without clear cut goas. You, your managers, and your employees need them for the program to be a success. Employees need to be aware of these three things minimally:

• What will employees need to do or complete to qualify for recognition?
• Who reviews and approves the recognition awards?
• What they can expect as the reward for the recognition. (Will it be a trophy, plaque, congratulatory email, or a financial award?)

Mistake 4: Using the Wrong Employee Recognition Rewards Program

It’s wise to spend time planning before rolling out a recognition program your employees won’t engage with. Before spending a lot of time planning, take the time to find out what they would like. Use easy-to-use survey tools like SurveyMonkey to collect data and allow employee input. By investing the time to gather data from employees, it will prevent rolling out a program that will have low or no engagement due to lack of interest.

Mistake 5: Not Making the Recognition Program User Friendly

While you are choosing a perpetual plaque, trophies, or other awards, make sure the program is easy for both employees and managers to access and use. If there are too many steps to follow, it can create a barrier to the recognition program. It’s got to be worth it for employees and managers, and it’s got to be easy to follow through with as well. Managers should be able to do their part without having to chase down numerous approvals. It should just take a simple email or a few clicks.

Let Suburban Custom Awards Help!

You are aware that employee recognition programs provide numerous benefits for your company. Avoiding these common mistakes can help ensure its successful launch and continuance. If you need help choosing and personalizing employee recognition awards, contact Suburban Custom Awards. We can help you reward your star employees with trophies, plaques, and awards. We can also personalize them with engraving and add your company logo. Contact us today!