Employee Incentives and How Social Recognition Can Be Beneficial

Successful companies understand the importance of employee recognition. They understand the value of awarding excellence. Employees offer a wide range of incentives like employee of the month plaques, top salesperson trophies and more. But did you know that social media platforms can be leveraged to the benefit of the company? Social recognition can provide many other modern benefits. It’s a worthwhile investment for businesses of any size.

Benefits Social Recognition Has to Offer

Encourage Employees to Strive for Excellence

Once employees see that others are being recognized opening on social media, it will encourage them to follow suit. Most people enjoy the recognition and praise they receive from jobs well done. They get to enjoy seeing their picture posted on social media and are also encouraged by comments from others who commend them for their hard work. This can be an effective motivator for employees. When others see the comments, it makes them desire to work hard to receive acknowledgement as well.

Improve Employee Retention

When you praise employees more often, it makes keeping them easier. Employees tend to leave for better jobs if they are not recognized for their hard work and dedication at their current job. Statistics show that retaining employees is better for businesses.

Employee retention helps a business in many ways. For instance, there’s no need to spend time recruiting workers to replace the ones who left. There’s also no time needed to train new hires since the employees you have are skilled and doing their jobs well. Valuing hard-working employees that stay is key for making a business thrive.

Track Metrics to Drive Business

You could just randomly mention an employee’s name after they’ve done a job well. But you can get more out of social recognition for employees by setting up a competition that will encourage employees to devote time and energy to their work. For example, use a leaderboard to track sales for each person. The one who has the most sales at the end of the period earns extra incentives and awards and they’ll have their picture posted on the company’s social media pages.

When this is done regularly, you can track metrics. This data can be used to improve your business practices. You can also look at those who regularly spend time at the top of the leaderboard to help you choose end of year award recipients. It can also be useful when it comes time to hand out promotions. If you notice someone is repeatedly at the bottom each period, it may be time to make some cuts. This helps ensure you keep motivated and talented workers at your company.

Affordable Incentive Options

Incentives doesn’t have to be high-value gifts and lavish trips. Of course, it’s great to offer additional awards along with your social media recognition efforts. You can provide incentives that don’t have huge price tags. Consider using awards employees can choose such as having a specific prime parking space or an extra Saturday off. Providing any kind of incentive will be appreciated by employees, including awards, trophies, and certificates.

Peer-to-Peer Recognition Options

If you are a supervisor, manager, or leader in some other capacity of a large company, you may not have the opportunity to spend time with employees, especially while they are working. This is when incorporating a peer-to-peer recognition system may provide a great way to recognize employees. This type of recognition program allows workers to recommend or recognize their peers for taking on the most work, offering guidance, or just being helpful. Peer-to-Peer recognition is often more motivating that other programs because it’s an honor for fellow employees to recognize their hard work.

It’s a great idea to put social recognition at the top of your employee incentive list. It helps you keep track of the best employees in your business, and lets your employees know that they are appreciated. When they understand that what they bring to the table is valued, they will want to continue working for you. It can be as simple as simple posts on Facebook recognizing a team or an individual for outstanding work.