10 ideas for recognising employees that go above and beyond.

Recognition of employees is important for many reasons.

Acknowledging the efforts and contributions of your employees shows them that you appreciate their work. Appreciation encourages them to continue striving to do their best.

Recognition also helps to retain your employees, as people are more likely to stay somewhere where they feel appreciated and valued.

Additionally, regularly recognising your employees can help you identify stars that might otherwise go unnoticed so that you can recognise and develop them further.

If you’re struggling to think of ways to recognise your employees but don’t want to write a list of ideas with just one on it, then we have you covered!

Here are 10 ideas for recognising your team members that go above and beyond:

 

Create a recognition framework.

Before you can start handing out recognitions, you need to have a clear idea of what recognition is, how it will be given, and what it means for employees.

A recognition framework is a great way to create a standard and consistent way of showing your employees that you appreciate them. It can include information such as what the recognitions are called, the criteria that an employee must meet to receive one, and any rewards the employee will receive as a result of the recognition.

You can also include things like who is responsible for giving the recognitions and how often they are given.

Creating a recognition framework can help ensure that your recognitions are consistent and that employees know exactly what they mean. It can also help employees understand how the recognition process works so that they know how to go about giving and receiving recognition.

 

Create a 'recognition toolkit' for your employees.

A recognition toolkit is a collection of ideas that you can use to show your employees that you appreciate them.

It can include things like a list of praise quotes, examples of different types of recognitions you can give, a list of examples of contributions you can celebrate, and more.

A recognition toolkit can help ensure that you don’t run out of ideas when it comes time to recognise your employees. It can also help you think of ways to recognise employees that you might not have considered otherwise.

Having a toolkit of ideas at your fingertips can help you come up with recognitions that are meaningful and relevant. It can also help you avoid feeling like you are just repeating the same thing over and over.

 

Tell employees you’re proud of their work.

Showing your employees that you are proud of their work and their accomplishments is an excellent and easy way to recognise them.

You can do this by regularly praising your employees for their great work and by letting them know that you are proud of them. You can do this in person, over email, or in a company-wide meeting. Praising employees can be as simple as telling them that you appreciate their work, congratulating them on a job well done, or letting them know that you’re impressed with their contributions.

It’s a simple idea, but one that many managers still forget to action.

 

Recognise great actions in company news and emails.

If an employee does something really great that you want to recognise, do it publicly.

Calling them out the company news or general company emails is a great idea for recognition. It not only gives them the social credit for their achievement but shows other employees the kinds of actions that are valued.

For example, if someone goes out of their way to help a customer or if someone helps you implement a great new strategy, you can recognise them by mentioning them in company news or by sending out an email with company-wide ending with a line like, “Thank you for going above and beyond!”

Using company news and emails to recognise great actions and accomplishments can help you show employees that you appreciate them and give everyone the chance to celebrate the moment.

 

Highlight achievements with recognition during your company-wide meetings.

If an employee achieves an important milestone or accomplishes something brilliant that you want to recognise, consider this idea - call it out at a company-wide meeting.

You can highlight achievements and accomplishments at company-wide meetings in a few different ways. You can showcase specific achievements and accomplishments during your meeting, or you can include a section in your meeting notes where you call out multiple achievements and allow the whole team to celebrate.

You can also include a section in your meeting notes where employees can recognise each other for their great work. Another option is to give employees the opportunity to submit recognition ideas in advance so that you can share these with the broader team and get everyone involved.

 

Recognise employees with an employee of the year program.

A great way to recognise employees and identify your company’s stars is by holding an employee of the year program.

You can do this annually or on a more frequent basis depending on how often you want to recognise your employees.

An employee of the year program can include things like a special recognition award, a public announcement of the winner, and a company-wide celebration for the employee’s who are nominated or achieve. You can also choose to give other awards as well, such as a special achievement award for someone who has done an exceptional job but did not win the big award. Having an employee of the year program can help you identify your company’s stars and recognise them for their hard work and contributions.

 

Give employees a perk or reward they can enjoy immediately.

Another great way to recognise employees and show them that you appreciate their efforts is by giving them a perk or rewarding them with something they can enjoy immediately.

Rewards can come in many forms, such as points, gift cards, company swag, gift baskets, and more. You can be as creative as you like. Perks are another way to reward, giving employees time and activity based rewards like time off the job, the opportunity to pitch a big idea, time with a mentor or fun activities like yoga classes or choosing the office playlist.

You can give employees rewards for meeting certain milestones or achievements, such as for finishing an important project or obtaining a specific certification. You can also give employees rewards for general reasons, such as thanking them for their hard work and contributions.

Giving your employees perks and rewards is a great way to show them that you appreciate their work and value their contribution.

 

Offer professional development opportunities.

If an employee has done something great, is performing at an exceptionally high level, or has demonstrated that they are ready to take on more challenging tasks or responsibilities, you can offer them a chance to develop their skills. This is a win-win as while the employee will benefit from the new skills and knowledge, the company will too.

You can give employees the opportunity to take classes and attend workshops related to their job and career goals. For example, if an employee is interested in becoming a manager, then you can give them the chance to attend management training courses to help them prepare for that role.

You can also offer employees the opportunity to attend conferences and industry events so that they can learn from and network with other professionals in their industry.

The good news is you can often fund these types of professional development opportunities through your company’s training budget saving more recognition budget for other opportunities.

 

Reward employees with paid time off.

Another great way to show your employees that you appreciate their work and that you want to reward them is by offering them paid time off.

Paid time off is a great form of recognition that many companies offer employees in recognition of their contribution. You can give employees time off in a few different ways.

You may choose to give employees a perk for time off the job – 2 hours to pick their children up from school, a day for personal admin, etc. You may also choose to recognise milestones like birthdays or service milestones with additional time off that can be used on the day or added to their leave balance.

Either way, offering your employees paid time off shows that you appreciate their work and that you are grateful for their contributions.

 

Celebrate the contributions and hard work of your entire team with a company-wide event.

On top of regularly recognising your employees and giving them rewards, you can also celebrate the contributions and hard work of your entire team with some type of company-wide event.

You can hold a team recognition event, throw a team party, or organise any other type of event that you want to do for your team. You can also host a team-wide offsite meeting at a rented space or at a hotel. 

You can use these events to celebrate your team members’ work, to recognise their accomplishments and contributions, and to celebrate the progress that one team or the whole company has made.

Events like this are also a great opportunity to reflect on the past year and think of ways to improve and build on that moving forward.

To finish.

There are lots of ways to recognise your team and show you value them. Whether you take all of these recognition ideas, or just a couple, implementing a consistent approach to recognition will have a powerful impact for your employees and your overall results.