Timeliness is a big component of any successful employee recognition program. After all, the goal is to highlight positive behaviors and achievements while they’re still fresh in your team’s mind. For many companies, that means taking care of monthly, quarterly and yearly recognition benchmarks. If you want to build a culture where peer-to-peer recognition and praise are truly valued, though, you’ll need to go beyond that and set daily recognition benchmarks. Yes, you heard it right. Daily recognition. It might sound like a time-consuming, difficult thing to pull off, but it doesn’t have to be. Effective daily recognition isn’t about spending hours on end plotting and planning. It’s about coming up with strategies that speak to your company culture and that help elevate the values that you want to encourage. Try working a few of these recognition ideas into your daily routine.
1. Greet your employees every day
Greeting your employees by name every day is recognition at its most basic. It might seem simple, but it’s a great way to show your employees that you know who they are and that you’re excited to see them. Of course, you don’t need to lurk in office common areas to greet your employees. Simply schedule time first thing in the morning to drop by every employee’s cubicle or office.
2. Leave a voicemail focused on praise
Many, many employers and managers use voicemail to leave task-oriented directions for specific employees. While that’s a perfectly fine way to use voicemail, consider using it to give praise too. Wait until an employee is out of the office, and then call and leave a message thanking that employee for a job well done. This is a great tool to recognize the daily contributions that really make an impact on your organization. It’s a great way to recognize employees who shy away from the limelight too.
3. Pass on the praise totem
Encouraging peer-to-peer recognition is important. It’s also easy to do on a daily basis. Simply designate a toy or everyday office object as the recognition totem. Get the ball rolling by giving the totem to someone you caught doing a great job. The next day, have that person give the totem to a peer they’d like to recognize. You can keep the recognition totem going for as long as you’d like.
4. Establish a daily catch-up break
Set a time every day when your team can get together and catch up. This is a great time to make announcements and to find out what your employees are working on and what they need help with. It’s also a great time to recognize employees who are going above and beyond. Ask your employees to point out peers who’ve been particularly helpful or creative that day.
5. Give a social media shout-out
If your organization uses Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or an enterprise social network, give a daily shout-out to an employee who deserves to be recognized. This is a great time to praise someone who really excels at customer service, but it’s also a great opportunity to recognize someone who works hard behind the scenes. Make sure to tag the person that you’re recognizing so that they can share the praise with their wider social networks too.
6. Give away a daily treat
You might remember a school teacher giving candy to your well-behaved classmates at the end of the day. A daily treat is something that kids love, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not great for adults too. Giving something as simple as a candy bar to an incredible employee at the end of each day can make a big impact on your overall recognition program. Of course, you should keep a variety of treats on hand that speak to the different tastes of your team.
7. Write and deliver personalized notes
Business communications today tend to revolve around emails, voicemail and text. Break the cycle by giving a handwritten note to an employee who you’d like to recognize. Drop the note off after everyone has gone home at night so that the recipient can enjoy it first thing in the morning. This is a great strategy when you want to recognize someone who doesn’t enjoy being the center of attention.
Conclusion:
Of course, getting daily recognition right is all about tailoring what you’re doing to your organization. After you’ve practiced these recognition strategies for a few weeks, you should step back and take stock. Consider how your employees have responded to them. Identify the strategies that have yielded the best results, and prioritize using them regularly.
Remember that effective daily recognition is also about consistency. It can be hard to take care of recognition every day, but it’s worth making the commitment. If you find it hard to keep track of recognition activities, set up automatic reminders on your calendar or smartphone. After all, daily recognition offers an incredible return on investment. It’s an opportunity that you just can’t afford to miss.
Author name: Andre Janus
Position: Founder/CEO
Andre Janus is founder and CEO of https://www.cristaux.com/The company, based in Elk Grove Village/IL, creates high quality awards, such as employee awards, professional sports awards, statues and sculptures.
