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Tip #7 to Improve Employee Engagement

According to Gallup's analysis, only one in three workers in the U.S. agree that they received recognition or praise for doing good work in the past seven days. At any given company, it's not uncommon for employees to feel that their best efforts are routinely ignored. Further, employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they'll quit in the next year (Gallup. "Employee Recognition: Low Cost, High Impact") 

Tip #7: Take Your Employee Recognition To The Next Level (#YouBetterRecognize)

If your organization does not have a formal employee recognition program, create a free one that works for your employees. Employee recognition is about giving positive feedback based on results, performance, or major milestones. Timely, sincere, and authentic recognition drives employee engagement and overall team performance.

Below are a few cost effective (or #$Free99) ways for leaders to recognize their employees... 

  • Write a handwritten recognition letter and mail the letter to your employees' homes
  • Send a recognition email to the team
  • Create a recognition wall in a high-traffic employee work space (e.g., break room, cafeteria)
  • Post recognition messages on personal social media pages
    • Disclaimer: Leaders should reference their organization's social media policy before posting
    • Photos and/or short videos with the employee being recognized will drive more traffic
    • Include a high-level recognition summary in the comments
    • Include #hashtags to increase views
    • Good #hashtags = #MotivationMonday or #MondayMotivation, #YouRock, #YouNailedIt, #UraRockStar, #TBT or #ThrowBackThursday, #FBF or #FlashbackFriday
    • #Hashtags to avoid = #MCM, #WCW, #AnyHashtagWithBae :-)
Formal Employee Recognition Programs

A simple Google search will give you plenty of leads for employee recognition vendors. Most of the vendors provide exceptional programs and client support. If you are planning to invest in a formal employee recognition program, there are a few insights we encourage you to consider...

  1. Determine your budget (e.g., $25 per employee per year vs. $100 per employee per year). During the request for proposal process (RFP), ask the vendors to provide a few examples of how your employee recognition budget stacks up to your competitors or similarly-sized organizations. 
  2. Solicit feedback from your employees. I know this is stating the obvious, but you would be surprised at the number of employee recognition programs that flop due to misalignment with employee preferences. Remember to recognize in your employees' recognition love language, not senior executives'. 
  3. Develop a comprehensive communication plan. Needless to say, employee recognition programs only work if your employees and leaders know about the program. Make a splash with your communication plan and do not be afraid to relaunch the program if utilization starts out slow. 
  4. Take a detailed look at the reporting functionality. A few of the vendors differentiate themselves by providing world-class reporting and data analytics.  
  5. Embrace continuous improvement. We encourage clients to use the detailed reporting and data analytics to enhance the program over time. Do not get emotionally invested in the initial design because you can always improve it.

Contact IMC at info@imc.consulting if you would like to learn more about our employee engagement and employee recognition support.
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