In workplaces, an employee recognition program is an essential component to build a great workplace culture. However, different categories of rewards and recognition bring a huge difference to encourage employee collaboration and engagement.
An employee recognition program should uphold the culture and dynamics of the organization. Additionally, it should come with tangible rewards to satisfy employees’ tastes and desires. Overall, the award and appreciation approach must show employees that their company cares about them. Therefore, the rewards category varies a lot, even within the company according to employees’ achievements.
Here, we will discuss different categories of rewards and recognition in the workplace.
Different Rewards and Recognition Categories
There are commonly five types of rewards and recognition categories. They are:
- Monetary rewards
- Benefits and perks
- Additional responsibilities
- Position and power
- Affiliation
We will discuss these roles right below.
Monetary Rewards
Monetary rewards have been a proven way to encourage employees for their exceptional achievements. This is the most basic type of reward for employees.
The company can declare a bonus for employees on their monthly or hourly payments. Additional overtime pay and different bonuses are also included in this type of reward. Moreover, the company can immediately declare a bonus amount when an employee achieves a certain goal for the organization.
Although this reward idea has been practiced for a long time, this reward idea is not as effective as before. Employees nowadays want to be guided and more learning opportunities rather than senseless monetary rewards.
Benefits and Perks
In this reward category, employees are offered benefits to make their lives easier. This is a great way to keep employees engaged with the workplace and gain better productivity from them.
For benefits, the company can offer higher studies opportunities, new skill-building opportunities, and get a bargain from canteen meals. As for perks, the employer can offer employees a great parking spot for a week, sponsored holiday, corner office for a day, etc.
Another great way to provide perks to employees can be granted remote working or flexible work schedules. A casual dress day can be a very fun event and remove boredom from office space.
Additional Responsibilities
Rewarding employees with additional responsibilities is an important way to appreciate and reward them. It can also reduce employee turnover while encouraging employee retention. Here, the organization shows genuine appreciation for the work employees are putting for the company and entrusts them with elevated roles in the organization.
Additional responsibilities should come with a pay rise for it to work accordingly. Otherwise, it can make the employee question the intention of the company and will result in employee turnover.
Position and Power
Each employee of an organization tries to go into better roles and responsibilities in the organization. Rewarding employees with better designations makes them feel empowered and gives them a sense of accomplishment. With better designations and opportunities, employees will feel more connected and loyal towards the organization.
Affiliation
Affiliating employees in part of task groups is an exceptional way to reward your high-performing workers. You can take their inputs and make your organization more efficient and engaging. Additionally, it will give those employees a sense of accomplishment and belonging to your company.
Company affiliation will also help in attracting newer talents into your organization. Therefore, your company will see better productivity.
When Should You Recognize Your Employees?
Rewarding your employees depends both on the approach and timing. When both these factors work together, the recognition becomes more significant and effective.
So, when is the best time to recognize your employees?
Here are a few ideas:
- Birthdays of employees: The majority of people like to celebrate their birthdays in a special manner. So, rewarding employees on their special days is a very good idea. Each employee has different preferences to celebrate their birthdays. However, a small workplace ceremony with rewards can make their day.
- Employee Appreciation Day: The first Friday of March is celebrated as Employee Appreciation Day. Most companies use this unofficial holiday to appreciate the hard work and dedication of employees. You can use this day to reward employees with crystal awards for making it a memorable occasion for your employees.
- Work Anniversaries: Most companies use work anniversaries to recognize employees. However, many of them are executed poorly. Companies should demonstrate the good works executed by certain employees in their work anniversaries to make it personal and effective.
- Year-End: Year-end is a great time to recognize and reward employees for their efforts. It will boost confidence and allow them to enter the new year with a great spirit.
Bottom Line
A company highly depends upon the employee. To keep employees satisfied and engaged, employee rewards are very crucial.
Identifying appropriate rewards for employees will elevate your workplace culture. You can easily use online platforms to track and reward your employees. It will make you collect data and employee recognition more engaging.
