What works well for one organization is not guaranteed to work for another. What worked for you two years ago may not work in today\u2019s workplace. The world is changing, the job market is changing, and employee expectations are naturally evolving, too.<\/p>\n
So, what will it take to discover that secret sauce for your very own successful employee recognition program? We say it\u2019s persistence, willingness to experiment, and a strong desire to succeed.<\/p>\n
We’ve curated a list of 22 employee recognition program ideas to help you revamp your efforts for success in the new year. And as you go through the list searching for a perfect idea, here is a song to help get you in the right mood \u2014 Blondie’s “One Way or Another”<\/a>:<\/p>\n One way, or another, I’m gonna find ya<\/em> 1. Celebrate your team with end-of-year awards.<\/strong> This celebration could be company-wide, divisional, or at a team level, depending on your company size. It requires some creativity and really knowing your employees, but it\u2019s well worth the effort. Here are some team recognition ideas you can think about. Who is best at meeting tight deadlines? They would be the “On the Dot” award winner. Whose positive energy is contagious? The “Mr. or Ms. Sunshine” award winner. Who else is on your list?<\/p>\n 2. Start a Traveling Trophy program.<\/strong> Select a fun trophy or stuffed animal that you can pass around the office. In remote environments, this could become a special virtual background. Don\u2019t shy away from something that will make your people smile. Consider introducing a \u201cTop Banana\u201d or a \u201cUnicorn of the Week\u201d award. Give it to an employee who performed better than expected and let them keep it on their desk for a week, or use it as their virtual background during the next team meeting.<\/p>\n 3. Recognize your top-recognizers.<\/strong> Put your employee\u2019s name in a hat, real or virtual, every time they recognize a co-worker. At the end of the week or month, draw a few names from the hat and let those employees enjoy a meal on the company. There are plenty of creative employee recognition ideas you can explore, and your employees will thank you for it!<\/p>\n 4. Go social!<\/strong> Qualified candidates leverage social media when researching job offerings, and this creates excellent opportunities for employers. Celebrate your employees on corporate social media channels \u2014 post photos using a good list of apps<\/a> of captured moments of public recognition and share statistics associated with your rewards and recognition program. Use relevant hashtags such as #recognitionawards and #employeeappreciation. Social gives you a unique opportunity to reach your employees in new ways, and the public and transparent nature of it is a win with the younger workforce.<\/p>\n 5. Focus on learning and growth.<\/strong> Does your recognition program include educational opportunities for your employees, such as conference attendance, training, and coaching? Learning and development are essential to attracting top talent and it is important to emphasize that your organization prioritizes employee growth.<\/p>\n 6. Add each employee to your “About Us” page.<\/strong> Who made the rule that only the leadership team can be featured on the company website? Recognize every single member of your workforce instead. Show your potential employees that you’re proud of the people on your team and provide an opportunity to see who they’ll be working with.<\/p>\n 7. It\u2019s never too early to recognize.<\/strong> Have you ever considered sending a personalized gift to a star candidate as part of their job offer? This initiative can make your offer a special moment that will not only delight your new hires, but will also entice them to spread the word.<\/p>\n 8. Celebrate everyday wins!<\/strong> Starting every team meeting with recent wins is a great way to make recognition part of your business culture. Discuss the progress you and your team are making on your projects, celebrate small successes, and encourage everyone to recognize the co-workers whose help and support they appreciate!<\/p>\n 9. Encourage wellness initiatives.<\/strong> Encourage healthy behavior that contributes to a strong workplace, whether it\u2019s a company step challenge or flu shots. Create a nutrition challenge and reward employees for taking steps to build healthier habits.<\/p>\n 10. Indulge your team with food.<\/strong> While many components of corporate recognition programs are centered around celebrating successes and accomplishments, it\u2019s also important to recognize the value of each and every team member. Periodic or surprise team lunches are a great way to demonstrate such recognition. Team lunches could easily be organized around remote or hybrid workers, too.<\/p>\n 11. Gamify peer-to-peer recognition!<\/strong> Not everyone is good with words, but given the right tools, your employees are much more likely to offer regular peer-to-peer recognition. Check out our fun\u00a0SoGoMatic<\/a> appreciation tool, created to make it easy to share good vibes by just quickly filling out a few fields.<\/p>\n 12. Monday matters, Friday forums, and happy hours.<\/strong> In today\u2019s increasingly remote and hybrid environments, it can be a challenge for everyone to feel connected. Create frequent opportunities for your people to get together by scheduling voluntary meetings with a semi-formal agenda. Start debates (Is a hot dog a sandwich?). Play trivia. Let your employees tag each other as they go around the room talking about the highlights and challenges of the week and the things they are looking forward to \u2014 both personally and professionally.<\/p>\n 13. Create an employee wall of fame.<\/strong> A wall of fame is an excellent way to celebrate both individual and team achievements. Take pictures of those achievements, take pictures of your employees’ hard at work, or let them submit their own favorite shots of themselves. Encourage other employees to post notes of gratitude for featured employees around their photos. In remote environments, create a virtual wall of fame on your intranet.<\/p>\n 14. Showcase your employees’ success stories.<\/strong> Do you have a corporate newsletter? Consider including a special section where employees can learn the stories of the company\u2019s top performers, whether they’re new to the company or senior leaders.<\/p>\n 15. Celebrate employees living cultural values.<\/strong> Create a platform for your employees to send each other virtual kudos for demonstrating behaviors that embody one of the company cultural values. This could be implemented as a peer-to-peer variation or as a tool for managers to request and send rewards to their team members. If your budget allows, supplement this program with T-shirts for each company value and encourage your employees to collect all the T-shirt types.<\/p>\n 16. Create an \u201copen door\u201d environment for ideas.<\/strong> Great business ideas can come from anyone, yet not everyone might have the confidence to bring up their idea to a leadership team. You can create a virtual idea box for collecting business ideas, submit an anonymized list weekly or bi-weekly for a leadership team review, and then identify and recognize the winning idea owners.<\/p>\n 17. Start a mentoring program.<\/strong> A mentoring program could bring your recognition program to the next level. Set up your mentoring program to recognize employees who are engaged, reliable, and ready for further development. Research shows that high-potential employees work 21 percent harder than their peers<\/a> \u2014 recognize their hard work by providing support and growth opportunities.<\/p>\n 18. Offer learning opportunities.<\/strong> Extending on the above idea, recognize your high potential employees by offering them a variety of growth opportunities. Listen to their needs<\/a> and if a mentoring program is not their preference, offer additional learning opportunities such as industry conference attendance, training and certification classes, a book of choice, and more.<\/p>\n 19. Reward employees with swag gifts.<\/strong> Company swag is not just for clients and new hires. Practical, branded swag that reflects the personality of your company is a great way to recognize your employees and thank them for their hard work \u2014 whether they are working in the office or remotely.<\/p>\n 20. Make employee birthdays special.<\/strong> A great opportunity to recognize how important every employee\u2019s presence and hard work is to the success of your team is to make their birthday celebration more personal. For those in the office, desk decoration according to their personal interests (sports, country, hobbies) is a great idea, as well as a birthday card signed by all teammates. For remote employees, compile a video of birthday wishes from colleagues, mail a surprise gift to their address, or organize a birthday meme<\/a> pile using your internal communication channels.<\/p>\n 21. Celebrate Employee Recognition Day.<\/strong> Make Employee Recognition Day a company tradition. It can be observed the first Friday in March, the last Monday of every quarter, or the first workday of the year. Acknowledge your team\u2019s contributions and collaborative spirit, recognize and reward your best employees, celebrate your top recognizers and most inspiring leaders. Make it yours.<\/p>\n 22. Personal thanks from senior management.<\/strong> Imagine working in a big company and having a senior executive call or stop by your desk to tell you that they\u2019ve heard how well you did with a specific project. This form of recognition might be extremely effective in organizations with an established top-down hierarchy.<\/p>\n I would also like to recognize the attendees of our webinar<\/a>, \u201cThe Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works,\u201d who shared their top priorities around employee recognition and helped us to realize a need for more recognition ideas for success.<\/p>\n
\nI’m gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya<\/em>
\nOne way, or another, I’m gonna win ya\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n![\"employee](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1124413804-1024x644.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBuilding a successful employee recognition program<\/h2>\n
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3 recognition ideas for encouraging happiness<\/h2>\n
4 recognition ideas for attracting talent<\/h2>\n
![\"employee](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-969223004-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n5 recognition ideas for team building<\/h2>\n
6 recognition ideas for retention<\/h2>\n
![\"employee](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1302546480-1024x680.jpg\")
<\/p>\n4 random recognition ideas<\/h2>\n