Celebrating work anniversaries is a fantastic way to boost morale and show genuine appreciation for...
In my career, I’ve had the opportunity to facilitate some pretty incredible changes in company culture. From collecting the most powerful feedback to developing the best talent, it’s a privilege to help put the right tools into willing hands.
Promoting positivity within an inclusive culture of recognition has arguably had the most impact. HeyTaco is just one, albeit very important, part of this. Today, I want to zoom in on employee recognition ideas that tie the concept together.
Why employee recognition matters
Employee recognition is what motivates people to bring their best to the table.
Everyone wants their contributions to be valued and appreciated. When they aren’t, they stop trying. Buzzy phrases like “quiet quitting” and “soft quitting” emerge as a bold indication that employee recognition is suffering.
This vocabulary might describe someone who is taking work-life balance by force in a culture that asks too much of them. But usually, it’s someone who has resigned themselves to doing the bare minimum. Their enthusiasm is as low as their effort.
Some of my peers like to compare recognition to a cup of coffee, giving employees the boost they need to take on the day. I thought of this recently as I made my stop for morning coffee. The barista greets me by name, starts making my order from memory, and compliments my sweater. This is a variation on an exchange we’ve had at least 50 times.
It's also probably why I’m loyal to this café and always tip well. The coffee is great, but there’s other great coffee in this neighborhood. However, this café has an uplifting environment that openly appreciates my patronage. I look forward to visiting and want them to succeed. The overall experience is as important as the tangible reward (coffee).
The dynamic is different but the similarities are undeniable. Proper recognition means team members connect with the company. They see their role as having a direct influence on its success. Their feelings and interactions there are generally positive.
These are the results of a culture of recognition.
The ultimate goals of an employee recognition program
To get what you need out of recognition programs, identify your goals and rank them. Here’s a handful of the most important ones:
- Increasing employee engagement–Recognition helps employees build an emotional connection to their career and commit to common goals. Remote teams use HeyTaco for this specific benefit.
- Creating a positive environment and culture–Well-planned recognition programs create teams who are comfortable giving and receiving support, respect, and appreciation.
- Retaining dedicated team members–Costs, morale, and skill levels suffer with high turnover rates. Consistent polling over the last 10 years finds that as many as three-quarters of employees who quit their jobs cited lack of recognition as a factor.
- Inspiring excellence in performance–It’s not enough to tell everyone you want higher productivity or better work. Employees need to feel that their efforts play a real role in the company’s success. Sometimes, recognition is all the proof they need.
I’ve found that increasing employee engagement through recognition trickles down to help the rest, but every case is different.
For instance, say retention rates are your most urgent concern. You may depend on small and frequent gestures to acclimate new hires to a culture of recognition. If an existing team member hasn’t felt valued, this can also be more impactful than one grand, sweeping gesture they don’t fully trust.
The five types of employee recognition program ideas
When choosing which ideas best align with your organization, you have to be able to distinguish all types of employee recognition. Include as many types as are relevant, aiming for a distribution that makes sense for your company.
For example, a company that relies heavily on collaboration will need more peer-to-peer recognition.
1. Peer-to-peer recognition
Employees are indeed at least 25% more likely to recall getting praise from a CEO. But our teammates understand and relate to our roles and responsibilities in ways no one else can.
Small, habitual gestures from other employees are the strongest threads in the fabric of recognition culture. I designed HeyTaco to be a low-risk, high-reward way to integrate peer-to-peer recognition into everyday operations.
2. Formal employee awards programs
A larger, structured awards program can still be a good complement to the small stuff. My secret to making Employee of the Month programs and similar initiatives work is to involve the whole team in the selection process.
3. On-the-spot rewards
Did someone swoop in and save the day? Be ready to reward these employees right away. The saying “a reward delayed is a reward denied” is true in some cases. Immediate positive reinforcement is more motivating and reassuring.
A small gift card or letting someone leave early is enough, so don’t overthink it.
4. Personalized recognition
We talk a lot about personalized recognition in specific terms–getting an active person a gym membership, et cetera. Don’t forget to factor in what makes people tick on a basic level.
Some employees love public accolades and may derive more pride from having their praises sung on social media. Others prefer being praised privately and may treasure a handwritten note.
5. Milestone celebrations
Birthdays, work anniversaries, project milestones, and more are foundational to celebrating as a community. Decide which milestones your company celebrates and make it a tradition.
Creative employee recognition ideas for 2025
There are hundreds of ideas for employee recognition and rewards. We’ve shared many, whether you’re looking to unite a remote team or find ways to use HeyTaco as the basis of your program.
If you don’t want to do any guesswork at all, we also have a big list of employee rewards for all budgets and occasions.
To supplement all of that, here are some ways I promote a culture of recognition.
Professional development opportunities
You can’t fully connect to your work if you don’t see a future in the industry or even at the company. Here are some ideas to support employees who want to expand or perfect their skills.
These are also good ways to instill confidence in employees and let them know you see their strengths.
- Offer them exclusive training on niche areas of their work they excel at. If that’s not available, share trending news or studies you think would interest them.
- Let them shadow a senior leader. I’ve let team members get an inside look at my daily routine, as well as ask questions during a one-on-one lunch.
- Suggest next steps that can inspire forward movement. Let them know about webinars, certifications, courses, or anything else that would give them a professional edge. You can even offer reimbursement for some of these in an accompanying reward program.
Team acknowledgment
These ideas hybridize peer-to-peer recognition with other types, such as milestone and formal reward programs. They emphasize the sense of belonging necessary to the growth of the culture.
- Have the whole team sign thank you or birthday cards. It’s a small, traditional, yet highly effective practice that gets overlooked at many companies.
- Make video montages for big milestones. Team members, management, and others can record a short video message as part of a milestone celebration. Moments of humor, sentimentality, and gratitude come together for a meaningful tribute.
Unique company perks
These are on-the-spot recognition ideas that employees leap at. There’s no excuse to delay or deny special recognition when all of these can be scaled to fit operations and may not cost a thing.
- “Pass the task” perks let an employee skip doing a task that someone else can handle. I recommend trying this not just as a reward, but as a kindness. A culture of recognition sees and supports someone during stressful or challenging times.
- Add flexibility to their schedule or arrangement. These forms of recognition are also as much a support strategy as they are rewards. Letting someone work remotely an extra day or allowing them to leave early on Thursdays due to childcare constraints is important to any culture that relies on loyalty.
- Let them choose. If you want your team to trust you, show that you trust them. Have an employee decide where to order lunch, suggest who should lead an upcoming project, and so on. This is a good follow-up to performance praise. It builds onto wins for a chain of recognition that feels like a big reward.
Nurturing a culture of recognition
HeyTaco is the manifestation of my deep belief in a culture of recognition, but there’s always more to it than “buy my product.” Here are the four pieces of advice I’d share with any company looking to improve their culture.
1. Start setting an example today
If you want your people to show recognition daily, start doing that yourself. It’s that simple. No one has more influence on employees than leadership.
2. Train management
Managers need the tools and the knowledge to make recognition part of daily activity. Ensure that their methods impart genuine support and acknowledgment.
3. Encourage and incorporate feedback
There’s a huge variety of employee recognition ideas and reward options because every team is different. If you want to get it right, ask what they appreciate most. Polling, surveys, or focus groups may cut out a lot of trial and error.
4. Schedule non-negotiables
Put milestones on a calendar! Missing a birthday or failing to acknowledge five years of service can be difficult to bounce back from.
Let every manager and department head know that including some form of recognition in newsletters, meetings, or however else they communicate is a requirement.
How can you tell if your employee recognition ideas are working?
The most encouraging sign that employee recognition is working is that you see it catching on among the employees themselves. If you prefer eyeballing metrics, here are the scores to watch:
- Engagement scores–Survey employees before and after starting the program
- Turnover rates–If this improves, so is employee satisfaction
- Participation rates–Measure the percentage of team members who follow through with behaviors (like sending virtual tacos) to see what’s sticking
- Qualitative feedback–Make surveys anonymous if you want more detailed, honest responses about their experience
Change isn’t just possible, it’s right around the corner
Employee values and venues are evolving. People are more mindful than ever to avoid burnout, and remote teams still make up a significant part of the workforce.
Recognition is how we’ll maintain a strong company culture through it all. Set the example, put the tools in everyone’s hands, and watch as retention, engagement, and performance build naturally.
If you’re ready to incorporate more employee recognition ideas, and want to measure the results, read more about HeyTaco’s recognition leaderboards. This feature alone can help you strike the perfect balance in fostering recognition from all directions.
