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.
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.
To get what you need out of recognition programs, identify your goals and rank them. Here’s a handful of the most important ones:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Managers need the tools and the knowledge to make recognition part of daily activity. Ensure that their methods impart genuine support and acknowledgment.
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.
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.
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:
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.