The Complete Guide to Employee Recognition for Workplace Happiness

Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya

Employee recognition is taking over the workplace. What was once a philosophy for more casual or cozy companies is now a standard prescription for better engagement, retention, and morale.

Research fueled its boom at the turn of the century. But technology–both the availability of recognition tools and the fact that more people work solo at a screen–made it a must-have. 

It was the right road to travel down. Burnout, isolation, and lack of appreciation are high-stakes risks in the changing workplace. A human connection and a sense of community help alleviate the side effects of modern challenges. 

The rub is that employee recognition has to be a consistent effort. The number one failing is sporadic gestures. Lack of sincerity is another, as well as recognition that’s too generic and doesn’t seem that relevant to company values and environments.

HeyTaco has answers for all of this. Today, we’re rolling out your initiation into the world of employee recognition. We’ll share what it is, ideas for programs of every size, why peer recognition is a huge priority, how to measure employee recognition results, and more.

Jump to:

What is employee recognition?

Types of employee recognition?

Spotlight: Prioritizing peer-to-peer recognition

Why do employee recognition programs fail?

Build successful employee recognition programs

13 of the best employee recognition ideas for engagement

How to measure employee recognition results

Ideas for employee recognition that don't cost anything

Employee recognition for remote teams

Bonus: What about AI

Peer-to-peer recognition software for remote teams

An award winning employee recognition tool you can introduce today

What is employee recognition?

Employee recognition is any positive acknowledgment we give at work. The purpose is for staff to feel seen and valued in the workplace. 

Effective employee recognition happens daily, or at least close to it. Therefore, many acts will be really small, such as saying, “Great job today, appreciate your help.” Other times, employee recognition culminates in job perks, rewards, or celebrations. 

There are near-infinite ways to recognize employees, with a lot of room for customization and creativity. In this article, we’ll serve up a lot of food for thought, but first–why is this so important?

The main benefits of employee recognition programs

Consistent, authentic employee recognition efforts lead to higher engagement, motivation, and total job satisfaction. It helps companies retain talent in a positive working environment.

Invariably, someone will wonder if positivity should be a priority over classics such as productivity and profit. We’d argue you can’t meet your full potential in those areas without positivity, and research agrees.

• Happiness creates loyalty, which reduces turnover by 25% on average
• Happy employees are 20% more productive
• Almost 80% of employees who leave jobs cite a lack of appreciation as one of the reasons

Successful recognition doesn’t involve spending a ton in cash and gifts for employees, either. If you stick around for our list of employee recognition ideas, you’ll find it’s more about being consistent and thoughtful than financially flush.

Types of employee recognition

Let’s start zooming in on employee recognition as a practice and not just a nice idea. Companies can use a combination of these four types of employee recognition, putting stronger emphasis on the ones that make the most sense for their operations.

1. Individual recognition

Individual recognition puts the focus on one employee’s behavior, performance, or other contributions. This includes but isn’t limited to:

• Giving someone a shout-out during a meeting
• Awarding them with Employee of the Month
• Offering a top performer a promotion 
• Putting their profile in the company newsletter
• Giving them a bonus for years of service or other milestone achievement
• Reaching out to them to express gratitude for a work-related win

2. Peer-to-peer recognition

Peer-to-peer recognition examples include offering verbal or virtual praise to coworkers, thank-you cards, public shout-outs, and celebrating their wins with them.

Any workplace that depends on teamwork and collaboration needs to put peer-to-peer recognition tools into everyone’s hands. It’s the largest contributor to high morale and trust. Think about it–in many workplaces, employees spend the most amount of time and have the highest number of interactions with each other. 

If team members aren’t comfortable or encouraged to recognize one another, that puts a lot more on the leaders’ plates. They’d have to compensate for the otherwise lukewarm environment by spending more time ensuring everyone gets their props.

That lowers program success rates and makes it less likely that employee recognition becomes a culture instead of just the initiative du jour.

3. Top-down recognition

Top-down is where recognition comes directly from executives and management. This is a crucial practice in large organizations. Entire departments work daily to serve their leadership’s values and objectives. Top-down recognition is how everyone knows their effort is appreciated by the company itself and has an impact.

In addition to being more memorable than other types of recognition, hearing from leadership is important for engagement. Say Kevin two cubicles over remarks, “Wow, that report looks great!” That’s very nice; Kevin is killing the peer-to-peer recognition game. 

Now, imagine the CEO comes down and speaks about how it contributes to the company’s success. This also makes us feel connected to the good work we’ve done and motivated to keep it up. Those are employee engagement essentials.

4. Team recognition

You can recognize a whole team at once, whether it was for a successful quarter, completing a big project, or just for being awesome most of the time. 

Popular team recognition ideas would be a fun activity, a nice lunch, or a celebration. Some budgets allow for bonuses or gifts. 

But what makes team recognition so effective is that it makes a group of employees feel like a community that achieves things together. Ultimately, they’ll be more likely to support one another and see the benefit of working together.

Spotlight: Prioritizing peer-to-peer recognition

Not to invalidate any other type, but peer-to-peer recognition is a surer way to both individual confidence and exceptional collaboration among employees. 

It happens more often

Management can’t offer each employee real-time feedback every day. A team of employees who recognize one another daily is more likely to make someone feel appreciated and confirm that their work is going well.

It can be more meaningful

Coworkers have a complete understanding of what one another does, the effort required, and how they experience the workplace. They are therefore more likely to accept positive feedback from workers as the truth. Management can seem like they’re fulfilling an obligation to recognize them.

It creates an inclusive culture

Peer recognition doesn’t focus on a few star employees; it’s for everyone at all times. Employees get recognized for a wider range of favorable qualities, whether they offer a quick hand, share a good joke, or locate a missing document. 

This is much more engaging and inclusive than receiving a thank you from leadership a few times a month–or less. 

Why do employee recognition programs fail? 

In case you didn’t catch our intro, some of the main reasons employee recognition programs fail include:

• Inconsistency 
• Insincerity
• Irrelevance

However, there’s a deeper, psychological explanation for programs that don’t grow roots.

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

Employee recognition programs that don’t prioritize intrinsic motivation over extrinsic motivation are far more likely to see lower engagement. What does this mean?

Intrinsic motivation: Employees are naturally motivated to recognize their peers or earn their recognition because it feels good. 

Extrinsic motivation: Employees are motivated by rewards. They attempt to meet recognition quotas in order to earn gifts, cash, and other items of value. 

A giving mindset leads to recognition that takes root in the company culture. Rewards can be very important, but they can’t be The Reason. Recognition will become transactional. This will lead to acknowledgment that’s insincere or irrelevant, eventually dragging the program into a ditch.

Building successful employee recognition programs

Employee recognition programs are support structures reinforcing the consistency and ease of positive acknowledgment. Here are five tips for success in planning and implementation. 

1. Consult leadership 

No matter where you work, leadership buy-in is the first step.

Consider presenting data demonstrating current shortcomings (morale, retention, engagement). Draw a link between a company’s core values and employee recognition.

2. Select rewards

Decide how to reward employees. Here’s the trick to avoid exploiting extrinsic motivation: make it anything but money. Offer job flexibility, words of affirmation–anything that won’t break the budget and keep the program sustainable.

3. Include all types of recognition (especially peer-to-peer)

Encouraging all four types of employee recognition prevents people from falling between the cracks. That said, you’ll find that a culture of recognition requires fewer tune-ups when peer-to-peer recognition is number one.

Bookmark this list of employee recognition examples and refer back to it to cover all bases.

4. Personalize it

Ever recognize an employee by name during a big meeting and see their shoulders slump and cheeks get red? That’s a sign that you need to tailor recognition to their preferences. 

Use polls, surveys, and general knowledge to acknowledge people in ways that are comfortable and meaningful to them. 

5. Accept feedback and recalibrate as necessary

If employees aren’t engaging with part of the program, there’s little excitement around the rewards, or they don’t have interest in some team activities, change those things. 

There are almost too many ways to customize these programs to the company’s unique culture. So, there’s no excuse to keep doing something that doesn’t work.

13 of the best employee recognition ideas for engagement 

Recognition that’s meaningful and accessible, capped off by rewards employees actually want. Tuck some of these employee recognition ideas into your program and watch engagement and morale rise.

1. Give them a platform where they can give and receive recognition

First, employees need the means to increase peer-to-peer engagement. There are plenty out there to choose from, but this is what HeyTaco is all about. 

We’ll go over more later, but here are the highlights:

• Integrates seamlessly into workflows
• Easy to use; employees simply give teammates a 🌮 to express gratitude or approval
• Leaderboards make it easy to see who’s giving, receiving, and earning rewards
• Analytics help track important metrics that let you know it’s working

Boom. Now, employees have a fun, casual way to recognize one another more often. 

2. Offer time off for volunteering

Consider opening up more PTO for charitable activities. This is especially effective for companies that count social consciousness among their core values. 

It demonstrates that the company is true to its mission and that its employees are its valued representatives of the cause.

3. Give them the floor at meetings 

Teams who have been attentive at company meetings and accept feedback deserve this now and then. 

Hold town hall-style meetings where they can ask questions, raise workplace issues, and offer constructive feedback of their own.

4. Make Employee Appreciation Day extra meaningful

Don’t forget the first Friday of March. Employee Appreciation Day is a key date to ensure they receive top-down recognition. 

5. Compress a workweek

Employees working hard to meet deadlines or other milestones will appreciate more free time in between. Float the idea of adding more hours to the workday to extend the weekend. 

6. Change their job role

We’re not suggesting dry promotions, which is not favorable recognition in the eyes of many employees. 

However, you can tweak someone’s role or title to emphasize their strengths or specialties. Just be sure the role includes more of what they’re great at instead of more responsibility in general.

7. Social media takeover

If your company has a decent following online, let an employee take over a social channel for a day. They can interview a leader at the company, post day-in-the-life videos, or other behind-the-scenes content. 

They enjoy the public recognition, and followers become more familiar with your brand. Plus, job candidates get to see what working for your company is like.

8. Create an employee recognition wall

An employee recognition wall is a designated virtual or physical area spotlighting team members daily. Praise performance, post photos, and let employees share their gratitude. 

9. Take the time to write thoughtful appreciation messages

Timely, specific, sincere. These are the three qualities a highly motivational message of recognition has. 

When you spot a great attitude, willingness to help, or anyone going the extra mile, write or send them a message expressing why it matters and how grateful you are. 

10. Make Employee of the Month a club

Instead of choosing one winner, why not highlight the top 10-20%? A whole club of top employees is more inclusive, demonstrates appreciation for a wider range of great qualities, and ensures more people get a turn. 

11. Companywide Day of Play

Gaming tournaments, outdoor activities, and social events. Designate one warm-weather date as your company’s Day of Play. It’s an essential reminder that everyone is part of a community. 

Plus, research indicates that employees who engage in forms of play (such as games) enjoy higher team performance. 

12. Celebrate work anniversaries

Reward retention by recognizing service milestones. Throw themed parties, host team-building activities, or make the celebration a surprise. Employees whose loyalty is acknowledged are more likely to stick around for next year’s celebration. 

13. Let them design company swag

Let employees have fun designing totes, water bottles, or clothing with company colors and logos. This way, you know you’re spending on swag employees approve of and use with pride. 

On top of getting to share their creativity, employees will get a rush of good morale from being trusted with the task.  

How to measure employee recognition results

Let’s be realistic. Starting a recognition plan is a long-term effort. The biggest benefits may not be apparent for a year or more. 

If you’ve employed all of your best employee recognition ideas and are wondering if it’s been worth it, here’s what to check up on.

Engagement rates

Who is participating? Who is providing the most recognition, and who is most often on the receiving end? 

If engagement is low, you may only need to encourage more participation. Or the recognition methods and opportunities aren’t a great fit for the team. In that case, what you need is…

Employee feedback!

Why are we yelling? Because too many companies avoid giving this weight. You don’t want to hear that they’d rather go to the dentist than do another round of trust falls or that Employee of the Month is obviously rigged. 

But all of that is still important feedback–even if you think the criticisms are from employees who aren’t doing their part.  

Try sending out pulse surveys every two months. These are short, targeted surveys that could include questions such as:

• How often do you receive recognition?
• What type of recognition matters most to you?
• Do you have any suggestions for improving the program?

Employee satisfaction and retention 

Measure the percentage of employees who’ve remained with the company and compare this figure to previous data. 

When measuring retention, factor in the cost of replacing them to verify that your retention efforts are cost-effective. 

Performance

What this looks like depends on your company’s specific KPIs (project completion, customer satisfaction, etc.). Universally, be on the lookout for a decrease in absenteeism and an acceleration in meeting certain goals.

Here’s another interesting manifestation of successful employee recognition that could turn up in the performance category: training and certification. If more employees are taking advantage of training, or they’re pursuing more education in their field, this is a sign of job satisfaction and engagement. 

Recognition distribution

Is recognition evenly distributed across the team? If not, this can reveal a few different things impacting the success of the program. 

The first is the most obvious one–certain employee contributions are going unrecognized. Common causes are a lack of communication and managers who are too busy or not on board with the program. 

Another possibility is a difference in workloads. If someone has more responsibility or personally hands off a lot of deliverables, they may have more chances to be recognized. 

Budget

It’s always worth checking in to confirm that the cost of rewards is commensurate with the results. If you want more bang for your 💰, keep reading.

Ideas for employee recognition that don’t cost anything

The purpose of employee recognition is for people to connect with their job roles and form a community with their coworkers. You can’t buy this, but you can build it. 

Here are some more unique employee recognition ideas that almost any company can afford.

1. Make a big deal when there’s a mistake

Maybe we didn’t phrase this quite right, but hear us out. When something goes awry, locate that silver lining and make it the headline. 

Inside of a lot of mistakes and flat-out fails, there’s creativity or boldness. As you acknowledge what went wrong, see the vision and praise any good intentions. “You thought outside the box on this one, which is exactly what it takes. I’m sorry it didn’t land this time.”

Employees trying to innovate or exercise new ideas is a good sign, anyway. They feel valued enough to give something new a shot. So, don’t shoot it down all the way.

2. Encourage fewer emails

We don’t all have the luxury of a full-length digital detox, but encouraging work-life balance prevents burnout. It also lets employees know you respect their free time and private lives.

Certain evenings and weekends can be assigned as limited-email or email-free. Believe it or not, many employees do need permission to leave their work, at work. 

3. Feng shui their workspace

Maybe you don’t have to fully engage in the ancient Chinese art of geomancy. This is still a big deal for on-site teams that have been staring at the same wall for years. 

Decluttering, rearranging, or otherwise sprucing up common areas can have a huge impact on satisfaction and performance at work. It can even reduce emotional exhaustion. 

4. Give them the afternoon to catch up

A dip or plateau in performance can also boil down to too many extra “maintenance” tasks like software updates, reports, scheduling, and yes, catching up on emails. 

Pick afternoons dedicated to clearing this slate. Employees want to feel prepared and on top of their game, so give them a chance to reset the counter and face the next day all caught up.

5. Share past praise during performance reviews

Take the efforts you’ve been making to praise employees one step further by putting it on record. You may not remember every little instance, and they probably won’t either, so these are a nice surprise during performance reviews or other one-on-ones.

Reminding someone of their wins always makes constructive criticism land more easily. Any “bad” news won’t grow out of proportion when it’s delivered with proof that the last quarter featured some real Hall of Fame moments, too. 

Employee recognition for remote teams

A lot of the ideas and advice we share on employee recognition are either suited for or can be adapted to remote teams. 

However, if there have been some gaps or false starts on your remote or hybrid teams, consider these tools and strategies.

Virtual recognition

Shoutouts during Zoom meetings count just as much as during in-person meetings, so you’re already on the right track with those. 

However, virtual recognition becomes part of a remote employee’s everyday working life when it’s gamified. This means using platforms that have features like badges, points, avatars, levels, leaderboards, and the like. 

Snail mail

Remote employees love company swag, handwritten notes, and small gifts, too.🥺 

You don’t need to do a weekly post office run. A tangible reminder of a real company is just very effective in helping remote employees retain a sense of connection to their workplace.

Remote team building

Whether or not virtual meetings are consistent, there should be opportunities for remote employees to link up with any collaborators online. Virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, and more can help them bond. 

You can also consider encouraging livestream coworking hours. Here, remote employees can sit on a stream together as they complete their tasks. It helps them stay engaged with their work and makes it easy for one another to offer support or encouragement if they get stuck on something.

Bonus: What about AI?

Sorry if this is a painful reminder, but AI is a formidable presence in HR departments globally. It makes short work of recruitment, onboarding, and analytics. It’s also very helpful for employee recognition–when used properly.

So, as of 2025, employees still need that human touch to maintain a connection to their work and team. If you’d like to read more on this topic, our founder explains more about why human recognition still matters. 

Peer-to-peer recognition software for remote teams 

If there’s one type of recognition remote employees miss out on, it’s usually peer-to-peer. It’s difficult enough to become familiar with a coworker you’ve never met IRL, let alone feel like you’re both part of a community.

Some remote jobs still depend heavily on virtual collaboration. Even these employees account for the more than half of remote workers who feel less connected to coworkers. 

Virtual team building helps, but nothing can replace organic, frequent, and spontaneous peer-to-peer recognition. For this, we can use software.

You have a lot of choices, but here’s what remote employees need from them:

1. Seamless integration

Wherever your team is chatting–Slack, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams–their peer-to-peer recognition software should pair perfectly and never disrupt workflows. Above all else, recognition has to be so easy that they don’t think twice.

2. Gamification

Gamified features are more engaging, reduce stress, and reinforce the idea of community. It can even inspire friendly competition. Also, it’s just fun. People who have fun together get along much better. 😁

3. Personalized rewards

Remote employees won’t connect as well to the program if the rewards aren’t relevant to them. Choose meaningful rewards that they’ll strive for. As always, it doesn’t have to be a huge expense.

Then, there’s something the employer needs from that employee recognition software: analytics. Measuring the results of employee recognition is even more important when working remotely; it can be more difficult to pin down what works best.

An award-winning employee recognition tool you can introduce today

In-person, hybrid, or remote, employee recognition needs to be highly accessible. This strengthens the chance that recognition happens often, putting wind in the sails of a positive company culture.

HeyTaco has a solution for any organization that uses team chats. Here’s how it works in three simple steps:

1. Add HeyTaco to either Slack, Google Chat, or Microsoft Teams.
2. Include a 🌮 in your messages to show praise, appreciation, or spread a bit of cheer and camaraderie.
3. Watch your team thrive on leaderboards, unlocking avatars and earning meaningful, custom rewards.

HeyTaco addresses the health of your company culture from the inside out

HeyTaco sounds almost too easy, but that’s why employees use it. It’s already boosting engagement at companies worldwide. Not just startups, either. We’re a positive presence at animal clinics and human hospitals, too. 

“Our team would give recognition to members who did something noteworthy,” explains practice manager David Juarez. “We noticed that although these shout-outs garnered engagement on some occasions, more often than not, only leadership would recognize team members.”

Sound familiar? Too few types of employee recognition and not enough appreciation in general. “We started using the HeyTaco service because it allows our staff to publicly recognize and appreciate each other with virtual tacos,” David says. “This not only fosters a sense of camaraderie and appreciation within the team but also gives them the opportunity to redeem their earned tacos for rewards, making it a valuable addition to our positive work culture.”

At Duke University’s Internal Medicine residency program, physicians were struggling to maintain bonds with their fellow residents. "Acknowledging the stressful environment that our trainees were facing and the reality of social isolation, we sought to increase feelings of accomplishment and foster community in an innovative way,” they share.

In just one year of using HeyTaco, they saw a 300% increase in engagement. They went from 300 messages of recognition to 900–while maintaining the excellent standard of care they’re known for. And that’s what it’s all about! Ready to start putting all of your new ideas for employee recognition to work? Start today, and start for free.