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The Different Types of Employee Recognition

Employee recognition Ideas

Your employees do great work, but how can you let them know how much you appreciate their effort? Employee recognition has a significant impact on the happiness of your staff, which can improve morale and even lead to greater productivity. A simple word of praise or a small gift can go a long way. 

If you’re looking for ideas, start with this simple guide that explains some of the different types of employee recognition. 

Informal Recognition

Informal recognition is spontaneous and any type of praise that isn’t planned. It could be as simple as a shout-out in the company email or during a meeting. For instance, “Great job on getting so many submissions in last week, team!” 

Informal recognition is when you congratulate or thank your employees for a job well done, whether that was securing an important client, finishing a project early or particularly well, or coming up with a great newsletter copy for the week. 

This type of praise can bolster your employees and encourage them to keep going the extra mile. For example, if you compliment someone on their excellent time management skills, they’ll feel good about themselves and continue to work hard. 

The best part is that informal recognition is easy to do and costs you nothing. 

Formal Recognition

Formal recognition usually follows some type of schedule or planning. This could be giving the employee of the month an award or celebrating work anniversaries. 

Your employees know that this type of award exists, but they may not expect it. Some may work particularly hard to follow your company’s goals and values as they strive for that recognition. 

Formal recognition is an excellent way to reward those with competitive spirits and keep their motivation high. 

Verbal and Written Praise

Verbal praise is one of the easiest ways to tell your staff they’re doing a great job. This is when you speak to them in person and congratulate them on a job well done or talk about how proud you are of their recent accomplishment. 

You may praise them in the elevator, at a meeting, at their desk, etc. 

Written praise includes thank-you cards, letters, emails, texts, and any other form of written communication. Written praise is an excellent way to foster client relationships, but it’s also an effective method of praising your employees. 

As a bonus, written praise is a tangible form of proof that they’re doing great work. If your employees ever feel frustrated, stuck, or discouraged, they can look back on those words of praise. 

Daily Recognition 

The more you show that you appreciate your staff, the more you can improve morale, employee retention, and the company culture. Getting the occasional words of appreciation makes workers feel like they matter and that their work is making a difference. 

Types of daily recognition include signing off the team’s newsletter with a thank you or ending a meeting with a “Great job so far, team!” 

Uplifting comments are simple but effective. They can boost everyone’s mood. 

Get into the habit of showing your appreciation more on a day-to-day basis, and you’ll see the benefits. 

Peer Recognition

While it’s part of a leader’s job to show some appreciation for their employees, peer recognition can also have a significant impact on the company culture. Encourage appreciation sharing among your staff, give compliments, and foster a positive environment. 

Peer-to-peer recognition is when an employee praises another team member on a job well done. Coworkers building one another up is excellent for employee morale and overall satisfaction levels. 

It’s best to let peer recognition happen naturally rather than forcing it. However, when it occurs, it will likely create a snowball effect of peer recognition. 

Leader Recognition

As you might expect, leader recognition is when a leader addresses a team member to praise them. Getting praise from your peers is one thing, but hearing praise from your boss makes an employee feel great about themselves. 

As a result, your employees will continue to work hard and strive to achieve similar and even better results. Leader-to-employee recognition can improve productivity, happiness in the workplace, and more. 

Monetary Recognition

Monetary recognition is one the best ways to show your employees that you see their accomplishments and you want to reward them. Examples include bonuses and raises, which are long-lasting types of recognition. 

However, rewards and recognition programs fall into this category as well. Employees might get points via a recognition system and spend those points shopping from a catalog full of rewards. 

Through this method, employees can choose the gifts that they would most like and have plenty of motivation to work toward getting points. 

Some great company reward examples include: 

  • Gift cards
  • Branded swag
  • Cash
  • Subscriptions
  • Certificates or awards
  • Shout-outs in newsletters, magazines, etc. 

Employee Gifts

Corporate gifts are a step up from simple praise and thank-you emails. It’s tangible proof that you care about your staff, and they’ll remember that each time they use their gift. 

Corporate gifting doesn’t need to be complicated either. At givenly.com, we make it easy to find gifts through our network of curated vendors, plus you can even schedule and track all your gifts. 

Don’t forget about holiday gifting! Showing your team appreciation around the holidays can go a long way in making their season that much brighter. Find the perfect gift and send a little thank-you note to show that you care. 

Employee Recognition Made Easy

There are many types of employee recognition, and some methods cost you little or nothing at all. Get into the habit of showing appreciation, and your employees will feel happier, more valued, and appreciated. 

Looking for the perfect corporate gifts? Givenly makes it easy. From birthdays to holidays and more, learn to get gifting done right, and contact us today to get started.