It’s time to catch up. Studies show that companies with a strong recognition program report a significant boost in employee engagement, productivity, and performance. This is the most unsurprising news given that people are not robots. To thrive, we need emotional connections, a sense of purpose, and meaningful validation. But standard recognition programs are woefully uninspiring. Integrating a recognition gift catalogue into your HR strategy is the easiest way to get with the times. Here’s why you should ditch tradition in favour of new, evidence-based practices.
Why Your Current Recognition Program Isn’t Working
If you’re struggling to engage and motivate your workforce, your HR practices are probably tone-deaf. Here’s what traditional recognition programs get wrong:
Generic & Impersonal: Generic rewards and blanket recognition practices don’t acknowledge individual contributions or the unique preferences of team members. This lack of personalization renders your efforts ineffective. It can even backfire by making employees feel disconnected from your organization.
Sporadic: Slow or unpredictable recognition diminishes its value, which is counter-productive. This infrequent, loosey-goosey approach can leave your team feeling undervalued and underappreciated.
Hush-Hush: Recognition behind closed doors might as well not happen at all. If your people cannot see their peers getting praised or the program is too exclusive, there’s no reason for them to go above and beyond.
Too Much Money: Over-reliance on monetary rewards makes your recognition program too transactional, failing to create emotional connections. Financial incentives are great but don’t acknowledge individuality and personal preferences. Employees are left feeling like cogs in a machine. Or worse, it can lead to a sense of entitlement if employees come to rely on monetary rewards as their primary motivation.
Misaligned: If your recognition program doesn’t reflect or reinforce company values, it won’t strengthen organizational culture. The entire point of a recognition program is to reward the values you want to promote within your team. Misalignment turns this investment into a sunk cost.
Ignoring P2P Recognition: Focusing solely on top-down recognition overlooks the power of peer-to-peer recognition. If your team can’t celebrate and reward each other, it’s harder to achieve a collaborative and supportive work environment.
How a Recognition Gift Catalogue Can Drive Results
Integrating an employee recognition gift catalogue into your HR practices motivates and rewards your employees. Acknowledging the work and effort of your team members brings several benefits, including:
- Strengthening the bond between the employee and the company, creating a positive and rewarding work environment
- Increasing employee satisfaction and engagement at work
- Allowing employees to select a reward based on their values and preferences
- Promoting a healthy competitive environment by encouraging employees to be productive and excel to receive attractive rewards
Effective Ways to Reward Your Employees
Your company’s success story is written largely by your employees. Appropriately acknowledging and rewarding their contributions is critical for attracting and retaining top talent. Here are some of the best ways to reward your staff:
The Power of Virtual Gift Cards
Virtual gift cards give employees the power to choose their favourite brands and products. With hundreds of options available, everyone can find something that aligns with their values and preferences.
If you regularly purchase gifts, an automatic rewards service like Accolad can be a game changer. Our automated system allows you to easily send gifts to all employees. No need to go to the supermarket or the mall to find the perfect item. Your Accolad dashboard gives you access to one of the largest gift catalogues in Canada.
Put On Your Listening Ears
Give your employees regular opportunities to present their ideas and make a difference within your company. You can propose monthly presentation sessions with leaders from different divisions and let employees choose the group they wish to address.
Then, create a structure for the sessions to allow enough time for the presentation and feedback. Finally, seriously evaluate the presentation, carefully considering the advantages and disadvantages of the idea.
Celebrate Every Milestone
Recognizing all achievements, big and small, is an excellent way to retain top talent. When you acknowledge and celebrate special days in an employee's life, they feel seen and valued. And that means they're more likely to stick around for the long haul.
Besides sending personalized gifts, recognition from leaders can also have a significant impact. Consider offering employees extra days off or allowing them to work from home.
While there are many ways to reward employees for reaching important milestones, what’s more motivating than a reward of their choice? Accolad offers the best solution for easily celebrating achievements of all sizes and allowing your staff to choose the reward they prefer.
Host Memorable Recognition Events
An off-site event organized by the company is another great way to reward your team for crushing goals. It could be a local bowling night or an extraordinary ski weekend in the mountains. This type of reward encourages team building and helps to strengthen the company culture.
Why the Accolad Recognition Gift Catalogue is a Guaranteed Success
As an HR manager, we know you already have a lot to handle. Implementing an employee reward and recognition program shouldn't add to your workload.
That's exactly why Accolad developed an automated solution to help you quickly integrate a recognition gift catalogue into your reward and loyalty programs. Thanks to our user-friendly platform, it’s quick and easy to reward your employees for any achievement. In a few simple steps, you can offer a meaningful gift that will resonate with your employees and increase their engagement.
Now anyone can set up a high-impact recognition program completely stress-free. Just import employee data, track their progress, and reward them at the right time. And you can breathe easy knowing Accolad ensures the security of your data.
Ready for a customized solution? We’re here to help you every step of the way. Talk to an expert now.
