Motivating employees can be done in a variety of ways. We offer Recognition for a job well done, small rewards for significant accomplishments, and incentives for professional development. But there's one way we find the most success: by recognizing employees with gratitude.

With gratitude, you show appreciation for their work and reward them when they do something great. It gives employees a sense of achievement, accomplishment, and satisfaction they wouldn't feel otherwise and enhances work productivity.

Not everyone will be gracious. But those who do, who say thank you, make all the difference in the world.

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION?

Employee recognition is a simple approach to acknowledging an employee for their job. Employees are the assets of the company who directly contribute to its growth, ambition, and value.

However, there are many ways to recognize employees. Some companies give awards to their employees for their job performance. Other companies may have a bonus system where employers reward higher-ranking employees with a more significant bonus. It can help build their morale, achieve great things in life, and sustain their commitment to the company's growth.

WHY RECOGNIZING EMPLOYEES IS IMPORTANT

Psychologists believe that Recognition is essential to human well-being. It motivates employees to perform better, Helping them to boost their morale. Every work culture has a different approach toward Recognition. Employers should understand the importance of and implement it accordingly. Recognizing your employees is crucial for the following reasons:

1. Increases Work Productivity and profitability - Appreciating employees for their work makes them feel wanted. According to a few surveys, 44% of employees look to switch jobs only because they are not well recognized, and 63% who get Recognition are less likely to change to other jobs. In addition, being noticed at the workplace makes employees feel good and increases their motivation to perform efficiently. Similarly, better productivity and engagement increase the profit percentage of the company.

2. Boosts morale - A lot of times, many work-related tasks and activities are challenging to achieve. Employees put a lot of effort into completing projects and targets individually. They feel deeply valued when they receive acknowledgment resulting in boosting employee morale. Moreover, When employees are happy, they are your very best ambassadors.

3. Positive Work environment - The probability of having a motivated and positive environment is high when the organization's employees receive Recognition. Furthermore, when employees are Undervalued or underappreciated very dull and mundane environment is noticed in the organization bringing down motivation and work productivity.

RECOGNITION AND ITS TYPES

Employers recognize employees through various means such as bonuses, gift cards, verbal praise, certificates, flexible work arrangements, professional development opportunities, company-wide events, and thoughtful e-cards to acknowledge their contributions and achievements.

• Verbal praise - It includes appreciating someone's work and effort by giving positive feedback. It is one-to-one validation. Employees can receive vocal credit publically or privately. FOR EXAMPLE, a simple thank you or I am impressed with your work.

• Written praise - A written praise saying thank you creates a positive word of affirmation. Written Recognition can also be given through email as it provides professional assurance for the employees to put more effort into work.

• Bonus/ Incentives Programs - Managers can give this form of Recognition anytime, i.e., weekly, monthly, yearly, or soon after the employee has performed excellently in a particular project or task.

• Gift hampers - It is common for a company to offer a welcome kit to their new employees. Similarly, gifting hampers to employees for Recognition can also be considered. These gift hampers include anything like Pen, bottle, Calendar, personal diary, mugs, and laptop bags. This reward and recognition strategy can raise the company's brand awareness amongst rival companies. 

• Achievement Awards and certificates - Posting photos of the employee of the month or offering awards and certificates of Recognition for their hard work can also boost motivation amongst other people working in the company.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSIDER RECOGNISING SOMEONE?

Timing is everything; It is crucial to Offer Recognition at the right time and place. It can prove valuable to employees. Consider recognizing someone soon after they have performed an excellent job.

Here are a few tips on when to offer rewards and Recognition to employees.

1. When employees/team of employees work exclusively on a project. 

2. During meetings and festival meets. 

3. After the employee shared ideas that could contribute to the organization's growth. 

4. During the Start of the month or end of the year. 

5. On Selective milestones like promotions, birthdays, and service anniversaries. 

6. When employees work overtime to meet deadlines and complete projects.

BOOST YOUR EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION WITH THESE TIPS. 

Employees enjoy getting recognized at work, be it monetarily or not. We have seen an array of excellent employee recognition ideas over the years, so we thought we would compile a comprehensive list for you.

• Host a private lunch or dinner for the team of employees.
• Create a wall of Recognition.
• Put a sticky note congratulating you on the desk.
• Host a congratulatory announcement.
• Offer extra lunchtime.
• Leverage early finish or start time for work.
• Endorse skills or give recommendations on LinkedIn.
• Allow a day off after substantial task completion.
• Provide gift cards or hampers.
• Send appreciation cards.
  

RECOGNITION V/S APPRECIATION. 

Commonly these two terms often get used interchangeably. However, having individually different meanings between the two. Recognition is about giving timely positive feedback or acknowledgment to the organization's employees. As discussed above, it can either be tangible or intangible. Appraisal, Monetary bonuses, incentives, or awards are examples of tangible Recognition. Contrarily, intangible credit counts as verbal praise or written.  On the other hand, appreciation refers to acknowledging a person's inherent value or skills; this does not include formal performance recognition. Communicating with employees personally or considering an employee's opinion equals appreciating.

Conclusion. 

A company's need to recognize its employees goes beyond a nice gesture. We can say that Employee engagement is driven primarily by Recognition. The people working in the organization play a crucial role in operations. Recognizing motivates and encourages employees to perform better and contributes to a company's overall growth. Extracting the best out of every employee and formally acknowledging them creates more engagement and satisfaction on individual and team levels.