23 Jun Don’t Put a Pause on Recognition!
With so many events cancelled or being postponed this year, it’s tempting to put things off until a “future date”. This may be entirely wise for many events, however, when it comes to employee awards and recognition please don’t hit the “Pause Button”!
In this article I share with you why it’s important to still go forward with your award & recognition programs. I also give you a few examples of recognition programs that you can easily implement in your company in case you haven’t done yet.
Awards are Crucial for Team Engagement Building
Your team needs to feel engaged now more than ever before. Cancelling or postponing recognition can have dramatic negative effects on employee engagement in the long run. Imagine, you’ve been hustling for months and you know you’re up for the “Sales Rep of the Year” award and then all of a sudden COVID happens. The annual event always happens in June; you’ve heard nothing about it and you wonder if your hard work and efforts will be recognized. Then June comes and goes and so does your enthusiasm, dedication, and motivation!
Annual awards are just one example of recognition that should remain on your agenda as a leader. Consider doing a live ZOOM awards event. Everyone gets dressed up like they’re going to dinner and the president announces the winner. The Zoom page shows each runner up and creates excitement just like the Oscars! Awards can be sent express the following day by courier to each winner to add even more impact.
People Crave Feedback
Ad hoc and weekly feedback is critically important while teams are working remotely.
When I was researching for my upcoming book “Leadership ROI: The 10 Lessons I’ve Learned and How to Avoid All the Mistakes I’ve Made”, one thing really stood out and it’s the frequency in which people crave feedback. I knew there was a gap in the outdated semi-annual review and I thought that doing monthly and weekly feedback with each team member was above grade. Little did I know that most employees (especially millennials) crave feedback almost daily! Wow! That little stat will keep any leader on their toes!
Look for ways to give specific feedback on a job well done. What’s interesting is that I learned that employees so desperately want feedback that they’ll take it, even if it’s negative! You read that right. So be sure to provide consistent daily feedback on a job well done or reach out with a personal call to tackle a challenge that needs attention.
Peer Recognition
Create virtual team kudos shoutouts weekly to get the whole team involved! Appreciation should be part of any culture that wants super engaged employees. In addition to your recognition, team members love getting kudos from their peers. At Sigma we send out these public peer-to-peer kudos in our weekly PowerPoint each Friday that also outlines company financials, goals, and major operational or marketing initiatives. Peers also nominate a Core Values Champion for the week, who is also publicly recognized. So get your entire team on board if consistent recognition seems daunting at first.
Remote Employee Appreciation Kits
Lastly, remote employee appreciation kits are key for engagement during this time! This is something we’ve been helping trailblazers with during COVID and I hope you’ll consider a similar strategy, whether you go through us or use another firm. Sending out a leadership letter or note with a small gift of appreciation can do wonders in keeping your team feeling appreciated and engaged.
Check out examples of what we’ve done here and feel free to reach out for ideas nikki@sigmapromotions.com
How Does Your Award & Recognition Program Look Like?
Have you already implemented any type of appreciation and recognition programs? Share in the comments your takeaways and how you recognize talent at your company!
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