Think of a time when you were shown appreciation at work. If we had to guess, that moment of recognition made you feel good. Perhaps it even made you want to work harder so that you would continue to gain more approval and admiration. Additionally, you probably inspired those around you to perform at their best so they could receive the same recognition.
Rewarding and recognizing employees can produce tremendous results, so why wouldn’t organizations want to make it a top priority? For starters, some don’t understand why it’s important. Furthermore, many don’t have a gift program in place to help facilitate their appreciation.
Work perks
When you show employees that you appreciate them, it can boost motivation, increase engagement, foster loyalty, and increase productivity. All of these things are desirable for any business. But the best thing about showing your employees appreciation is that it’s not hard to do, thanks to gift programs that are designed to recognize and reward. When appreciation is applied with a tangible rewards system, it can further company culture, talent retention, and employee success.
Through ongoing research, we also know that successful gift programs can also benefit other important facets of an organization. Those positive effects may include:
- Wins the best people and retains top talent
- Increases employee engagement
- Allows leaders and managers to be more engaging and effective
- Enhances the culture
- Leads to better performance and innovation
To help drive these kinds of outcomes, companies should aim to make employees feel valued through actively listening to their needs, provide constructive feedback, invest in employees’ well-being, and—you guessed it— tangibly reward them.
Added value
A study from the Society of Human Resource Management pointed out that “an employee recognition program should include a means of measuring the value it creates.” Measuring the impact of an effective gift program generally takes employee retention levels, overall financial results, and employee productivity into consideration. Apart from analytical reasoning, how can organizations determine a program’s effectiveness? Here are a few measures to consider:
- Are rewards adequate, fair, competitive, and appropriate?
- Have the program’s objectives been met?
- Has the program helped change processes, or did it support the organization’s other performance initiatives?
- Does the program have appropriate levels of communication?
- Do employees find the program meaningful?
- What changes should be made?
As you can see, none of these questions are difficult for any organization to answer. Taking the time to evaluate your gift program’s effectiveness and perception by those it’s designed to motivate can help reinforce good work and create a company culture and work environment that people enjoy.
Frequent, honest, and timely employee recognition is important in the workplace. Gift programs help provide confirmation to your employees that they are making a meaningful contribution to the company’s success. Tangible rewards build emotional, memorable connections. By creating this connection through appreciation, you’ll see outstanding positive results that can play a significant role in your company’s long-term success.
Leave a Comment