We all know what it feels like to be recognised for achieving.

It’s great to be praised and rewarded for a job well done. But we also know how important it is to be recognised in good time. Leave it a little too long, and we feel ignored, like the work we’ve done has just swept away in the masses, and in worse cases it can lead to a disgruntled work-force.

So, we know how important it is for us to feel recognised at the right time - but do we put this into practice when we’re the ones at the top of the chain? In a time where the work force is changing, and new starters are so used to instant reward and on demand results in their personal lives, it makes sense that your staff would want the same from their working lives.

But how can you begin to introduce this behaviour into your current business?

• Encourage peer-to-peer recognition. Encouraging your team to nominate their colleagues for ‘employee of the month’ or use your existing reward programme to facilitate this. Introducing a facility for nominations will allow any team members to praise their fellow team members for various behaviours, including a job well done. If the manager sees fit they can award prizes alongside the nomination - recognition and reward in one go!
  
  
• Visual recognition, e-card or physical card with either just a well-done or even monetary value can be a real boost. It’s also something their colleagues can see and this will spur on friendly competition to do well. Who wouldn’t want to get in on the action if their team mate was reaping the rewards for doing an excellent job?
  
  
• You’ll know the goals you want your team to achieve and the behaviours you want to encourage. When they hit these, be quick to praise and show them that they’re on the right path. This can only lead to bigger and better achievement of goals for them and for your company.
  
  
• If you want to reward for achievements, it’s important to think about how to make it relevant to the person you’re rewarding. There’s no one-size-fits-all prize, and not everyone will be able to utilise that bottle of wine, or Debenhams voucher. Whatever you choose to reward with, make sure it’s something relevant to the thing you’re celebrating. This way their reward will be associated with a feeling of pride and they’ll remember they were really appreciated every time they use it.
  
  
• When recognising someone for a job well done, it’s important they understand for what behaviours they’re being rewarded. By them understanding this, it should be clear to them how to progress, continue and grow in those behaviours - and hopefully they’ll want, and in turn, receive further recognition by continuing to hit those company goals. By recognising these achievements in a timely fashion, your staff won’t lose their way and will continue on their path to business and personal greatness!
  
  
• You might have a company blog, newsletter or team meetings. By utilising the tools you have available to you, you’ll have an instant way of recognising good work at your fingertips - and by using tools like this you’ll be spreading the word widely. Everyone will want in on the action.
  
  
• Even though we’re talking about quick recognition and letting staff know they’re doing well in a timely fashion, it’s still important to think of the long-term. You can gain momentum from setting goals, praising your staff when they do well, and rewarding them for this, but it can’t stop there. Make sure everyone’s aware of the next step in achieving their goals. Once the original behaviours you’ve set have become part and parcel of their day-to-day job roles, expand on the goals. You’ll soon have a happy team raring to go and leading a company to bigger and better achievements.
  
  

Introducing these behaviours into your business could encourage higher productivity and happy staff - what more could you want?

If you don’t already have a recognition programme in place, get in touch with our team today. They can discuss your goals and what behaviours you wish to encourage in your staff / customers. If you want to see our platform in action, book a demo today! This could be the start of something big!