If you are looking for a way to separate your company from the others in your field, you need to take advantage of employee recognition. There are a lot of managers who hesitate to recognize their employees because they feel like they are simply complimenting their employees for doing what they pay them to do. In reality, providing positive feedback is just as important as providing constructive criticism, and you need to make sure you call out your employees for the things they do well. If you want to maximize your employee recognition platform or software, take a look at a few of the top tips you should follow when you want to recognize your employees.
1. Use Their Name
If you are recognizing your employee for a job that he or she has done, make sure you use his or her name. A lot of people receive spam emails and text messages. No one wants to receive spam positive feedback. If you do not use the employee’s name, they may think they are simply receiving a canned email or social media post. This is not going to be effective, and it could have the opposite impact of what you intend. Therefore, make sure you use the employee’s name. That way, they know that you are personalizing the message specifically for them.
2. Focus on Specific Details
Next, you need to focus on specific details. What this means is that you should not provide a post that is too general. If your employer feels like all you have done is swap out the name in the post, it is not going to have a positive impact. Instead, you need to focus on specific details. Why are you calling out that employee? What did they do that separated them from their peers? What was the impact of the job they did? If you take a few minutes to highlight specific details, it will go a long way toward making that employee feel good about himself or herself. When other employees understand that there is a chance for them to receive the same recognition, they will work harder and be more engaged.
3. Offer Rewards and Opportunities
Furthermore, you should provide rewards and opportunities with particularly exceptional events. For example, if you are recognizing an employee who has done an outstanding job for a long time, you may want to provide employees with additional training or upward mobility. Or, you may want to show that you are rewarding that employee with a free lunch or an extra day off. These types of rewards and opportunities are important because they will inspire everyone else in the company to work harder. Offer rewards and opportunities when you provide positive feedback to someone using your social recognition platform.
4. Collect Quotes From Others
If you want to go the extra mile when you provide your employees with positive feedback, try to collect quotes from other people. Even though it is nice to receive positive feedback from the manager, your employees also want to know that they are having a positive impact on their employees. Therefore, you may want to talk to some of their team members to see if they would like to say something nice. Then, you can include these quotes in the social media post or email. If your employees know that other people are appreciating the job they are doing as well, they will feel better about the work they do every day.
5. Use Graphics Such as Images and Videos
Finally, you may want to use multimedia graphics such as images or videos. These are important because they show your employees that you are thinking outside of the box. It makes it obvious that you have gone the extra mile to recognize them for the job that they have done. You may even want to use some special effects in the videos. This is another way to wow your employees, and everyone will want to be featured in that type of video. Make sure you put images and videos to work for your company when you provide positive feedback.
Provide Positive Feedback and Encouragement
Ultimately, these are just a few of the numerous tips you should follow if you want to take full advantage of employee recognition tools. You need to pay close attention to the job your employees are doing, and do not forget to recognize them when they do something right. A lot of employees feel like they simply fly under the radar, and as a result, they may feel like they are not important to the team. This could be one of the reasons why employees are leaving for other jobs. If you recognize your employees when they do a good job, they will be more likely to stay.