Keys to an Effective Program:

Employees not only want good pay and benefits, they also want to be valued and appreciated for their work, to be treated fairly, to do work that is important, and to have opportunities for advancement and involvement in the company. Recognition and reward programs play an important role in organizational success by helping attract and retain high-performing employees.

 

An effective recognition program should meet several essential criteria.

 

1. Management Commitment

2. Link to Bottom-Line Results of the Company

3. Recognized Value of Awards to Employees

4. Fairness/Equity in Distribution of Awards

5. Simplicity of Program

6. Continuous Evaluation/Improvement

 

What Makes a Good Reward? Be SSMART

Recognition can be delivered in a number of ways, but to be truly effective, it should be delivered in a SSMART way (with credit to Jim Brintnall for this acronym):

 

1. Supports Organizational Goals and Values

2. Sincere and Simple

3. Meaningful

4. Adaptable

5. Relevant

6. Timely

 

Conclusions

The most effective ways to motivate employees to achieve the desired goals of the organization include creating an environment with strong, respectful and supportive relationships between the organization’s managers/supervisors and employees and a focus on genuine expressions of appreciation for specific employee achievements, service milestones and a day-to-day acknowledgement of performance excellence. In a nutshell, a positive employee reward and recognition strategy can be summed up by the following: nothing is better than a sincere “thank you for a job well done.”