Employee Recgognition

INTRODUCTION

In today's business world, employee recognition is one of the most important concepts to ensure the success of almost any corporation. However, they way it is implemented and its specific successes depend on the company and how they go actually pursue employee recognition. Each company has a unique attitude or vision toward employee recognition, making their program a one-of-a kind plan. It is a statement of a mission, vision, and also values. A lot of companies are starting to make up their own programs. Recognition is basically a huge part of the meaning of the word "purpose".

Mark Twain even once said, "I can live for two months on a good compliment". Most employers recognize that employees need to know what kinds of behaviors are expected by the overall culture of the organization that they belong to.

In this report we want to show how employee recognition is seen by the educational business world, how it is put into use by the actual businesses, by comparing and contrasting information between some corporate examples, and the theories behind how they are supposed to be implementing this concept. You will see many contrasting ideas between companies and even a lot or correlation of plans to implement as well.

THEORY

The theory behind employee recognition is directly based on the Reinforcement Theory, which says that reinforcement conditions behavior. The thought that, "you can get anyone to do anything if you administer the right consequences" (Rozell), is the thought closely related to what is behind to what really brought employee recognition about. Education, communication, and encouragement are supports of employee recognition and support the Reinforcement Theory. This concept of rewarding an employee's good behavior is now one of the fastest growing in corporate America. Employee recognition not only has an impact on retention, incentive, and staffing, it is an opportunity to demonstrate the culture of the organization in a way that has a real impact on employees. The thought of even implementing employee recognition or being recognized boosts employee morale.

Categories:

There are three basic categories of employee recognition along with certain factors that help improve the effectiveness of employee recognition. The three categories that employee recognition falls into are: formal, informal, and everyday recognition.

The formal approach is the most widely used approach to employee recognition. It consists of long- term service awards, performance awards, safety awards, and things of that nature. These are awards that might be given out every month, or quarter, and usually involve plaques, or certificates. While it is the most widely used approach, it leaves a lot to be desired in the way of effectiveness. Some people think that these plaques and awards are just something the company has to do and it doesn't matter who they give them to. However, this mindset by those employees is something that can be changed by the next type of recognition.

The informal approach is a more departmental focus on employee recognition and is a camaraderie building approach. When done with a genuine attitude, the informal approach can go a long way to improve employee morale. This approach would serve well when a group has finished a project or met a deadline. It is a very unique kind of recognition because it doesn't ever have to happen, so when it does, the employees know they are doing the right things and someone is actually noticing it. An example of this could be a group party, a day off for whoever contributed, or some other sort of group reward. This approach is much more effective than the formal approach in that when someone is recognized for doing something well when they weren't expecting it, or when they thought no one was watching it makes them feel better about themselves and more likely to keep that behavior up. It is the manager's responsibility to develop leadership skills of communication, feedback on work performance, and recognition, along with an attitude of support and caring to go along with these informal rewards.

The final category is everyday recognition. It is the little things that are done on a daily basis and should occur as soon after the behavior has happened as possible. The everyday approach is the most effective form of employee recognition. It shows employees that you notice and appreciate their work enough to mention it right away. It sticks fresh in their head, and makes them more willing to work for you if they feel that they are contributing to the cause. It makes them feel like a vital part of the team.

Factors Affecting Employee Recognition:

But you must realize there is more to recognizing employees than just having a system in place. There are certain factors that must be observed for an employee recognition program to be effective. These factors include timeliness, personal lifestyles, consistency, verbal praise, sufficient funds, accountability, and creativity.

The first and most important of these factors is timeliness. This is a very easy concept but can be interpreted two different ways. The first interpretation of timeliness is that you should recognize your employees immediately after the good behavior is observed. The sooner you give recognition, the "shiner the star", as some might say. Another way to think about it is that it's more effective to give a formal reward close to or on the anniversary date than at a yearly ceremony. Doing it this way people know what the reward is specifically for, instead of giving out a bundle of awards at a yearly ceremony. It is also wise to possibly call your ceremony a celebration or something more positive than just a reward ceremony or presentation or rewards. When you put a positive and exciting spin on it, people are reluctant to get more excited about it and brace you with their presence and good attendance. You will probably find more positive feedback from it as well.

Another factor to take into account when applying employee recognition is personal lifestyles. Each individual has their own unique personality, and their own needs, so the more options they have as to how they are rewarded or compensated, the more satisfied they become. And performance along with satisfaction is one of the primary goals of employee recognition.

Consistency is another important part of an effective program. It helps to build trust and adds credibility to the program and management. For example, if you reward John for beating his deadline by one day with a day off, yet three other