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Recognizing great work can have a long-term impact and return on investment as seen in retention, engagement, productivity and trust. A strategic recognition approach creates a culture of appreciation and achieves real business results.

There are many ways to recognize employees, and creating a recognition program with guidelines is a great first step. As you think through you what strategy best fits your area, use these best practices for conversation and decision-making.

  • Develop a strategy that reinforces positive behaviors, organizational values, performance, etc.
  • Establish how you will measure the effectiveness
  • Engage employees at all levels to create a culture of appreciation
    • Recognition from supervisors to staff
    • Recognition from staff to supervisors
    • Peer to peer recognition
  • Develop recognition criteria and a nomination/approval process if applicable
  • Utilize already established award opportunities
Ways to recognize
  • On-the-spot recognition: Saying thank you/great job immediately. It can be face-to-face or by written communication (hand written note or email).
    • Builds trust in relationships
    • Creates confidence in skills
    • Shows employees they are on track
  • Reward results: Saying thank you/great job for accomplishing a goal, meeting extreme deadlines, etc. Most often has a gift item* associated with it.
    • Increases innovation
    • Drives desire to increase customer satisfaction
    • Encourages employees to seek new ways to improve efficiency
  • Celebrate years of service: Saying thank you for their contributions to the university.
    • Creates a bond between co-workers
    • Helps people feel they belong 

*Gift items and Employee Awards should follow the application of the University’s Business Procedure: E-7-12: Employee Awards