Our companies have oodles of great employees who deserve red carpet treatment. We need to make sure we celebrate their achievements and recognize their hard work and contributions. Many of our employees quietly, and consistently, perform amazing work behind the scenes. Apply these Top 10 Ways and make your great employees feel like stars.
1. Solicit unsung heroes examples. Meet once a week with your managers and supervisors or request daily emails with names and examples of great things these unsung heroes do at work. Then communicate and celebrate these individuals in a way that is right for them.
2. Highlight all award nominees. Put everyone in the limelight at corporate award presentations by listing nominees in some media form, if only in writing. Don’t lose an opportunity to acknowledge all who merited being nominated for the award besides highlighting the winners.
3. Give diversity an equal chance. All lives matter in the workplace whatever our needs or particular backgrounds. Ensure women, minorities, and people with disabilities are given the same career path opportunities, education, and development as anyone else.
4. Encourage giving compliments. Teach the power behind giving compliments by being an example of doing so yourself. Suggest in staff meetings the idea of giving others compliments. Inform your employees that giving compliments makes givers and receivers feel better.
5. Sweet treat your stars. Give an outstanding colleague their favorite candy bar, treat or carbonated drink, coffee or juice. Always accompany your treat with a short note explaining why you’re grateful for them. Share how their contributions make an impact on customers and employees alike.
6. Profile living your values. Create documentary style videos capturing employees who exemplify living your values. Or simply design a one-pager printed account of their exemplary actions. Share in staff meetings or place prominently on your company intranet site.
7. Leave a memorable voicemail. Why not leave a special voicemail message for office-based employees thanking them for positive actions. After everyone has gone home call and leave your thankful message, which will surprise them when they receive through email or hear the next day.
8. Perfect peer reflections. In small meetings write names of each employee on top of a separate piece of paper. Each person writes a positive comment at the bottom of the paper about the named employee. Fold comment over so unseen and pass to next person, and so on, and give to the individual when done.
9. Give a final half-hour. Use the half-hour at the end of each day to write handwritten thank you cards or send social recognition program acknowledgments. Use the amazing accounts of people sent to you from others or observations you have made throughout the day.
10. Billboard people’s greatness. Honor employees with their consent on a billboard with a short message. Display a picture with words of appreciation for employee contributions on LCD TV screens around the company. Have whiteboards on walls for everyone to share handwritten messages.
Recognition Reflection: In what ways do you make your outstanding employees feel like stars?
Based on a post by the author in Incentive Magazine
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