As an employer, you should make a habit of recognizing the efforts, contributions, and accomplishments of your employees on a regular basis, in small ways that require little more than your time. You can do this by thanking them at the end of the day, telling them that you appreciate their hard work, offering incentive awards or by acknowledging them in regular staff meetings.
Small acts of recognition will go far toward motivating your employees to work more productively and efficiently. Recognition also helps a company with employee retention, reduced costs associated with lack of attentiveness to job duties, improvement of overall morale, and the creation of a more closely-knit team environment.
There are many different ways you can reward your employees for their efforts or recognize them for a job well done. Some of these can include company picnics and outings, presentation of plaques or certificates, cash bonuses or retail gift certificates, “employee of the month” programs, and other similar methods.
When you do plan to offer rewards or recognition that involve more elaborately planned ideas or programs, especially those that come with a cash bonus, gift certificates, or other monetary equivalents, there are actually two times during the year that these would be ideal. Employees with families will find monetary rewards and recognition most useful, but this does not mean that those employees without families aren’t just as deserving or would not be as appreciative.
End of May
Awards and incentives that come with a tangible cash value are most appealing and appreciated around the end of May and the end of November. The basic reasons behind these particular times of the year are more family-centered, but as mentioned above, they would hold value to any employee and would certainly be welcomed.
The end of May is the time of year when most school-aged children are finished with their classes and start their summer breaks. This is also the time when many families begin to plan their summer vacations. Gift certificates, cash awards, and similar items would help those employees with families be able to provide a more enjoyable vacation experience for their loved ones.
End of November
Near the end of November is the official start of the holiday season, beginning with Thanksgiving. The holidays can be a stressful and frustrating time of year for many people because they aren’t in the position financially to host a family holiday meal at their homes, or they don’t have the resources to provide their children with Christmas gifts and necessities. Statistically, the holidays are also a time of year where there are more domestic disputes, suicides, family crises, and other unhappy events and tragedies – largely due to a breakdown of the family unit that is partly based on financial circumstances.
If your company offers monetary rewards, cash bonuses, and cash recognition incentives to employees at only one time during the year, the end of November would be the perfect time to do it. The small financial infusion would help ease the burden of worrying about providing for a family during the holidays, and would also help reduce some of the stress and frustration that often occurs at that time of year.
As stated previously, you should make a habit out of personally recognizing the efforts and contributions of your employees on a regular basis. This small act will produce amazing results when it comes to employee morale, productivity, a positive team environment, and downtime due to absenteeism. If you do plan to express your appreciation in other ways, choose the best times to do it based on how it will impact the life circumstances of your employees.