Recognizing and rewarding employees is important, it is also important to do it correctly. A good employee reward system provides employees with a fair return for their efforts, motivation to improve their performance and gives clarification as to what behaviors an organization values. When implementing an employee recognition program, here are a few guidelines to follow.

Involve the Employees in the Design

You don’t need a lot of money or time to implement an employee recognition system, just come up with ways to acknowledge a job well done. For example, crystal awards, like crystal print key chains, are one way to recognize employees. Just make sure that the program provides everyone an opportunity to earn a reward.

Specify Criteria

Awards for “improvement” or “innovation” don’t really define what an employee needs to do to earn recognition. Without specific information, most employees won’t know what was done to win an award. For example, Bob won an award for implementing a cost-saving initiative that saved the company several thousands of dollars every month.

Behavior Counts

There are employees who work diligently but seldom get rewarded because they don’t produce tangible results. For this reason, it is important that you reward employees for showing improved behaviors or for being happy and helpful.

Personalized Rewards

An employee who receives an award that is personalized will know the company put forth thought and effort into selecting the gift.

Team Rewards

For major team accomplishments, it is important that you recognize and reward the entire team. If you don’t, you will foster competition and not cooperation.