How Can HR Effectively Recognize Employee Efforts with Meaningful Gifts?

Recognizing Employee Efforts

I am an HR Executive for a corporation. Our employees need to be appreciated for the work they have done. Kindly guide me on how to recognize their efforts. What are the corporate gifts that can be given to them?

Regards

It is important to recognize the best work at all times, irrespective of the method of rewards and recognition. Each company will differ with their own way of recognition. Since you asked for appreciations and gift details, here below is some information that may give you an insight.

Evaluation of Best Work

For all recognitions, ensure to have a proper period/mode of evaluation of best work. For example, you can evaluate on a team basis/period basis like quarterly/monthly/weekly, etc. Once you set the mode, it comes to appreciations and gifts.

Appreciations and Gifts

All the good work should receive an appreciation letter, as a word can vanish after some days, but not the write-up. A gift in this appreciation is a hygiene factor. Its presence may not carry a worthy motivation, but the absence will definitely bring dissatisfaction.

To ensure the presence of this hygiene factor, tie up with corporate gifting companies for better-tailored gift options. If not, you can choose some gift vouchers, organize trips with their family, gifts of accessories, etc.

Please find attached the appreciation letter for your further reference.

Regards

Give them money - that is the best reward you can give. I mean, why would you or anyone else slog for somebody else? Wouldn't you love to get more money, the right way? At the least, it has to be materialistic on top priority.

After that - a letter of appreciation for the employee's official record. Secondly, for the ego - let everyone know what a swell job the employee has done. I am sure everybody would appreciate him. That, in turn, will boost the employee's ego and will motivate him or her to at least repeat the performance.

Recognition and Appreciation

Recognition and appreciation, with a smile or a pat on the back, can do wonders. Money is sometimes indeed a motivational factor, but it may not be a universally accepted yardstick. Corporate gifts or memorabilia, in keeping with the organization's culture, often hold extreme value for the recipient.

Normally, however, star performers are the ones who go out of their way—often at great risk to their own job security—to hoist the company's banner 'beyond' the full mast. The job done, on the spur of the moment, often beyond the 'scope' of even the imagination of top bosses, deserves to be credited with the ABCD Award. ABCD stands for ABOVE & BEYOND the Call of Duty.

There are more than one way to appreciate and thank those turning out good for the organization. A meaningful recognition would depend on the individual; the success would lie in ascertaining what really matters to such an individual. For example, it could be one or more of these:

1. An appreciation letter appropriately worded.

2. Increment and/or promotion or performance bonus.

3. Gifts in the form of materials/articles/cash or equivalents.

4. A celebration and commendation thereon for one's achievements.

5. A picnic or get-together.

6. Place their photos on the Notice Board with citation/commendation titled "Employee of the Week/month."

7. A meeting with the CEO wherein his/her contributions are highlighted.

8. Publish their efforts in the House Magazine with a photo.

9. If the performance happened to be extraordinary, by which the organization gained enormously, consider naming a corner/hall/canteen of the office as "(Name) Corner," etc.

10. Even a medal can be named after such extraordinary performance, and so on.

Regards, Kumar. S.

It is not always necessary to give a gift to appreciate an employee. 'Words of Appreciation' are the most effective gift you can give to acknowledge good work. Such words are heartfelt and are remembered by the employee.

Often, employees express dissatisfaction that their boss does not recognize their efforts. However, appreciation does not always have to be materialistic. It can be conveyed verbally or through written communication.

Gifts and awards should be reserved for extraordinary achievements by employees. These tokens can serve as lasting memories and motivations for the individuals, as well as inspire other team members.

If you are considering gifting your employees, various corporate gifts are available, such as trophies, wristwatches with the company name engraved on them, and certificates of appreciation. Trophies come in various shapes and are available at different price points.

Regards,
Sumeet

The method of evaluation should be made clear to everybody. I conducted one for the workmen to reduce setup time. A board was placed on the shop floor, mentioning the shortest time of the month and the times recorded for the day. Everyone came to know from the board who the winner would be. Though the reward was a simple gift, seeing their name on the board made them work willingly. After 3 months, the workmen wanted top executives to be present during the simple award function.

Regards,
H. Sundara Raman

Appreciation is very appealing for anybody. You don't have to appreciate them with money or things to keep them motivated. Recognize them, and then give them appreciation by saying a few words in front of your team about their hard work, which makes them a benchmark for others to look up to.

By doing this, you make them more responsible and considerate enough to think about the organization's benefits. Don't forget, in this kind of act, there is a possibility that you might face slight rejection from other team members. Make sure your speech doesn't receive an indirect backlash.

It's always been an ancient method of appreciation to give memorabilia. It works a lot of times, but understand their needs for motivation and accordingly give them appreciation.

As mentioned earlier, an email would be a good idea, but a small gathering to appreciate might do wonders.

Business always involves the risk of trying something new. So, if you have any crazy ideas for appreciation rather than just giving memorabilia, try them out. Later, ask for feedback on them or ask your employees about their interests in how to be appreciated. Conduct this as a form of survey from an external organization while concealing the real reason. By doing this, you benefit from knowing your employees better, keeping the majority of them happy.