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Anything can be a good Christmas gift for your employees; it’s all about personalization. A gift card, book, or coffee mug can be either the best gift for Christmas or a missed opportunity—  it all depends on personalization.

Did you give them a gift card for something they actually want? 

Did you give them a book they actually want to read? 

Did you give them a personalized coffee mug about something they actually care about?

The trick behind giving your employees the best Christmas gift is personalization and with this article, we’ll help you uncover what your employees want for Christmas. 

But first, let’s see why you should even give your employees a Christmas gift. 

Why Christmas gifts matter

Gifts have been an important part of our culture for centuries. With gifts, we convey care for each other, strengthen our relationships, and show appreciation.

Now, this matters because a happy employee is an engaged employee and you want your employee to be happy about a gift they received in the workplace. According to HBR, when employees are happy, they have a lower turnover rate, have a higher performance in the workplace, and are more productive. 

A Gallup study about the effects of employee engagement in the workplace added a couple more benefits to this list: 

• 81% less absenteeism

• 64% less accidents at work

• 10% increase in customer loyalty

• 23% increase in profitability

A happy employee is an engaged employee and with the benefits you get from that, you want to have engaged employees. One thing to consider is that the biggest driver of employee engagement in the workplace is how much care leaders and managers show toward their employees. 

And one of the best ways to show that appreciation is by ensuring that you give your employees the best possible Christmas gift. With that in mind, let’s look at some Christmas gift ideas. 

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The process of picking the best gift (always)

When picking out a gift for your employee, you should have three things in mind: 

• Personalization. Will this gift make sense for the person? 

• Meaning. What kind of meaning do I want this gift to represent when I give it to the employee?

• Effort. What’s the effort I need to invest so that the employee feels cared about? 

According to a study done by Fox Business, 81% of employees said they were disappointed by holiday gifts in the past. The same study stated that 77% of employees said that they would prefer picking their own gift instead of the boss choosing the gift. 

The data doesn’t show us that the employees prefer to pick their own gifts; the data shows the disappointment from employees that their bosses can’t pick the right gift for them. So if you get this right, your employees will cherish it! 

Depending on your company's size and budget, you can do different things with Christmas gifts. The first thing is that the gifts don’t have to be universal— not everyone in the company needs to get the same gift (remember personalization). However, you need to be careful not to accidentally create a major disbalance in gifts. 

As an extreme example, it would mean that you can’t gift one employee a brand new car as a Christmas gift and another a coffee mug— the perceived difference in values in those gifts is too much. The best way to ensure equality is to have a dedicated budget for gifts and keep all gifts within a certain budget. 

If you have a larger company and can’t buy gifts for everyone by yourself, then give your managers a budget so they can get the gifts for their members. They’re the ones that know their members the best. 

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15 best Christmas ideas for employees 

1. Gift cards

Employees love gift cards!

With gift cards, employees can spend them with pre-approved vendors to get anything they prefer. It’s like LEGO cubes but for grown-ups. The wide range of choices is what makes gift cards so appealing. An employee can use it on LED TVs, VIP tickets to a concert, spa sessions, travel arrangements, and even Steam games. 

It’s no wonder that 75% of businesses use them as a preferred non-cash reward. Also, they can serve as a perfect Christmas gift for your employees. 

2. A book

Books, like coffee mugs, are getting a bad rep as Christmas gifts. However, that’s only true if you don’t personalize the gift. When picking out a book as a Christmas present for your employee, make sure that you don’t give them a book that teaches them how to do their job better. They might take that the wrong way. 

Instead, give them a book that’s about their personal interests. This will show personalization and that their manager or you as the HR person in charge know about their interests.  If they just started baking, ask their colleagues which chefs and bakers they follow on YouTube and get their cookbooks. The key to the book being a great present is just like any other gift— personalization. 

3. Baking tools

What’s Christmas without the sweet smell of cookies? Baking tools such as dough scrappers, bread makers, Dutch ovens, or iron pans can be really great gifts for people who like to spend time in the kitchen. 

Again, you’ll have to ensure that you personalize the gift and get the person a gift they need and they will use. 

4. A set of knives

A set of knives can be a really great Christmas gift because it’s super versatile. If you know someone in the office who is on a meat diet and prefers eating steak quite often, then you can get them a set of steak knives. 

If the employee likes fish/sushi, get them a set of sashimi knives. If they enjoy food all around, get them a set that includes a chef’s knife, a boning knife, and a Cooking knife (cleaver).

5. Humidifier/dehumidifier, air cleaner

If you have employees working from home (WFH), a humidifier/dehumidifier will be an excellent Christmas gift. They’re spending a lot of time at home and the moisture in the air most likely isn’t in the optimal range so a humidifier/dehumidifier will fix that. 

On top of that, humidifiers/dehumidifiers will also improve air quality in the space, helping people with asthma, allergies, dry sinuses or dry throats, and congestion. The best thing about this present is that it can also be used in the office environment (if the employee has a dedicated office space). Maybe their allergies are causing them to take sick days during pollen season and a great air cleaner can help prevent that. 

6. A houseplant

A houseplant can be a great Christmas gift when done right. With a houseplant, you need to not only look at the function of the plant (cleans the air) but also look at its aesthetic. This is something people will have in their space and they want something that’s aesthetically pleasing and that fits their style. 

This is the case where bigger isn’t always better— make sure that the plant fits the decor of the person or they won’t like it.  

7. Coffeemaker

Millennials love coffee. According to a study from Empower, 62% of Millennials say they’re willing to spend $7 on a daily coffee because of the joy it brings. That’s why a coffeemaker would serve as a great Christmas gift, especially to Millennial and Gen-Z employees. 

There are two things you can do with a coffeemaker: You can either gift the employee a simple, affordable coffee maker or you can get a dedicated coffee machine for their section of the office. Maybe you know that the team on the office floor wanted to get a good coffee maker so you decided to purchase a team gift and give them a great coffee maker that they’ll use on a daily basis.

8. Nutribullet/Blender

Blenders are amazing as a gift; they’re versatile and multifunctional. Your employees can use them for various things and that’s why they’re so good as a Christmas gift. 

If you know that your employee goes to the gym often, you can gift them a Nutribullet blender so they can do their shakes pre/after their gym session. If you know that your employees love to eat berries, then they can use the blender to make shakes out of them. Also, anyone who bakes or cooks can use the blender for a variety of things in the kitchen.

9. Exercise/yoga ball

When it comes to the exercise equipment, the yoga ball reigns supreme. It’s multi-purposeful and it’s universal in its size and shape. Avoid giving other exercise equipment such as dumbbells unless you absolutely know what kind of weight/shape of the bar the person uses. 

Also, be mindful that many people struggle with their weight and with a healthy body image. So use the yoga ball as a gift only if it makes sense for the person or the entire company involved. If you’re a company operating in the health industry, the message behind the gift is quite different than if you were in the fashion industry and started giving your employees yoga balls as Christmas gifts. 

10. Games

Since gaming as an industry is bigger than the music and movie industry combined, let’s immediately differentiate the gifts you can give to three types of games (and gamers):

• Online games. Online gamers are people who play games using various consoles such as PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo (or PC games). When giving games as Christmas gifts in this category, be mindful of the console the person uses and give them a game they can play on their console. 
• Board games. Board games range from simple games such as Don’t Be Angry, which lasts for 20 minutes to games such as Twilight Imperium which lasts around eight hours. If you know your employee plays board games, either get them an expansion pack for one of the games they already have (such as Catan), or gift them an entirely new board game that they might play with their friends. 
• Card games. Last but not least are the card games. You probably have at least one person in your company who enjoys playing card games. Magic The Gathering is the most popular card game and is played by around 50 million people. By figuring out what kind of card game your employee likes, you can buy them a pack/deck of cards from that game. 

11. A yearly subscription

Yearly subscriptions can be an excellent way to show to your employees that you care about them. Some of the gifts that might not look that great as a one-off gift are perfect for a yearly subscription. 

For example, gifting your employee French cheese once doesn’t seem like a good idea, but giving them a yearly subscription to the cheese is a great idea (if they like great cheese). 

Not all subscriptions have to be for Netflix, HBO, or Amazon Prime— you can give your employees various yearly subscriptions such as “Fruit Basket of the Month,” exotic coffees each month, or wine for the year. 

Whatever you pick, make sure that the person would enjoy that because they’re gonna be getting that throughout the entire next year! 

12. Educational programs

Employees want to invest in their professional development. So a great Christmas gift would be to give them access to to educational programs they can use to improve their skills. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) such as Coursera or Udemy are a perfect example of this or LinkedIn’s Linda program that gives people certifications on LinkedIn once they finish the courses. 

13. Wellness weekend/program

Employee wellness is a big thing in today’s working environment. Considering the amount of stress and the fast-paced environment everyone’s working in, a nice way to relax and avoid burnout would be a wellness weekend in one of the facilities in the vicinity. 

With wellness, you have a plethora of options to choose from: 

• Massages
• Spa
• Sauna
• Manicure/pedicure
• Facial
• Hot-tub
• Swimming in a pool

Now, depending on your employee’s location, they might not have a facility nearby that has all of this. So, focus on the wellness program they can get nearby and provide them with a Christmas gift that will leave them relaxed and well-rested. 

14. Time off

You don’t have to spend any money on this gift, but it’s a win-win situation for everonye. When the employee gets additional time off, they can relax and recharge their batteries and the company doesn’t spend any resources on it. Look at the employees who want to visit their (distant) relatives and give them some additional time off so they can do it stress-free. 

15. Office-related gifts

Office-related gifts can be any number of gifts that you know will improve the quality of life of your employees when they’re in the office. They can be any of the following things: 

• Personalized journals

• Specialized pens (like the 5-in-1 pen)

• Desk calendars

• Adjustable (laptop) desks

• Fidget toys (remember the fidget spinner?)

• Art

• Dust/Snow/City globes

• Palm rollers

• Specialized bookends and bookmarks

• Wireless chargers

• Headphones (headset)

• Desk organizers

• Coffee mugs 

The best thing about office-related gifts is that you can combine them any way you like so you can get all of your employees a desk organizer along with a wireless charger or give them desk calendars and palm rollers. 

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In conclusion

Gifts, especially Christmas gifts, are a deeply personal matter and you should approach each employee’s gift individually. If you manage to do so, you’ll have happy employees who turn into engaged employees, which is a win-win situation at work. 

We know that picking Christmas gifts isn’t easy, and it can be especially challenging if you’re not well-versed in employee rewards and recognition programs. But you don’t have to worry— we can help you with that. With Qarrot’s catalog of e-gift cards, you’ll make picking Christmas gifts a walk in the park. So book your demo today and let us lead you through the process.

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If you work in HR, you know that fostering “engagement” goes much deeper than just throwing a fun social activity, especially if these activities are mandated. “Forced fun is not exactly a driver of employee engagement. In other words, you can’t expect mandated pizza parties and team-building activities to reduce employee turnover. Although these initiatives can provide a temporary morale boost and help with team bonding, true employee engagement goes much deeper than these surface-level initiatives. 

That said, the benefits of employee engagement are well documented. A growing body of research shows that more engaged employees are happier, more productive, and stay longer within their organizations. All these factors have a tangible impact on the organization's performance.

So, if social events don’t drive higher employee engagement, what does? This article presents recent workplace research and discusses the most critical drivers of employee engagement. We’ll also offer some concrete examples of initiatives you can easily implement today to encourage these key drivers in your workplace. If you’re getting started with an employee engagement plan, recognizing these key drivers is a key step in systematically tackling the engagement issues in your workplace.

8 Key Drivers of Employee Engagement (and How to Promote them Today)

1. Meaningful Work

Meaning at work might seem like a fluffy, vague concept. But it’s one of the most important drivers of employee engagement. In this Psychology Today article titled How to Foster Meaningful Work, the author discusses the definition of meaningful work, “It’s the subjective experience you have that your work matters, facilitates personal growth, and is significant and worthwhile.”

Of course, not every little task an employee performs has to be meaningful. It’s more about the bigger picture impact of their work, how employees feel and relate to their responsibilities, and how those duties align with their goals and personal growth plans.

Many leaders may feel overwhelmed and wonder how to encourage such an abstract idea. The author offers some concrete suggestions, like 

• Continuously communicate how your employees' work impacts the bigger picture—your organization, clients, and even the larger social impact of the work. 
• Nurture potential by putting employees on projects that challenge them and match their professional goals.
• Give employees flexibility and autonomy in how they perform and complete their work.

As you can see, fostering meaningful work doesn’t have to involve rolling out shiny new initiatives that require tons of resources and time to set up and run. It may be as simple as leaders communicating the impact of their employees' work and aligning employee tasks and duties with their interests and passions. 

2. Leadership Quality

It's a well-known fact that employees perform better under competent leaders. Yet, the reality is that many companies are wrestling with subpar leadership, leading to significant issues in employee engagement. 

Gallup recently reported that only 23% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they trust their organization's leadership. Calm's yearly Voice of the Workplace report showed that about half (49%) of employees claim their manager genuinely cares about their well-being. Those are some discouraging statistics. 

Fortunately, effective leadership can be taught and fostered. Business leaders, HR professionals, and managers have the power to implement changes and improve the leadership in their organizations. For example, leadership training, mentorship programs, and anonymous surveys to gauge leadership quality can be implemented to ensure your company's leadership meets standards that help employees thrive.

3. Opportunities for Development and Growth

Work is a core pillar of modern life. What else could explain the most common question people ask when they first meet, "What do you do for work?" Work goes beyond something we do for a paycheck; it's a core driver of our identity. 

As a result, many people see work as a vehicle for growing, learning, and evolving as professionals and people. Of course, some people are in a phase in their careers where they are happy just going to work, executing their job well, and nothing more. Yet, many people desire to be stimulated and challenged at work.

A recent BetterWorks State of Performance Enablement report revealed this truth and found that 86% of employees say skill development and coaching are important to them, but only 54% are receiving it. At the same time, a report by Canadian health tech company Dialogue found that 63% of HR professionals agree that employee career development is a significant challenge for their business. Simply put, Employees want to be challenged and developed, but practically speaking, businesses and their HR teams are struggling to meet this demand; there aren't unlimited promotions to go around to everyone who wants it.

In the book Promotions Are So Yesterday, workplace expert and author Julie Winkle Giulioni addresses the common issue of "how to offer growth when promotions are in short supply."

A few of the suggestions she offers:

• Re-define what "growth" is: Promotions or title changes should not be the only way we define growth or career development. Moving beyond this traditional definition will open up countless opportunities to offer "growth" to your employees.
• Build employees' confidence: Help identify areas of strength and weakness and nudge employees out of their comfort zones.
• Help employees build connections: Support employees in fostering internal connections. For example, can you help employees with the following: Attending an event, meeting key leaders, or leading a meeting?

4. Recognition and Rewards

Imagine going to work and never getting positive remarks or “good job” from your leaders or peers. It wouldn’t be too long before you felt resentful and burnt out. Paychecks are important—as we will see later in this article, but they cannot replace the positive feelings that genuine recognition can evoke.

A wealth of research supports the importance of recognition in the workplace. For example, a recent Gallup research report found that employees who receive great recognition are 20X as likely to be engaged as employees who receive poor recognition. Recognition is even critical to more physically demanding work environments like manufacturing and production. A Manufacturing Institute report showed that workers who felt valued were more than 4X as likely to report high levels of work engagement and less likely to feel stressed out on a typical workday. 

a recent Gallup research report found that employees who receive great recognition are 20X as likely to be engaged as employees who receive poor recognition.

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That said, there are many types of employee recognition in the workplace—from casual “good jobs” to more formal years of service programs. Organizations can grow appreciation in the workplace in various ways.

Some examples of employee recognition programs that leaders can be implemented in a workplace include:

• Peer-to-peer recognition: Peer-to-peer recognition programs can be facilitated through digital platforms like Qarrot, where employees can send kudos, thank-you notes, or points redeemed for rewards.
• Anniversary and milestone awards: Celebrating work anniversaries and significant milestones is a great way to show appreciation for long-term commitment and loyalty. These awards can be given for milestones such as 1, 5, 10, or 20 years of service.
• Social media shoutouts: Highlighting employee achievements on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or the company’s blog makes the employee feel valued and showcases the company’s positive culture to a wider audience.

There are countless ways businesses can start fostering a culture of recognition. For organizations new to recognition programs, the best approach is to start with a small initiative and work your way up from there. 

5. Work-Life Balance

The pandemic forced people to reconsider work-life balance; people started reevaluating their priorities and values around work. As a result, hustle and burnout culture came under scrutiny, and work freedom and flexibility became one of the most important factors driving employee happiness and engagement. 

A Randstad Workmonitor report found that work-life balance now ranks as highly as pay on talent's priorities (93%)—far ahead of any other category. Another report by Canadian healthtech company Dialogue found that work-life balance is a top contributor to employees' mental health after financial situation and job satisfaction.

Work-life balance has become a core consideration for candidates and a powerful driver of employee engagement. Thankfully, employers can help protect employees' work-life balance in many ways, both at the higher policy and program level and at the managerial level. 

For example, at the organizational level, companies can create initiatives for flexible work hours and remote work options. At the managerial level, clear boundaries can be established around communication expectations outside work hours. Showing employees that the organization and leadership care about protecting their work-life balance can improve employee engagement and lead to a more productive and happier workforce.

6. Autonomy and Empowerment

Autonomy and empowerment are vital drivers of employee engagement because they tap into the basic human need for control. When employees are free to make decisions and feel empowered to take ownership of their work, it fuels their intrinsic motivation—meaning they're driven by the internal satisfaction of the task rather than external rewards. 

According to self-determination theory (SDT), a well-established psychological model, humans are naturally motivated when they feel competent, connected, and autonomous. In other words, people are often motivated by external factors such as money, awards, and prestige (i.e., extrinsic motivation); however, self-determination theory focuses primarily on internal sources of motivation, such as a need to gain knowledge or independence (i.e., intrinsic motivation).

This sense of autonomy doesn't just make people feel good; it actually boosts their engagement, creativity, and overall job satisfaction. Empowered employees are more likely to be passionate about their work, leading to better performance and a more vibrant workplace.

Organizations can help drive employee engagement by fostering greater employee autonomy and empowerment. This can be accomplished at higher levels through official policies and programs, but it can also be achieved in smaller, everyday ways at the team level. 

For example, organizations can offer flexible work arrangements, allowing employees to work from home or even abroad for a given period of the year. On a team level, managers can give some flexibility over employees' schedules or give employees some input into their goals, tasks, and responsibilities. 

7. Communication and Transparency

Dishonesty, distrust, and fear are the opposites of healthy work cultures. Doing your best work is impossible when you are tense and on edge. In other words, a sense of safety and security in the workplace is vital to employee happiness and productivity. Organizations and leaders must provide employees with a sense of trust. 

When leaders are open and transparent about decisions, goals, and challenges, employees feel more connected and valued, knowing they’re in the loop. This clarity helps reduce uncertainty, which is a significant factor in reducing stress and boosting motivation. 

Unfortunately, recent employee engagement statistics show some bleak numbers in this area. According to recent Gallup findings, employee trust in leadership has significantly declined in recent years, with only 23% of U.S. employees “strongly agreeing” that they trust their company’s leadership.

Thankfully, organizations can implement strategies for improving organizational communication and trust. At the organizational level, leaders can hold regular all-hands meetings to discuss the company’s goals, challenges, and progress. Accessible channels for sharing company updates can also be set up, which can keep everyone informed and aligned. 

Zooming in on a team level, managers can hold frequent check-ins, encourage open dialogue, and actively listen to concerns. Executing an open-door policy can make it easier for employees to voice their thoughts while providing regular feedback.

8. Fair Compensation and Benefits

We couldn't finish this article without mentioning compensation. Of course, pay isn't the only factor driving employee engagement, but it's a crucial baseline factor. When employees feel fairly compensated, it sends a clear message that their work is valued and that the organization respects their contributions. In other words, ensuring fair pay directly addresses basic human needs for security and recognition.

Looking at classical psychological theories like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we can see that financial security is fundamental and needs to be met before humans can feel motivated to work towards and focus on higher-level motivations like achievement and growth. Seeing results like this one from Calm's yearly Voices of the Workplace Report makes sense. It shows that employees' top mental health stressor in 2024 is the cost of living/inflation. When people are not able to meet these fundamental needs their mental, emotional, and even physical health can suffer.

This research suggests that the financial stress of not being able to make ends meet or keep up with the cost of living has a significant detrimental impact on people's mental health. For employers, this has substantial implications. People's work performance, concentration, and productivity suffer when they are chronically stressed and worried about their living situations and finances. To that end, ensuring employees are being paid fairly and given a wage that allows them to meet their basic living requirements is critical to protecting employee engagement.

Final Thoughts

Employee engagement is a multifaceted and deeply rooted aspect of organizational success.

While it may be tempting to rely on surface-level activities like social events or extra snacks, true engagement requires a more thoughtful and comprehensive approach. By focusing on core drivers like meaningful work, quality leadership, and, recognition, organizations can create an environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and connected to their work.

Implementing these drivers of employee engagement isn’t about making sweeping changes overnight. Instead, it's about consistently cultivating a workplace culture that prioritizes these core elements, leading to a more engaged, productive, and loyal workforce. Remember, engagement is an ongoing process, not a one-time initiative. By taking the time to understand and address what truly drives your employees, you’ll be investing in the long-term health and success of your organization.

Imagine a workplace where employees feel valued and appreciated daily, where their efforts are valued, and recognition is a regular part of the company culture. This isn’t just a dream—it's entirely achievable with the right employee recognition and rewards programs in place.

That said, if you’re an HR professional looking to launch a recognition program, you might have many questions and concerns floating around your mind.

For example:

• What type of recognition program should I launch?
• What kinds of resources will it take to make it happen?
• What type of program would employees prefer?

Before jumping into planning and execution mode, it’s important to remember that employee recognition comes in many shapes and sizes. In short, different types of recognition programs exist, ranging from simple thank-you notes and shoutouts to more elaborate reward systems and formal awards. There is no one-size-fits-all formula. 

In this article, we’ll help you start your company’s recognition journey by exploring various examples of employee recognition programs you can adopt in your organization. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, there’s something here for everyone. From spot awards and peer-to-peer recognition to personalized gifts and professional development opportunities, you’ll find plenty of inspiration to get started.

Understanding employee recognition programs

At their core, employee recognition programs are systems to acknowledge and reward employees for their hard work, achievements, and contributions to the organization. These programs can take many forms, from formal awards ceremonies to casual and informal thank-you notes and everything in between. The main goal is to make employees feel valued and appreciated, which can have a ripple effect on the entire workplace.

To understand employee recognition programs better, it helps to categorize recognition programs into two main types: formal and informal.

More “formal” programs usually involve initiatives like:

• Years of service awards 
• Milestone programs
• Performance awards
• Birthday celebrations
• Employee of the month
• Nomination programs

More “informal” programs usually involve initiatives like:

• Shoutouts in meetings
• Organizing paid outings or events
• Thank you letters
• Offering small gifts for a job well done

If you’re looking to launch your company's first employee recognition initiative, you might wonder, “What type of program should I launch?” There is no correct answer to this question. The right answer depends on factors like your budget, employee preferences, and the nature of your work environment. 

For example, are your employees all working remotely from home, or are most employees working on a factory floor? These conditions will influence what recognition program works best for your business.

So, before you decide on the program type, consider some of the following factors:

• The size of your organization
• The nature of your work environment (i.e., remote, on-site, hybrid)
• Budget and resources available to manage and run the program
• What types of rewards will employees prefer (i.e., verbal recognition, gifts, experiences, monetary rewards, etc.)

Key Elements of Successful Employee Recognition Programs

Creating a successful employee recognition program isn’t just about handing out awards; it’s about crafting a thoughtful strategy that truly resonates with your team. Here are the key elements that make an employee recognition program effective and impactful.

Clear Criteria

A recognition program must have clear criteria to be fair and motivating. Employees should understand exactly what behaviors and achievements are being recognized. This clarity helps ensure everyone knows what is expected and feels that the program is equitable. Transparent criteria also help set achievable goals that align with the company’s values and objectives.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in maintaining the credibility of the recognition program. Recognition should be given out regularly and fairly across the organization. If employees see that recognition is sporadic or biased, it can undermine the program’s effectiveness and lead to feelings of resentment. A consistent approach helps build trust and continuously reinforces positive behaviors.

Inclusivity

An inclusive recognition program ensures that all employees, regardless of their position, department, or background, can be recognized. This inclusivity fosters a sense of belonging and equality within the workplace. It’s important to recognize a wide range of contributions, from high-profile achievements to the everyday efforts that keep the company running smoothly.

Timeliness

Recognition loses its impact if it’s delayed. Timely recognition means celebrating achievements soon after they occur. This immediacy reinforces the connection between the behavior and the reward, making the recognition more meaningful and encouraging employees to repeat the positive actions.

Personalization

Tailoring recognition to the individual can greatly enhance its effectiveness. While some employees might appreciate public acknowledgment, others prefer a private thank-you or a personalized note. Understanding what motivates each employee can help deliver recognition that truly resonates with them.

Variety of Rewards

Offering a variety of rewards can cater to different preferences and keep the program exciting. These can range from verbal praise and certificates to monetary bonuses and experiential rewards like team outings or professional development opportunities. A mix of rewards ensures something for everyone and keeps the program dynamic.

By incorporating these key elements, you can build a recognition program that boosts morale and engagement and aligns with your company’s values and goals. A well-designed recognition program can transform your workplace, making it a more positive, productive, and fulfilling environment for everyone.

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7 Employee Recognition Program Examples

Implementing an employee recognition program can take many forms, each tailored to fit your organization's unique culture and needs. Here are some tried-and-true examples of employee recognition programs that can inspire you to create a more engaged and motivated workforce:

Spot Awards

Spot awards are an excellent way to recognize specific achievements immediately. They can be given on the spot when employees go above and beyond in their duties. Spot awards recognize and reward outstanding contributions in real-time, whether solving a critical problem, helping a colleague, or delivering exceptional customer service. These can include gift cards, a small bonus, or even a simple, impactful public acknowledgment during a meeting.

Employee of the Month/Quarter

Regularly scheduled awards like Employee of the Month, Quarter, or Year are classics for a reason. They provide a formal structure for consistently recognizing top performers. These awards can be highlighted through ceremonies, newsletters, or company-wide announcements, allowing employees to be celebrated for their hard work and dedication. Winners can receive trophies, plaques, or other meaningful rewards that symbolize their achievements.

Peer-to-Peer Recognition

Encouraging employees to recognize each other’s efforts can build a strong sense of community and teamwork. Peer-to-peer recognition programs can be facilitated through digital platforms where employees can send kudos, thank-you notes, or points that can be redeemed for rewards. This type of recognition is particularly powerful because it comes from colleagues who directly witness each other’s contributions daily. Peer recognition platforms like Qarrot can support these employee recognition initiatives and programs. 

Point-Based Rewards System

A point-based rewards system allows employees to accumulate points for various achievements, which they can later redeem for prizes or experiences. This system can include incentive campaigns for meeting performance goals, participating in company events, or demonstrating company values. Its flexibility makes it adaptable to different preferences and keeps employees engaged and motivated.

Anniversary and Milestone Awards

Celebrating work anniversaries and significant milestones is a great way to show appreciation for long-term commitment and loyalty. These awards can be given for milestones such as 1, 5, 10, or 20 years of service. Recognizing these milestones with personalized gifts, extra vacation days, or a special celebration can make employees feel valued for their contributions.

Social Media Shoutouts

Public recognition on social media channels can amplify the impact of employee appreciation. Highlighting employee achievements on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or the company’s blog makes the employee feel valued and showcases the company’s positive culture to a wider audience. This recognition can boost morale and enhance the company’s reputation externally.

Experience-Based Rewards

Offering experiences as rewards can create memorable and meaningful recognition moments. These can include concert tickets, sports events, or even paid vacations. Experience-based rewards cater to employees’ interests and hobbies, providing a personal touch beyond monetary value.

Implementing any of these recognition programs can significantly improve employee morale and engagement. The key is choosing or combining approaches that best align with your company culture and team's preferences. Doing so can create a workplace where employees feel appreciated and motivated to give their best.

Challenges With Recognition Programs (and Tips to Overcome Them)

At Qarrot, we’ve helped countless companies launch successful employee recognition and rewards programs. Over time, we have learned some lessons about designing, launching, and maintaining a successful program.

Let’s discuss some of the most common challenges HR professionals and leaders face when launching employee rewards and recognition programs. And most importantly, we’ll cover some simple strategies and tactics you can implement to mitigate these issues and even completely overcome them.

1. Lack of participation or enthusiasm

Employee enthusiasm and participation are big concerns if you dedicate a budget to this new program. Of course, you want this to be a success! We have found some simple and effective strategies that can help alleviate this concern and maximize program participation.

• Create a strong internal promotion: Building hype and buzz around a new initiative is important. It's time to remove your HR hat and put on your marketing hat. The key to success is repetition; people must hear things multiple times for the information to stick. Don't just plan for one announcement right before launching; plan a rollout schedule that involves several announcements over multiple touch-points like email, in-person announcements, manager meetings, etc
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• Ensure senior leadership stands behind it‍: Rewards and recognition programs are more successful when employees see the company's senior leadership support them. This encourages employees to get involved and participate. Ensuring leaders are involved is as simple as having them contribute to creating the buzz around the program and proactively participating in recognition giving, for example.
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• Training and empowering managers: ‍Managers set the tone for the company and employees; if managers don't initiate recognition, neither will employees. So, getting buy-in from them and getting them properly trained and educated on the program's components is critical. 

2. Budget constraints

If you work in HR, you know that getting even a tiny slice of the budget for extra initiatives can be difficult. Executives are often wary of investing in programs with ambiguous ROI. Of course, HR teams will have difficulty launching recognition or reward programs if they don't have buy-in from senior leadership.

We suggest you approach this conversation more logically to make the hurdle of getting financial buy-in easier. In short, you want to build a business case for employee recognition. To achieve this, you must first prove to leadership that a problem in the business needs to be addressed. 

For example:

• High turnover
• Low morale
• Low satisfaction
• Low average tenure

Pro tip: You'll build an even stronger case if you can put a hard price tag on how much money the business loses due to these challenges. Hopefully, with more strategic conversations, you can free up a budget to help fuel your recognition and rewards initiatives.‍

3. Ensuring fairness

A common worry among leaders when launching a recognition program is whether employees will get jealous of each other or will people feel it’s unfair.

While this is a normal worry, the reality is that when recognition is genuinely earned and given in a sincere and personalized way, other employees are rarely jealous. In fact, they get behind the appreciation message because they see their peer working hard, too! 

In other words, here are a few ways to ensure fairness and avoid biases in recognition giving.

• Train managers on what actions and accomplishments deserve recognition. This will ensure everyone gets a chance to receive it.
• Make sure recognition messages are personalized and highlight employees' efforts.
• Ensure peers know they can recognize each other, too.

If you notice jealousy among your employees, a deeper cultural issue is usually at play that is simply being brought to the surface due to the employee recognition program being implemented. ‍‍

4. Sustaining momentum

Like most things in life, excitement fades over time. That’s human nature. Even if your recognition program was initially well received and widely adopted, you may find that employee enthusiasm and participation fade over time. This is normal!

With a few simple strategies, you can easily mitigate this issue and ensure that people are always excited and eager to get involved.

• Monitor participation‍: First, make sure you’re monitoring participation in the program. If you use a recognition tool like Qarrot, these analytics features are integrated into the platform. This way, you’ll always have your finger on the pulse of program involvement.
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• Give a refresher‍: When new employees and managers join the company, they might be told about the program, but if they’re not exposed first-hand, participation might dip. Occasionally, hosting refresher sessions for those new employees or leaders can help keep the program's momentum up over time.
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• Embed appreciation into your culture: ‍Consider making “recognition” or “appreciation” a part of your core cultural values. Have your executive and senior leaders stand behind this effort. Ensure these new cultural values are visually and verbally promoted and visible at various touchpoints, such as company meetings, website, social media, and office walls.

Final Thoughts

Launching a successful recognition program may seem daunting, but with a clear understanding of your team's needs, you can implement an initiative that makes a difference. In this article, we've explored seven examples of recognition programs, each designed to help foster a strong culture of appreciation in your organization. Our best advice is to start small, remain flexible, and continually refine your approach to ensure long-lasting impact.

As always, the main challenge for HR professionals is determining which type of program will best serve their organization. The key is to understand your workforce and their unique needs. By considering factors like employee demographics and the nature of your work environment, you can design a recognition program that will resonate with your teams. And don't be afraid to seek employee feedback and make adjustments as necessary. By committing to a thoughtful and strategic approach, you can create a recognition program that not only improves day-to-day employee satisfaction but also moves your organization toward greater long-term success

A successful business is one with engaged employees. In fact, we've recently reported statistics finding that companies that actively make an effort to engage employees can reduce turnover by over 18%. Despite that, 85% of employees aren't engaged at work. One of the biggest reasons why? A lack of well-being in the office. Due to factors like stress, worsened health and wellness, and toxic workplace cultures, many employees feel they don't receive the support they need to stay at their current jobs.

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Fortunately, this is something your own business can avoid. With the right strategies, you can enhance your employees' well-being in the workplace and better engage them in all the right ways. Here are some health and wellness tips you can try to achieve just that.

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Promote better eating

Ensuring employees get the proper nourishment, even just at the office, will guarantee that they can always function at their best. That means sharpened physical and cognitive skills for more energy, less absenteeism—and, ultimately, improved productivity. Case studies on workplaces in Canada and other countries around the globe even find that nutrition-focused workplace interventions can significantly influence how healthily employees eat at home, which can help them feel like you genuinely care for their well-being and better engage them at work. Some things you can try to promote better eating include providing healthy meal and snack options in the office and curating more nutritious menus when booking catering services for work events.

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Motivate more movement

This tip is one you should keep in mind if your employees work desk jobs. Prolonged periods spent sitting down can negatively impact their health by elevating blood pressure and sugar levels while increasing their likelihood of developing obesity and even cancer. That said, give your employees more opportunities to move around. Think of walking meetings and staff walking contests; charity runs as team-building activities and gym memberships as employee incentives. 

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You can also integrate that motivation for movement into your employees' daily routines. In particular, consider outfitting their workspaces with ergonomic furniture. Sit-stand workstations like the VIVO and VariDesk Pro Plus 36 can help employees vary their work positions and break up those long sedentary periods during office hours, reducing the risk of them developing aches and pains that can ultimately take away from their well-being. In fact, standing desks have helped big companies like CBRE create modern workspaces that significantly increase employee satisfaction.

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Prioritize vision care

Though digital transformation has been especially beneficial for businesses, companies need to watch out for worsened employee eye health. An increasing reliance on devices to get jobs done means more screen time. That can cause pain and discomfort through computer vision syndrome, negatively impacting their productivity and well-being. 

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Fortunately, you can avoid that by prioritizing employee vision care. Consider starting by working with optometry clinics to provide eye exams free of cost to your employees. That can help them easily determine if they need to buy corrective aids or update their existing prescriptions. You can help here, too. By allocating funds to add vision care to your benefits package, your employees can purchase eyeglasses from reliable brands at a cheaper price. One major retailer you can consider is Ray-Ban. It accepts most insurance plans upon checkout, meaning employees can more easily avail of eyewear from its optical line. Aside from updated prescriptions, these can come with advanced lens technologies like blue-violet light filtering to reduce eye strain from excess screen time. Ultimately, that means you can give your employees a more accessible way to safeguard their eye health at work and improve their overall well-being.

Support mental health

Another thing you need to keep in mind is that the modern business landscape is more fast-paced than ever. That means employees are more likely to get stressed and burn out—making it especially vital for you to engage them in ways that support their mental health. One way you can start is by promoting better work-life balance. Offer flexible work arrangements, establish boundaries like discouraging work communications outside office hours, and support employees taking time off for mental health reasons. 

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For longer-lasting results, consider implementing more serious workplace initiatives similar to Health Canada's Employee Assistance Program, which provides federal employees and their families 24/7 access to mental health support. Your efforts in this direction can involve connecting your own team to mental health professionals for counselling and offering rebates for any sessions they attend. As with vision care, you can also add mental health coverage to your benefits packages. With nearly 43% of Canadian employees unable to afford mental healthcare, your efforts can help better enhance their well-being for improved engagement.

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Recognition at work can mean many things – from casual “good jobs” to more formal appreciation involving an actual budget and tangible gifts and rewards. Each type of employee recognition fulfills a different employee need. 

For example, some types of employee recognition are better short-term motivators than others, while some are better at stimulating long-term motivation. There is no one-size-fits-all formula. Ultimately, one singular recognition program or type can’t address all employee needs. A more comprehensive approach is needed. 

To that end, it might seem difficult to know where to start if you're looking to grow appreciation in your workplace. You might be asking yourself what type of employee recognition or rewards programs we should focus on? Which will have the most impact on our workforce? Before answering this question, we'll classify recognition types into two main groups. You will see why one sort of recognition is a good start but not enough to fully reap the benefits of appreciation.

Types of Employee Recognition (With Examples of Each)

Employee recognition is a broad term encompassing different actions and measures leaders and organizations can take to express employees' appreciation. 

For example:

• Offering verbal praise for a job well done.
• Planning a paid lunch to thank employees upon completing a big project.
• Offering employees a yearly monetary bonus for exceeding their performance objectives. 

As you can see, organizations can recognize their employees in many ways. But this begs the question: If you know your business is lacking in the recognition department and employees aren’t feeling appreciated, how do you know where to start? What types of recognition programs should you implement?

First, it helps to understand that all recognition initiatives can be divided into two main types: formal and informal programs.

Both recognition types serve an important purpose in stimulating employee motivation and happiness. Let’s review each one in a little more depth and go over the pros and cons of each so you can see why each type is critical to building a well-rounded culture of appreciation in your workplace. 

Formal Recognition

Formal methods are more traditional ways of offering recognition. These programs or initiatives often take a top-down approach, meaning that leaders or even executives offer gratitude to employees on behalf of the company. 

HR teams are often responsible for planning and structuring these programs and initiatives. We label these types of recognition as “formal” as they are structured and ceremonial in nature; they are often expected and happen at predictable times.

Here are a few examples of formal recognition:

• Years of service awards 
• Promotions or title changes
• Milestone programs
• Performance bonuses/awards
• Merit increases
• Birthday celebrations
• Employee of the month
• Nomination programs

Think of formal recognition as the foundation of your culture of appreciation. These events give employees something to look forward to. Formal methods are excellent at addressing long-term employee needs. These recognition initiatives incentivize and sustain deeper employee motivation. 

However, this type of recognition method is not without drawbacks. Let’s look at the pros and cons of formal recognition in a little more detail.

Benefits of formal recognition:

• Predictable and consistent: Formal recognition gives managers a clear picture of when to give recognition, and employees also have a scheduled recognition event to look forward to.
• Impactful: Recognition is usually given on the organization's or executives' behalf, and its formal nature gives it more impact and weight.
• Fair and inclusive: For most formal programs, every employee is included (or at least has an opportunity to be) and, therefore, can get recognized.

Drawbacks of formal recognition:

• Infrequent: Employees often have to wait long periods to receive formal recognition.
• Resource and time-intensive: Formal programs are structured and involve a budget; they must be carefully planned, approved, and rolled out. 
• Can be generic: Recognition is usually offered globally for the accumulation of achievements, so it’s not usually tied to specific achievements or skills. If everyone receives the same gift or trophy, recognition risks feeling impersonal.

Informal Recognition

Informal recognition is flexible and unstructured in nature. It is often offered by an employee's direct manager or even peers. Little planning and preparation are involved in these types of recognition initiatives; they are often offered on an “as-needed” basis and given in the form of verbal recognition, but they can also be accompanied by tangible gifts or rewards.

More “informal” programs usually involve initiatives like:

• Shoutouts in meetings
• Peer-to-peer recognition
• Recognition boards
• Organizing paid outings or events
• Thank you letters
• Offering small gifts for a job well done

These types of employee recognition practices are critical in the workplace. A Deloitte survey on recognition strategy in the workplace found that 85% of workers want to hear “thank you” in day-to-day interactions.

Recognition has a strong impact, but it is also short-lived. Recognition must be offered in small, consistent ways to have the most impact. When leaders focus on cultivating a culture where informal recognition is regularly offered to employees and between peers, a team will benefit from the continuous morale boost that appreciation and recognition can bring.

Again, this type of recognition method is critical but not without drawbacks. Let’s look at the pros and cons of informal recognition in a little more detail.

Benefits of informal recognition:

• Flexible and frequent: Employees don’t have to wait for a formal event to receive appreciation or praise.
• Easy to administer and inexpensive: Informal programs or methods of appreciation are easy to set up, roll out and can often be completely free.
• From manager or peers: Praise comes directly from a manager or peer rather than the organization, so it feels more personal.
• Specific accomplishment: With informal methods, employees are usually praised for specific skills and accomplishments.

Drawbacks of informal recognition 

• Lack of impact: Informal recognition is casual and given spontaneously. As a result, it can sometimes come across as vague and lack the impact and weight of more formal methods. 
• Consistency: Creating a culture of regular recognition takes practice. The frequency and consistency at which recognition is offered to employees may fluctuate.
• Perceived favoritism: Managers may inadvertently recognize a few employees, causing feelings of favoritism. However, this is easy to avoid when managers try to recognize different types of actions and people.

What is the most effective type of employee recognition?

At Qarrot, our specialty is employee recognition. We’ve helped many companies grow appreciation in their workplaces through official recognition programs, and we’ve seen firsthand the impact that consistent recognition can bring to a company. 

First, it’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for recognition. As you can see from above, both formal and informal recognition methods should be used to have the maximum impact on your workforce. 

Think about this: How would you feel if you only received words of appreciation from your loved ones on your birthday and total silence for the remaining 364 days of the year? Of course, you’d be happy to have a big celebration one day a year, but appreciation also needs to be given in small but consistent ways to have the most impact on the quality of our relationship.

The same idea applies at work. Honoring formal recognition events, like work anniversaries, promotions, or performance awards, is critical to employee happiness and motivation. But these events happen too sparingly to have a consistent impact. This is where informal methods come in to fill the gaps. 

And, of course, recognition can involve monetary rewards, but it doesn’t always have to. Interestingly, a wealth of research shows how important simple but consistent verbal appreciation can be on employee happiness and morale.

For example, Dr. Paul White is a psychologist, organizational consultant, and expert on workplace appreciation. He and his team have been studying it for over a decade and have surveyed over 400,000 people on how they prefer to be appreciated at work. 

Their research has found that “words of affirmation” continue to be the most desired form of appreciation at work. This comes ahead of quality time, acts of service, and tangible gifts. In other words, giving impactful recognition can involve something as simple as leaders sharing their verbal appreciation regularly. Nothing more.

So, if you’re an HR professional or business leader looking to invest in recognition and rewards, here are a few suggestions to help you get started in the right direction. 

Ask for feedback

If you’re unsure how employees want to be appreciated and recognized – simply ask them! Depending on the size of your company, this can be achieved with a simple survey or gathering feedback from your managers.

You can ask:

• Do you feel appreciated and recognized for your work?
• How would you prefer we show you appreciation (i.e., verbal recognition, team lunch, etc.)
• Can you give me an example of a time you felt appreciated for your accomplishments?
  

Once you have a better idea of how employees want to be appreciated, you can take the right steps and implement the initiatives and programs to meet their needs.‍

Build a business case for appreciation

If you work in HR, you know that getting even a tiny slice of the budget for extra initiatives can be difficult. Executives are often wary of investing in programs with ambiguous ROI. Of course, HR teams will have difficulty launching recognition or reward programs if they don't have buy-in from senior leadership. 

We suggest you approach this conversation more logically to make the hurdle of getting financial buy-in easier. In short, you want to build a business case for employee recognition. To achieve this, you must first prove to leadership that a problem in the business needs to be addressed.

For example: 

• High turnover 
• Low morale 
• Low satisfaction 
• Low average tenure 

Pro tip: You'll build an even stronger case if you can put a hard price tag on how much money the business loses due to these challenges. Hopefully, with more strategic conversations, you can free up a budget to help fuel your recognition and rewards initiatives.

Embed recognition in your culture 

‍Consider making “recognition” or “appreciation” a part of your core cultural values. Have your executive and senior leaders stand behind this effort. Ensure these new cultural values are promoted and visible at various touch points with which employees interact. For example, the company website, social media, and office walls are emphasized at company meet-ups and meetings. When employees see that this program isn’t just a surface-level initiative but a deeper reflection of the company's values, they’ll be more likely to practice this habit continuously.

Make sure leaders stand behind your programs

Rewards and recognition programs are more successful when employees see the company's senior leadership support them. This encourages employees to get involved and participate. Ensuring leaders are involved is as simple as having them contribute to creating the buzz around the program and proactively participating in recognition giving, for example.

Final Thoughts

Recognition is not one-size-fits-all. There are countless ways to show employees your appreciation as a leader and even on behalf of your entire organization. Each type of employee recognition serves a distinct function and objective in terms of employee happiness and motivation.

In this article, we’ve covered two main types: formal and informal programs and methods of recognition. After examining the benefits and drawbacks of each, it’s easy to see why both types are critical to building a culture of appreciation in the workplace.

With predictable and systematic recognition events, formal recognition provides a necessary foundation for a strong culture of appreciation. While informal methods fill in the gaps with casual and spontaneous recognition, employees crave on a week-to-week or even day-to-day basis. By investing in both formal and informal methods of recognition, your business will be in a better position to foster a positive work environment, increase employee engagement, and ultimately boost overall performance.

The term "employee engagement" is often used in the HR sphere and can start to sound like just another corporate buzzword. Yet, in the day-to-day reality of a workplace, how engaged employees are impacts so many important workplace metrics like morale, productivity, and overall organizational performance. 

The case for employee engagement is strong – it’s not just a fluffy corporate concept but a key driver of company performance. Research by Gartner reveals that higher employee engagement is associated with tangible benefits for organizations, such as increased revenue growth, net profit margin, customer satisfaction, and earnings per share. 

Despite the widely recognized importance of employee engagement, recent statistics paint a bleak picture. Gallup's yearly State of The Workplace report reveals a significant decline in employee engagement, with a staggering [85%] of employees not engaged at work. This marks the lowest level of employee engagement in 11 years, highlighting the urgent need for action.

So, how can businesses achieve such a nebulous goal? It would be similar to trying to reach a personal goal, like being happier and leading a more fulfilling life. Of course, these goals can't be reached overnight by implementing one or two changes in your life. It is a multi-step process that requires strategic thinking.

Employee engagement plan: A holistic approach

To that end, companies need to think long-term to combat employee disengagement. Building an employee engagement plan is a great starting point. This is an actual action plan that should be well thought out, implemented, and, of course, documented.

This article is designed specifically for HR professionals ready to take a more strategic and comprehensive approach to employee engagement. Whether you're looking to revamp your existing initiatives or build a new engagement plan from the ground up, this guide offers valuable insights and practical steps to help you achieve your goals.

We will explore common mistakes when creating an employee engagement plan and outline key steps to creating and implementing an effective strategy. Additionally, you'll find tips to navigate common pitfalls and ensure your engagement efforts yield long-term benefits. By the end of this article, you will understand how to cultivate a thriving workplace culture where employees feel valued, motivated, and committed to your organization's vision.

5 Mistakes When Creating an Employee Engagement Plan

1. Looking for silver-bullet solutions

"Employee engagement" is a big, cloudy term. It's a concept that, when understood, can bring significant benefits to a company. Yet, ask different people what it means, and you will receive various answers. This lack of a unified understanding can lead to skepticism about the ROI of employee engagement. If you can't prove with some level of certainty what kind of benefit the company will derive from it, your initiatives may not be approved. 

As a result, most companies don't even have an employee engagement plan in place. Rather, they favor low-cost or single-stroke solutions, and employee engagement isn't looked at holistically. For example, businesses may lean towards surface-level initiatives like mindfulness training, snacks in the breakroom, and social events. Of course, these programs and activities can improve work culture and boost temporary morale, but they aren't strategies. 

This idea is explained in the Psychology Today article When Workplace Mindfulness Training Is Worse Than Nothing. The author explores how using "token gestures" like mindfulness training to help employees cope with stress and burnout can backfire. When serious, underlying issues are overlooked, these gestures appear hollow to employees. In turn, they can actually make employees feel worse – even more angry and cynical – than if a business had done nothing at all! 

2. Assuming why employees aren't happy

If you Google "employee engagement idea," you'll surely fall on several list articles offering ideas on how to engage employees. You might find solutions like "snacks in the breakroom" or "organizing a fun social event." While these ideas might help temporarily boost employee morale and create a fun working atmosphere, they are certainly not employee engagement strategies.

Strategic employee engagement involves identifying and addressing your employees' deeper pain points and challenges. This approach is not about guesswork or assumptions but about developing targeted solutions. A key step in this process is to directly survey or converse with your employees about their experiences within your organization.

Gathering objective, data-driven insights and feedback can help you understand where your employee experience falls short. For example, are your employees satisfied with their compensation, leadership, day-to-day duties, and the company's overall culture? You only know once you ask. If you operate on assumptions, you risk developing initiatives and solutions that do not address the real problems your employees are facing.

3. Copy-pasting other businesses

Similarly, you should ask yourself: Are you developing employee engagement initiatives based on your employees' actual pain points, or are you just copying/pasting trendy HR initiatives other businesses use? 

It might be tempting to copy popular HR initiatives that seem to be working well for other businesses. The problem is that their workforce may differ completely from yours—the company's demographic profile may be unique in many ways. As a result, they may be facing a different set of challenges. 

Being more strategic starts with uncovering exactly what your employees are struggling with. It's about developing solutions that directly address those issues and needs. This may take more steps and time than just coming up with an idea and rolling it out. However, the benefit is that the initiative will be more likely to be successful long-term because it addresses a real and current problem in your company, not just assuming what your employees will want.

4. Only looking at the short-term gains

Employee engagement is a long game. In short, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Similar to achieving any long-term goals in our lives, like being happy in our careers or bettering our physical health, these goals cannot happen overnight. They are the fruit of consistent, small steps that compound over months, if not years. 

However, businesses often lean towards short-term initiatives that promise quick rewards. This preference for 'low-hanging fruit' can divert attention from developing robust employee engagement plans, which are more likely to deliver sustainable business results. 

When businesses are biased towards short-term gain, they often resort to a reactive approach to employee engagement. In other words, engagement initiatives are only considered and developed once a glaring problem, like high turnover or low morale, crops up. 

When these engagement issues reach a boiling point, they are likely complex and caused by an interplay of factors that not one employee engagement initiative, like "snacks in the breakroom," will resolve. That's why developing a robust employee engagement action plan is a critical step for companies that want to take a proactive approach to employee engagement and address some common issues before they spiral into more complicated problems for your business. 

5. Failing to track the impact of initiatives 

Employee engagement is like personal happiness, a nebulous concept that can ebb and flow. While it can be objectively measured with surveys, what can be more difficult to achieve is proving how employee engagement impacts businesses financially through metrics like productivity. 

In other words, many businesses roll out engagement initiatives only to fail to track their objective impact on their company via metrics like employee happiness, engagement, turnover, etc.

As a result, ROI-focused executives may be reluctant to invest in employee engagement initiatives further if HR teams can’t articulate a clear or expected ROI for the business. In turn, it can be difficult for HR teams to get even a small slice of the budget. 

Learning to track and measure the impact of HR initiatives is critical to approach these conversations with decision-makers more logically. A concrete action plan can help you show executives clearly.

• What workplace metrics you’re looking to impact (i.e., employee turnover, eNPS, etc.)
• Which initiatives will help achieve this goal
• Milestones you’re aiming to reach

When presented with a clear plan that outlines concrete, measurable goals, ROI-focused executives can feel reassured and confident in the capacity of these initiatives to produce tangible results. Once the impact of these initiatives is proven, it can unlock the necessary resources and support for more impactful engagement initiatives in the future. 

Related: Uncover the potential ROI of your recognition program with our free Business Case Template

5 Steps to Create an Effective Employee Engagement Plan

Step 1: Identify high-level problem areas

The first step is to zoom out. Think about the big picture of your workforce and company.

What areas do you believe need work? If you are an HR professional or leader in your business, I’m sure you already have some theories or an intuitive idea of where employees are unsatisfied. Although formal surveys are useful, you may already know where your business needs work based on casual conversations with peers and second-hand information.

For example, here are some common high-level drivers of engagement to consider:

• Benefits and compensation
• Leadership and management
• Rewards and recognition
• Well-being and mental health 
• Safety and security
• Career growth and development

All of these areas are critical to employee happiness. To approach your employee engagement plan more holistically, you must start by identifying which areas need the most urgent attention in your business.

Step 2: Survey employees (back it up with data)

The next step is to back up your intuition or theories with concrete data. The best way to achieve this goal is to speak with or survey employees to assess objectively how your business is performing in each area. Depending on your budget, there are various approaches to collecting employee data. It's important to remember that a large budget is unnecessary, particularly for small businesses. In fact, this goal can be easily achieved with free online survey tools, making it a feasible and accessible process for businesses of all sizes. 

Related article: Face the Truth, 6 Questions to Evaluate Your Staff Motivation

Step 3: Develop your key initiatives

Now it's time to zoom in. Once you've conducted your employee surveys, you should better understand where your business is falling short and, in turn, where your HR priorities should be. For example, you may find out your company is falling short in the area of "rewards and recognition."

At this point, the goal is to develop specific and concrete initiatives relating to each high-level area of employee engagement and document those as well! 

For instance, prioritizing rewards and recognition is a powerful tactic to enhance employee engagement. But this tactic can be expressed in many ways. It's up to you to "bring it to life" with specific initiatives. For example you could implement a peer-to-peer recognition program, a work anniversary program, or offer a budget for lunch and celebration for employee birthdays.

Initiatives are not just specific; they are strategic. They should mirror and strengthen your organization's core values and culture. Most importantly, they directly address the engagement issue within your business. To build a robust, long-term engagement plan, start by selecting one or two drivers of employee engagement (for example, Career Growth and Leadership) and asking yourself: How are we doing in this area? Or, what could we do better? This strategic approach will instill confidence in the effectiveness of your plan.

By the end of this process, you should have a list of actionable initiatives to help kick-start your engagement plan.

Step 4: Establish key metrics to track

Your employee engagement plan must include benchmarks (or success metrics) to help you track the progress of your initiatives. 

This is a critical step for both your team and for receiving buy-in from executives. If you can show that your initiatives are impacting the business, your decision-makers will be more likely to free up time and resources for your team to continue making efforts in these areas.

Examples of benchmarks can include: 

• Increasing eNPS scores by X% in the next six months
• Increasing retention by X% in the next year
• Decreasing absenteeism by X% in the next year

Step 5: Adjust the plan accordingly

An employee engagement plan should never be set in stone. A business is always in flux; employees come and go, and external influences such as the job market and the economy's health will affect the business and its employees. 

As such, whenever you create an employee engagement action plan, remember that this plan can constantly shift and change as your business's priorities shift. For example, you may consider "career growth and development" a top area of consideration. However, after a few months, the priorities might shift to other areas, such as "rewards and recognition" or "wellness and mental health."

We strongly advise revisiting your plan every 3-6 months to ensure its relevance. This proactive approach reassures you of the plan's effectiveness and instills confidence in your employees that their needs and wants are being considered and addressed. 

Final Thoughts

Employee engagement is more than planning one-off social events or providing better snacks in the breakroom. Of course, these small perks and events do help to temporarily bolster company culture and morale; however, they are not strategies and fail to address employee engagement issues holistically.

To strategically address employee engagement, you must peel the layers back and look deeper. The goal of a robust employee engagement plan is to validate with objective data where and how your employee experience is falling short in some key areas, like benefits, compensation, recognition, and leadership, and make changes accordingly.

This involves continuous feedback loops, transparent communication, and a genuine commitment to improving based on employee input. Only by embedding these principles into the fabric of your organizational culture can you foster a truly engaged and motivated workforce, driving long-term success and fulfillment for both employees and the company as a whole.

Organizing office events that resonate with employees can be challenging for leaders and HR professionals. Whether your company is a startup with a handful of employees or a large corporation with hundreds, finding the right activities everyone enjoys—and ensuring high attendance—can feel like an uphill battle. 

As we all know, traditional office parties and standard team-building exercises sometimes fall flat, leading to low participation and reduced engagement. Employees may feel that these events are just another obligation rather than an opportunity to relax and connect with their colleagues.

To help solve these challenges, let’s have a look at a few fun and budget-friendly office event ideas. These suggestions are designed to cater to businesses of all sizes, ensuring that there is something for everyone, regardless of company size or budget. From interactive workshops and themed parties to wellness activities and outdoor adventures, these events will spark creativity, boost morale, and encourage participation.

Incorporating these corporate event ideas into your calendar can create a more dynamic and inclusive workplace culture. So, let's dive in and discover how you can transform your office events from mundane to memorable, making them an anticipated highlight for all employees.

12 Office Event Ideas To Put in Your Calendar (for Every Sized Business)

1. Innovation Labs

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized businesses

Budget: None

How it works: An "Innovation Lab" is an exciting initiative where companies allocate dedicated time for employees to come together and brainstorm innovative ideas. Open to participants from all departments, this initiative encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, free from the typical constraints of the workday. A moderator should host sessions and can have some parameters around them, like each session can cover a certain topic or area of improvement. The sessions can be hosted more frequently, like on a monthly basis or even just a few times a year. Ultimately, it's up to you! One of the greatest benefits of these events is that they are free to roll out and host.

2. Volunteer day

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized businesses

Budget: May require a small budget

How it works: Volunteer Day allows your company or certain teams to dedicate their time and effort to a cause they care about. During a volunteer day, employees are offered time away from the office to volunteer for a particular organization in the community. Some organizations require a donation for corporate volunteer days – hence the possible small budget required, but some don’t. If your company is trying to get more involved in social causes, this might be a fun and meaningful way for your team to get together and spend an afternoon. 

‍3. Lunch and learn

Ideal for: Any sized business

Budget: None

How it works: "Lunch and Learn" sessions are informal training events held during lunchtime, where employees can gather to learn about a variety of topics while enjoying their lunch. These sessions can be a great way for internal talent to show off their knowledge and expertise in certain areas, as these sessions are usually hosted by employees themselves and cover a wide range of subjects. Lunch and learns are also ideal for fully remote teams, as they allow employees to get together, learn from each other, and chat in a more informal setting. 

‍4. Fitness challenges

Ideal for: Small businesses

Budget: Small budget for prizes for winner

How it works: Launching a fitness challenge can be a great idea for small businesses looking to develop a wellness program for employees who are already active or eager to be more active! Each fitness challenge can have a theme like “monthly step goal challenge” or “monthly running challenge.” Set up a reasonable goal that employees have to reach for this particular challenge and ask employees to keep track of their activity. At the end of the month, those who reach the goal can receive a prize. This can also be a great activity idea for remote teams, as they can keep each other in the loop of their progress towards their fitness goals via creating a channel in your chat tool for this monthly challenge or if you’re using an employee engagement tool like Qarrot employees can post updates on the company’s newsfeed.

‍5. Photo contest

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized businesses 

Budget: Small budget for prizes

How it works: Photo contests are ideal for remote teams, but they also work for hybrid teams or teams that are fully in the office. These types of creative contests are great for employees to show off their artistic skills and serve as a jump-off point for discussing non-work topics like pets and vacations. In short, they are a great icebreaker! The event is simple; it asks employees to present their best photographs, and usually, there is a theme. For example, pets, nature, travel, etc. For remote teams, photograph submissions can be made in a chat channel created for this challenge, and a panel of judges can rate the quality of the photographs based on certain criteria. The winners, of course, receive a small prize. 

6. Job shadow day

Ideal for: Any sized business

Budget: None

How it works: When you work for an organization, it's normal to be curious about what other people in your company do daily. Moreover, it can actually be a great way to boost a company's performance and collaboration when people appreciate what another's job entails. In addition, some people may be curious about moving positions but unsure if it's right for them. Job shadowing is a great opportunity for employees to learn about each other's work and test the waters of a new role or responsibility. Setting up a special day where any employee can shadow another for an afternoon is a great way to hit all these goals all the while being budget friendly.

‍7. Outdoor picnic

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized businesses

Budget: Modest to moderate

How it works: A classic company outing is a great way to give your employees a way to relax and unwind during the warmer months of the year. This is an ideal opportunity to offer employees half an afternoon off; consider making the picnic during lunch hour and allowing employees to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with their colleagues. They may not be traditionally ‘productive’ during this time. However, taking the time to bond with teammates is an important part of morale and team building and indirectly impacts productivity and engagement.

9. Talent show

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized businesses

Budget: Modest

How it works: Hosting a company talent show can be a playful, creative, and, not to mention an often hilarious, way for employees to express themselves, get to know each other, and break free from the daily grind. These talent shows should be open to any and every employee who wants to show off a special skill, and they can also be scaled up or down depending on the size of your company and budget. There is a lot of flexibility here, depending on how big or small you want this event to be! In addition, you can make it into a really friendly competition, and a panel of judges can score participants so that your winners receive a prize. 

‍8. Friday happy hour

Ideal for: Any sized business 

Budget: Modest

How it works: A classic happy hour or a “beer Friday” event is always a tried and true idea for employees to unwind and reward themselves after a long work week. These events should never be mandatory but more casual, allowing employees to pop in for a drink and refreshment before heading home. To spice up your happy hour, consider incorporating some ice breaker exercises or games to help people ease into interacting. A few icebreakers can be highly appreciated by socially introverted individuals and a great motivator to get them involved in these events.

‍9. Employee recognition events or “office awards”

Ideal for: Any sized business

Budget: Modest

How it works: An office award ceremony is a lighthearted and informal event celebrating team members' unique qualities and contributions. This event can be a standalone, or part of a greater recognition and rewards program and initiatives. Categories could include "Best Attitude," "Best Outfits," and "Most Helpful," highlighting both professional achievements and personal flair. Preparation includes picking fun award categories, gathering nominations, and making simple yet personalized awards, like certificates and trophies. The event can also have refreshments, music, and an MC to present the awards. The goal is to boost morale, foster camaraderie, and recognize the diverse talents and personalities within the team. With a little bit of creativity, resourcefulness, and the right communication tools like Qarrot, these types of office awards can be hosted virtually for remote teams as well.

‍10. Family days

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized business

Budget: Modest to moderate

How it works: Organizing a "Family Day" for office workers involves planning a fun and inclusive event that welcomes employees' families to the workplace, fostering a sense of camaraderie and community. When employees get to know each other's family, it can foster a sense of closeness that can actually be beneficial to employee happiness, engagement, and even productivity. Not to mention, having an afternoon where employees are encouraged to have fun and relax can show employees you care about their well-being. The event can involve games, refreshments, workshops, and other activities that are family-friendly. This can all be achieved on a small to moderate budget with some resourcefulness and creativity.

‍11. Cultural festivals

Ideal for: Any sized business

Budget: Modest to moderate

How it works: Workplaces are richer when diversity is celebrated and educated. By hosting a cultural festival, your office can honor many nationalities. You may want to set up various stations on the same day to emulate a trade show or hold a series of festivities throughout the year.

Here are a few global holidays and festivals you may consider:

• Holi: An Indian spring festival often celebrated by throwing brightly-colored powder, occurring at the end of March
• Cinco de Mayo: A Mexican holiday celebrated on May 5th and has evolved into a significant cultural celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, marked by festivals, music, dancing, and traditional Mexican foods.
• Lunar New Year: Following a lunar calendar, many Asian countries celebrate new Year over two weeks in January or February. Families celebrate together by eating large meals, cleaning, and honoring ancestors.
• Oktoberfest: A German beer-centric festival that takes place the last week of September and the first week of August.
• Carnivale: A mid-winter celebration popular in Brazil and the Caribbean with parades and elaborate costumes.

12. Company tailgate

Ideal for: Small to medium-sized 

Budget: Modest 

How it works: Organizing a company tailgate involves planning a casual and enjoyable event that allows employees to unwind and socialize in a relaxed outdoor setting, often in conjunction with a sporting event. To ensure it's fun and relaxing, select a suitable location, such as a stadium parking lot or park, and set up tents, seating, and tables for comfort. Arrange for classic tailgating activities like grilling, games (e.g., cornhole, ladder toss), and possibly a live stream of the game if not attending in person. Various food and beverages, including non-alcoholic options, ensure everyone is catered to. Organize carpooling or provide transportation to facilitate attendance, and consider creating a sign-up sheet for potluck contributions to diversify the food offerings.

Final Thoughts

When employees take the time to socialize at work and get to know each other, it fosters a deeper sense of engagement and happiness in the workplace. This can have a huge, positive impact on a company's productivity and even overall performance.

The problem is that socialization cannot be forced. But sometimes, people need a little push to get out of their comfort zone. In other words, they need a bit of motivation to get to know each other. These office event ideas allow employees to meet each other and socialize in a relaxed, casual setting while being budget-friendly. Hopefully, these social events will be the jump off point you require to create some buzz and engagement in your workplace. 

There was a time when checking in with your workforce was simpler. You could monitor employee morale by scanning the office during your morning stroll to the lunchroom for that second cup of java. 

However, the workplace has evolved dramatically.

With the rise of remote work, flexible hours, and diverse global teams, the old "reading the room" method doesn’t cut it anymore. Add on a frontline workforce and a business leader’s job is even more challenging. 

As the dynamics of our work environments have shifted, so too have the needs and expectations of employees. Today, staying connected with how employees feel is essential for business success. 

Here’s how data can be used to create a more supportive and engaging workplace. 

Why Boost Morale and Recognition? 

The overall sentiments within a workforce can influence the success or failure of your organization.

Dissatisfied employees have led to the downfall of many companies—just look at Circuit City. Haven’t heard of them? That’s because a disgruntled workforce contributed to their 2007 bankruptcy.

Elevated employee morale is closely linked to employee engagement. And engaged employees are generally more motivated and committed to doing a good job. They work more productively because they enjoy their roles and are likely to speak positively about your organization, which can help attract new talent. 

The impact of happy employees extends beyond internal operations. Your employees are the face of your company. When content and motivated, they deliver better customer service, directly influencing customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profit.

High morale is also an excellent buffer should your organization experience a big change. Recognized and valued employees are more likely to trust their leaders and stay committed during a rough patch. 

Boosting morale and recognition helps build a stronger, more cohesive team and fosters an environment where employees thrive, innovate, and drive sustained growth. Conversely, low morale can lead to higher absenteeism, decreased productivity, and, ultimately, a negative impact on your bottom line.

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6 Tips to Use Data to Improve Morale and Recognition

Data isn't just a tool for measuring sales or tracking logistics anymore—it's also helpful in understanding and improving employee morale.

Your organization can create a more engaged and satisfied workforce with thoughtful data analysis and strategic implementation. 

Here’s how you can use employee data to help boost morale and recognition.

1. Conduct Regular Employee Surveys

The best way to learn how your employees feel is, well, to ask them! 

But depending on the size of your workforce, it could take an entire year to ask each one individually. And then collating that data would be a spreadsheet nightmare. 

However, thanks to digital platforms like SurveyMonkey and UKG, sending anonymous employee surveys is now easier than ever. These apps, and others like them, analyze the results with statistical tools that reveal patterns and pinpoint areas where employees feel overlooked or under-appreciated. 

Transparency in sharing these findings and action plans to address them helps boost trust and morale by showing that feedback leads to real change.

2. Create Unbiased Employee Reviews

An unfair work environment can lower morale faster than a four-year-old can drop an ice cream cone. 

Whether intentional or subconscious, workplace biases can lead to a sense of injustice, undermine the credibility of performance evaluations, and significantly impact career progression and satisfaction.

No one wants to see Carl get the promotion that Jane so clearly deserves. 

Once again, it’s data to the rescue. Advanced data analytics tools can examine employee review scores across demographics and departments. This can help identify any disparities or trends that might suggest bias. For instance, if a particular group consistently receives lower performance ratings despite similar output and engagement levels, this could indicate a systemic issue that needs addressing.

Creating a standardized scoring system is another effective way to ensure fairness in employee evaluations. A system that uses specific, measurable benchmarks for job performance rather than subjective feedback can provide an objective assessment.

3. Monitor Workload and Overtime

It’s easy to lean on your employees to pick up the slack in a worker shortage, or unwittingly pile on the work without realizing the impact on your employees.  However, overwork can lead to a burned-out and despondent team. 

The good news is that tools like Toggl or Asana have time trackers that can illuminate how employees spend their time, and highlight where they are bogged down. Evenly distributing the workload based on this data can help prevent burnout and communicate to employees that you care about their well-being. 

Plus, regular workload reviews encourage open discussions between employees and management, cultivating a commitment to maintaining a healthy and balanced work environment.

4. Implement a Peer Recognition Program

There’s nothing quite like peer recognition to put a little pep in your step. Your colleagues know what goes into doing your job well, so recognition from them carries a lot of weight. 

Peer recognition programs can improve morale by fostering an environment of appreciation across all levels of your organization. In fact, studies show that 37% of employees want to be recognized at work. And when recognized, the effort meter can rise by 69%. Not bad for a simple “thanks for doing a great job.”

Make recognition part of your company culture and set up a system that allows employees to award each other points or badges for daily wins and helpful behaviors. A little positive reinforcement in the workplace can go a long way in helping your employees feel good about their jobs and your organization. 

5. Communicate Employee Growth Plans

Data can help develop and communicate employee growth plans. Analyzing performance metrics, training completions, and career progression paths can help build individualized development programs that align with company goals and personal aspirations. 

This approach ensures employees see a clear trajectory for advancement and understand the milestones they need to hit. Regularly updating employees on their growth plan progress via digital dashboards or one-on-one meetings keeps them engaged and aware of their professional development, enhancing their motivation and job satisfaction.

6. Measure Morale KPIs

Setting clear key performance indicators (KPIs) for employee morale is critical. To know where you’re going, you need to understand where you started, and how you’re measuring success.

These KPIs could include metrics like employee net promoter scores (NPS), turnover rates, frequency of peer-to-peer recognition, and results from regular engagement surveys. 

No matter what KPIs you choose, what’s important is that you create a quantifiable morale benchmark and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of new initiatives. 

Build a Thriving Workplace Culture

Using the insights provided by data, you can help your team stay ahead of the curve and feel genuinely appreciated and valued.

And although data is integral to boosting employee morale and recognition, don’t forget human connection is still central to building a thriving workplace culture. After all, behind every data point is a person who contributes to the success of your organization.

As an HR professional, you might be looking to launch your company’s very first employee rewards and recognition program. Or you might already have a program in place and want to implement a new type of initiative. Either way, we are sure you landed here because some questions are circling your head, like:

• What type of program should I launch?
• What type of program will employees prefer?
• Will they even participate?

This is a big initiative and responsibility. Of course, you want your program to succeed. So, conducting this preliminary research is an important part of that equation.

Launching a thriving recognition and rewards program

That said, at Qarrot, we’ve helped countless companies launch successful employee recognition and rewards programs. Over time, we have learned some lessons about what it takes to design, launch, and maintain a successful program.

In this article, we’ll discuss everything related to recognition and rewards – the key differences between the two, ideas for rewards and recognition, and how to overcome common challenges.

Whether you’re looking to launch your first program or thinking about updating an old one, some ideas and best practices are important to remember. By the end of this short guide, you’ll better understand the reality of launching a successful program. You’ll also have the knowledge and feel more confident taking the next steps!

Rewards and Recognition: What’s the Difference?

While the terms "rewards" and "recognition" are often used interchangeably in the workplace, it's important to note their distinct roles. Both are crucial for celebrating successes, boosting morale, and showing employee appreciation, but they operate differently.

Employee rewards are tangible incentives or perks. They can sometimes be monetary or can also take non-monetary forms.

For example:

• Performance bonuses 
• Raises
• Trophies
• Tangible gifts
• Gift cards
• Paid outings 
• Extra time off

In other words, rewards are a visible and concrete way of showing appreciation to employees for their effort and hard work. They can be powerful motivators by providing some level of extrinsic motivation.

That said, rewards are often offered with some form of verbal employee recognition. In our experience, the best reward experience always includes some level of personalized recognition.

To that end, recognition is not always about money but also about verbally acknowledging and showing appreciation for employees’ efforts, behaviors, and progress. 

It can include things like

• Thank-you cards or letters
• Verbal shout-outs at meetings or in private
• A recognition message posted in your work chat tool or recognition software.

Verbal recognition is not only the most desired form of employee appreciation worldwide, but it's also the easiest and least expensive way to show appreciation. Research consistently shows that a simple 'thank you' can go a long way in boosting employee morale and satisfaction.

For example, Dr. Paul White is a psychologist and expert in workplace recognition, and he and his team have been studying appreciation in the workplace for years. Recently, they reached a huge milestone, where over 400,000 employees have taken their workplace survey to gauge how they prefer to be shown appreciation at work. Unsurprisingly, “words of affirmation” continue to be the most desired form of appreciation by employees worldwide. 

“words of affirmation” continue to be the most desired form of appreciation by employees worldwide. 

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What’s the takeaway here? 

When planning a rewards program, it's crucial to remember that tangible rewards like gifts or team outings are not always sufficient.

Verbal recognition is a key component that should not be overlooked. Offering effective employee recognition is not just about saying 'good job,' it’s about acknowledging an employee's unique contributions and highlighting what they did well. When recognition is genuine, sincere, and personalized, it becomes a potent tool for stimulating intrinsic motivation.

Types of Reward and Recognition Programs in the Workplace

Let’s be honest: if you’re in HR, you probably know managers aren’t always the best at giving regular recognition. Even though we all know it’s important, sometimes it’s hard to get in the habit of doing something regularly. This applies to many things in life; giving recognition at work is definitely one of them!

This is where an official program can help.

One critical benefit of an official rewards and recognition program is formalizing and structuring the process of recognition giving. This helps give leaders a framework for when and how to offer recognition. As a result, this makes it more likely that employees will get the regular recognition that they need to stay happy, engaged, and motivated. 

That said, rewards and recognition programs come in all shapes and sizes. There is no “one-size-fits-all” formula. However, you can categorize them into two major buckets: formal and informal programs.

More “formal” programs usually involve initiatives like:

• Years of service awards 
• Milestone programs
• Performance awards
• Birthday celebrations
• Employee of the month
• Nomination programs

More “informal” programs usually involve initiatives like:

• Shoutouts in meetings
• Organizing paid outings or events
• Thank you letters
• Offering small gifts for a job well done

Key differences between program types

Whether you’re looking to implement a more formal or informal initiatives, there are some key differences to remember between these two types of recognition programs.

Formal programs often need more time and resources to roll out and launch. They also need budgeting as they offer monetary or non-monetary rewards to employees. As such, these types of programs often use third-party recognition tools, like Qarrot, which provides a platform for employees to shop and redeem their rewards or gifts.

But, once a formal program is on wheels, it can essentially be automated and become simple and easy to run. This is especially true with the help of modern recognition tools like Qarrot. Most importantly, the greatest advantage is that it provides structured and predictable moments for employees to get regular appreciation from their leaders and peers.

On the other hand, informal programs can be simple and quick to put in place and usually involve a very small or no budget at all. For example, managers set up a recognition segment in meetings where anyone can give each other recognition. This type of initiative is 100% free and can be rolled out without hassle. 

The downside is that these informal methods can make it more difficult for leaders to remember to offer recognition or get in the habit of doing it consistently. These types of informal programs can easily be neglected and fall by the wayside. Also, with informal recognition methods, there is usually a missing tangible reward, which can make recognition lack impact. 

Common Challenges with Employee Rewards and Recognition Programs

No matter what type of recognition initiative you choose to launch, some challenges and obstacles will likely arise. 

Let’s discuss some of the most common challenges faced by HR professionals and leaders when launching employee rewards and recognition programs. And most importantly, we’ll cover some simple strategies you can implement to mitigate these issues and even completely overcome them.

1. Lack of participation or enthusiasm

If you're allocating a budget to this new program, employee enthusiasm and participation are obviously big concerns. You want this to be a success! We have found some simple and effective strategies that can help alleviate this concern and maximize program participation.

Create a strong internal promotion‍

It's important to build hype and buzz around a new initiative. It's time to remove your HR hat and put on your marketing hat. The key to success is repetition.

In short, sometimes, people must hear things multiple times for the information to stick. Don't just plan for one announcement right before launching; plan a rollout schedule that involves several announcements over multiple touch-points like email, in-person announcements, manager meetings, etc. 

Ensure senior leadership stand behind it‍

Rewards and recognition programs are more successful when employees see the company's senior leadership support them. This encourages employees to get involved and participate. Ensuring leaders are involved is as simple as having them contribute to creating the buzz around the program and proactively participating in recognition giving, for example.

Training and empowering managers

‍Managers set the tone for the company and employees; if managers don't initiate recognition, neither will employees. So, it's critical to get buy-in from them and to get them properly trained and educated on the program's components. When leadership stands behind your program, you'll have the best chances of widespread adoption and long-term success. 

2. Budget constraints

If you work in HR, you know that getting even a tiny slice of the budget for extra initiatives can be difficult. Executives are often wary of investing in programs with ambiguous ROI. Of course, HR teams will have difficulty launching recognition or reward programs if they don't have buy-in from senior leadership.

To make the hurdle of getting financial buy-in easier, we suggest you approach this conversation more logically. In short, you want to build a business case for employee recognition. To achieve this, the first thing you need to do is prove to leadership that there is a problem in the business that needs to be addressed. 

For example:

• High turnover
• Low morale
• Low satisfaction
• Low average tenure

Pro tip: You'll build an even stronger case if you can put a hard price tag on how much money the business loses due to these challenges. Hopefully, with more strategic conversations, you can free up a budget to help fuel your recognition and rewards initiatives.‍

3. Ensuring fairness and avoiding biases

A common worry among leaders when launching a recognition program is whether employees will get jealous of each other or will people feel it’s unfair.

While this is a normal worry, the reality is, that when recognition is genuinely earned and given in a sincere and personalized way, other employees are rarely jealous. In fact, they get behind the appreciation message because they see their peer working hard, too! 

In other words, here are a few ways to ensure fairness and avoid biases in recognition giving.

• Train managers on what actions and accomplishments deserve recognition. This will ensure everyone gets a chance to receive it.
• Make sure recognition messages are personalized and highlight employees' efforts.
• Ensure peers know they can recognize each other, too.

If you find jealousy starting to brew among your employees, a deeper cultural issue is usually at play that is simply being brought to the surface. ‍‍

4. Sustaining the momentum

Like most things in life, excitement fades over time. That’s human nature. Even if your recognition program was initially well received and widely adopted, you may find that employee enthusiasm and participation fade over time. This is normal!

With a few simple strategies, you can easily mitigate this issue and ensure that people are always excited and eager to get involved.

Monitor participation‍

First, make sure you’re monitoring participation in the program. If you use a recognition tool like Qarrot, these analytics features are integrated into the platform. This way, you’ll always have your finger on the pulse of program involvement.

Give a refresher‍

When new employees and managers enter the company, they might be told about the program, but if they’re not exposed first-hand, that might lead to a dip in participation. Occasionally, hosting refresher sessions for those new employees or leaders can help keep the program's momentum up over time.

Embed appreciation into your culture

‍Consider making “recognition” or “appreciation” a part of your core cultural values. Have your executive and senior leaders stand behind this effort. Ensure these new cultural values are promoted and visible at various touch points with which employees interact. 

For example, the company website, social media, and office walls are emphasized at company meet-ups and meetings. When employees see that this program isn’t just a surface-level initiative but a deeper reflection of the company's values, they’ll be more likely to practice this habit continuously. 

Final Thoughts

Sharing appreciation for employees is critical. However, an employee rewards and recognition program goes beyond simply ensuring people give each other regular "thank you's." 

These programs formalize and provide a framework for the process of recognition giving; they also help embed appreciation deep into your work culture. As a result, employee recognition isn't something people passively do from time to time; instead, it's a regular habit that everyone enthusiastically participates in.

With this guide, we've not only shed light on the differences between rewards and recognition, but also provided insights into different types of programs and the challenges you may face using them in the workplace. This guide is designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed.

Hopefully, this brief guide will make you more confident and informed about institutionalizing a recognition program in the workplace. Subsequently, you'll be better positioned to take the next steps!

Are you looking to launch your first employee recognition program? Check out our complete guide!