Programme de reconnaissance et de récompenses pour les employés : guide pratique

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 élaborer une analyse de rentabilisation en faveur de la reconnaissance des employés. Pour y parvenir, la première chose à faire est de prouver aux dirigeants qu'il existe un problème dans l'entreprise qui doit être résolu.

Par exemple :

• Turn-over élevé
• Moral bas
• Faible satisfaction
• Durée moyenne d'ancienneté faible

Conseil de pro : Vous pourrez établir un dossier encore plus solide si vous pouvez évaluer avec précision le montant que l'entreprise perd en raison de ces défis. J'espère que grâce à des conversations plus stratégiques, vous pourrez libérer un budget pour vous aider à financer vos initiatives de reconnaissance et de récompenses.‍

3. Garantir l'équité et éviter les biais

Lors du lancement d'un programme de reconnaissance, les dirigeants s'inquiètent souvent de savoir si les employés vont devenir jaloux les uns des autres ou si les gens vont penser que c'est injuste.

Bien qu'il s'agisse d'une inquiétude normale, la réalité est que lorsque la reconnaissance est véritablement méritée et accordée de manière sincère et personnalisée, les autres employés sont rarement jaloux. En fait, ils acceptent le message d'appréciation parce qu'ils voient leurs pairs travailler dur, eux aussi !

En d'autres termes, voici quelques moyens de garantir l'équité et d'éviter les biais dans l'attribution de la reconnaissance.

• Formez les gestionnaires aux actions et aux réalisations qui méritent d'être reconnues. Cela permettra à chacun d'avoir la chance de le recevoir.
• Assurez-vous que les messages de reconnaissance sont personnalisés et mettent en valeur les efforts des employés.
• Assurez-vous que les pairs savent qu'ils peuvent se reconnaître, aussi.

Si vous constatez que la jalousie commence à germer chez vos employés, c'est généralement un problème culturel plus profond qui est simplement mis en évidence. ‍‍

4. Maintenir la dynamique

Comme la plupart des choses dans la vie, l'excitation s'estompe avec le temps. C'est la nature humaine. Même si votre programme de reconnaissance a été initialement bien accueilli et largement adopté, vous constaterez peut-être que l'enthousiasme et la participation des employés s'estompent au fil du temps. C'est normal !

Avec quelques stratégies simples, vous pouvez facilement atténuer ce problème et vous assurer que les gens sont toujours enthousiastes et désireux de s'impliquer.

Surveiller la participation‍

Tout d'abord, assurez-vous de surveiller la participation au programme. Si vous utilisez un outil de reconnaissance tel que Qarrot, ces fonctionnalités d'analyse sont intégrées à la plateforme. De cette façon, vous aurez toujours le pouls de la participation au programme.

Offrez une remise à niveau‍

Lorsque de nouveaux employés et cadres entrent dans l'entreprise, ils peuvent être informés du programme, mais s'ils ne sont pas exposés de première main, cela peut entraîner une baisse de la participation. À l'occasion, l'organisation de séances de recyclage pour ces nouveaux employés ou dirigeants peut aider à maintenir l'élan du programme au fil du temps.

Intégrez l'appréciation dans votre culture

‍Envisagez de faire de la « reconnaissance » ou de l' « appréciation » une partie de vos valeurs culturelles fondamentales. Demandez à votre direction et à vos cadres supérieurs de soutenir cet effort. Veillez à ce que ces nouvelles valeurs culturelles soient promues et visibles aux différents points de contact avec lesquels les employés interagissent.

Par exemple, le site Web de l'entreprise, les réseaux sociaux et les murs des bureaux sont mis en valeur lors des réunions et des réunions d'entreprise. Lorsque les employés constateront que ce programme n'est pas simplement une initiative de surface mais qu'il reflète davantage les valeurs de l'entreprise, ils seront plus susceptibles de pratiquer cette habitude de manière continue.

Réflexions finales

Il est essentiel de partager la reconnaissance envers les employés. Cependant, un programme de récompenses et de reconnaissance des employés ne se limite pas à s'assurer que les gens se remercient régulièrement.

Ces programmes officialisent et encadrent le processus de reconnaissance ; ils contribuent également à ancrer l'appréciation au plus profond de votre culture de travail. Par conséquent, la reconnaissance des employés n'est pas quelque chose que les gens font passivement de temps à autre ; c'est plutôt une habitude régulière à laquelle tout le monde participe avec enthousiasme.

Dans ce guide, nous avons non seulement mis en lumière les différences entre les récompenses et la reconnaissance, mais nous avons également fourni un aperçu des différents types de programmes et des défis auxquels vous pourriez être confronté en les utilisant sur le lieu de travail. Ce guide est conçu pour vous fournir les connaissances et les outils dont vous avez besoin pour réussir.

J'espère que ce bref guide vous donnera plus confiance en vous et vous renseignera sur l'institutionnalisation d'un programme de reconnaissance en milieu de travail. Par la suite, vous serez mieux placé pour passer aux étapes suivantes !

Vous souhaitez lancer votre premier programme de reconnaissance des employés ? Consultez notre guide complet !