7 common mistakes in existing employee recognition programs

Last updated on July 18th, 2024 at 07:26 am

Many companies want their workers to feel good about their jobs. And for good reason: happy workers do better and hang around longer. But let’s be honest, most bosses and managers don’t know how to get their workers to feel good about their jobs. And inevitably, they make mistakes, sometimes annoying or disappointing their employees. In this article, we’ll look at some common errors companies make when trying to boost worker morale.

1. You don’t know what you want.

Problem: Most firms reward for unknown reasons. This might mystify everyone.

How to fix it: Think about what you want to happen. You want people to be happier at work? You want the people who work from home to try harder?

2. Confusing Rules for Getting Rewards

The problem: Workers are upset and confused about how to get rewards.

How to fix it: The house should have easy-to-follow rules on the kind of work that should attract rewards. Workers simply know what to do.

3. Big-Up Only the Really Big Things

Problem: Some workplaces only notice when people do something really big. They miss the small good things workers do every day.

Solution: Notice when people work well with others, and have good ideas. Helps workers be good at lots of different things.

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4. Forgetting to Say Nice Things

Problem: When bosses do not tell workers that they have done a good job, people become dejected and do not perform well. 

Response: Say to the people, you are doing a good job frequently, not occasionally. So the workers are happy.

5. Rewards are Given Only to Few Workers

Problem: Others feel their importance is not recognized at work when only good workers are rewarded.

Solution: Plan a way to praise all types of workers, regardless of the nature of the work, to let every worker know that their work counts.

6. Giving Awards Only Once a Year

Problem: Once-a-year reward cannot feed people and keep them motivated enough to work for the whole year.

Give more praise—maybe every week, two weeks, or month. That keeps people happy and working hard the entire year.

7. Same Reward for All

Problem: Not everyone likes to be praised the same. If you use one way with everyone, that feels not special.

Fix: Learn how each employee prefers to be acknowledged. Some may like public accolades, others a private thank-you note.