Implementing an employee recognition program: Tips for success (McKnight’s LTC News)
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:
Implementing an employee recognition program: Tips for success
One of my recent posts, Employee recognition programs: What works, focused on the benefits of recognition and key points in choosing a recognition program. Now I’d like to address how to implement your chosen employee recognition program so that it becomes an energizing and integral part of your organization, rather than a short-lived promotion that fizzles after its initial burst of enthusiasm.
Here are some tips to ensure a long, useful life for your recognition program:
1. Establish a budget — Most companies spend between 0.5% and 3% of their payroll budget on employee recognition, with the average being 2%. Decide whether your distribution will be centralized, department-specific, or a combination of the two. Human resource personnel most frequently direct the programs (55% in a 2013 WorldatWork study, with a variety of staff taking responsibility at the other 45% of companies studied).
2. Determine how success will be measured — There are many ways to gauge the results of your efforts, including employee and resident satisfaction surveys, the level of participation in the program, and turnover rates. It also may be useful to have goal-specific measures, such as “number of infections” for a program designed to improve infection control procedures.
3. Train management staff on basics — It’s essential for the success of your program to have buy-in from senior staff members. Educate them on general recognition strategies such as when and how to acknowledge employees for best effect and the importance of their role in the project.
4. Design the program and get feedback — While you may have decided the broad focus of your program, now is the time to get specific. Exactly how will your program work? Who is eligible? What rewards will be offered? Who will be offering them? Try to create a simple program to provide meaningful, desirable rewards that are distributed fairly. Get feedback from your team to ensure the feasibility of the ideas and to increase their support for the enterprise.
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Implementing an employee recognition program: Tips for success
