Turnover and quiet quitting create serious consequences for businesses. Reviewing your company’s recognition culture and reward system has never been more important.
Employee recognition has the potential to improve retention and productivity. However, traditional programs often fail to meet employee expectations.
Acknowledging project milestones, personal achievements, and contributions of all sizes is vital for supporting and improving company morale.
This article explores the benefits of positive feedback, the recognition workers prefer, and the latest trends shaping successful recognition programs.
How do employee rewards and recognition motivate an employee?
Employee rewards and recognition motivate employees to do excellent work and help them feel more appreciation from employers.
Gallup reports employees are 73 percent less likely to experience burnout when positive feedback is a core component of company culture.
Employees who regularly receive recognition are also 56 percent less likely to look elsewhere for other job opportunities.
In a competitive job market—and especially in fields where talent shortages are common—keeping workers content through acts of appreciation is a low-effort, high-reward practice.
Successful recognition programs improve employee retention, engagement, and performance.
What are the different ways of recognizing employees?
Recognizing employees in the workplace happens in a variety of ways, including shoutouts in meetings, team lunches, gift cards, company awards, and private compliments. Other popular methods include memorable experiences like wine tasting, company swag, or donations to a charity in the employee’s name.
Differentiating between compensation and recognition is crucial. BambooHR says one-third of employees would rather be recognized for their work accomplishments in a company-wide email from an executive than receive a private $500 cash bonus. Cash bonuses feel transactional, and employees learn to expect them as part of their normal compensation.
On the other hand, gift cards serve as a symbol of recognition, not compensation. This form of recognition speaks more closely to a person’s interests, and the act creates a memorable experience attached to a prestigious brand name.
What are the current trends in employee recognition?
The main trends affecting employee recognition programs are peer-to-peer recognition, personalized rewards, reviewing frequency, and gamification.
1. Technology and gamification
Employee recognition platforms help formalize company programs and ensure they are accessible to all workers. These tools offer an element of gamification that keeps employees engaged and empowered to recognize their peers consistently.
Point systems, leaderboards, digital badges, and real-time prize claims are standard features that create a playful environment while reinforcing the trends above.
2. Increasing recognition frequency
Regular rewards have a more positive impact on work performance than annual rewards. The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) reports that offering more frequent rewards is more beneficial to work performance than a sizable annual reward. Ongoing recognition supports high motivation and productivity levels among employees throughout the year, keeping engagement levels high and preventing burnout.
The shift towards frequent rewards creates an opportunity for coworkers to recognize and participate in the reward system for their peers.
3. Peer-to-peer accolades
Peer recognition programs are more prevalent than ever and help employees feel more valued and engaged. Micro-recognitions build a culture of appreciation among team members and keep workers consistently productive year-round. Regular peer acknowledgment builds a culture of appreciation among team members and keeps workers productive year-round.
4. Personalization
Catering to a more diverse workforce means offering rewards and recognition that speak to individual employee preferences.
Deloitte ties personalization to business success by underscoring how high-performing companies are six times more likely to understand employee preferences than their low-performing counterparts.
Gift card rewards are a wise choice for recognition programs because they offer personalization cash bonuses don’t provide.
Understanding different employee preferences for recognition
Employees have varying preferences for recognition that vary based on generation and job environment.
Millennials and Gen Z thrive on frequent feedback. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that 79 percent of Gen Z and Millennials said increasing recognition rewards would make them more loyal to their employer.
Since younger generations grew up in a digital world, online-based platforms with peer-to-peer-driven rewards are second nature. They’re also commonplace applications in remote work environments.
On the other hand, older generations don’t expect immediate or ongoing feedback and hold more appreciation for antiquated forms of recognition like handwritten notes, employee spotlights in newsletters, and formal awards like Employee of the Month.
Employers bridge these generational preferences by embracing versatile rewards (like bulk gift cards) that appeal to younger and older employees in various workplace settings.
Conclusion: Bulk gift cards for employee recognition
Employee recognition and rewards programs drive employee retention and foster a strong company culture.
Recognition takes many forms, including public praise, peer-to-peer recognition, and rewards programs with gift cards. Current trends in employee rewards include digital peer-to-peer systems, gamification, increasing reward frequency, and personalized prizes.
Gift cards are one of the most popular and universally appreciated rewards for personalizing rewards in recognition programs. NeoCurrency offers 2000 choices in 50 countries for bulk gift cards that fit seamlessly into your company’s employee recognition program.
Request your demo to learn how much you can save on bulk gift cards from NeoCurrency for your employee reward program.