1. Reap the Rewards of Recognition

2. Power of Recognition Everybody likes recognition
Show your employees love or risk losing them
No. 1 reason employees leave jobs… they don’t feel appreciated (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
Making people feel good is good for business

3. Power of Recognition Employees are motivated by recognition
It is three times more important than salary as a satisfying element of work (Harvard Business Review)
Leads to increased productivity and employee retention
In turn, leads to improved customer relations and increased business

4. Recognition drives results
A good recognition program can:
Motivate and encourage good behavior
Improve morale and build loyalty
Retain employees; cut recruiting and training costs
Increase productivity and sales
Increase customer satisfaction
Boost profits

5. Recognition drives results
50% lower turnover
Key employees cost 150% of their salary to replace
38% more productivity
Engaged employees perform more efficiently, are more loyal and are easy to manage
27% more profitability
Companies with motivated employees are more financially stable
56% higher customer satisfaction
When employees are happy, customers are happy
50% lower turnover - Key employees cost 150% of their salary to replace
38% more productivity - Engaged employees perform more efficiently, are more loyal and are easy to manage
27% more profitability – Winning companies are financially stable and return more to their stakeholders
56% higher customer satisfaction – less customer churn, more customer referrals, decreased marketing and sales expenses for new customers

6. Creating a Recognition Program
Best recognition programs use gifts and awards
Thoughtful, last in memory
Constant reminder of achievement
Motivate to do better
Gifts are better than cash bonus
Used immediately, nothing to show for accomplishment
Don’t remember why received cash award in the first place
Better than money…stand for more than monetary value
Stand for achievement
Constant reminder of success that drives an employee to do better
Cash is used immediately, often to pay bills
Nothing to show for accomplishment
Recipients don’t remember why received the cash award in the first place

7. Creating a Recognition Program
Promotional products are effective for motivating, rewarding and recognizing
Service-based events
Watches, timepieces, crystal, glass, plaques, pens, artwork, leather gifts
Performance-based recognition
Electronics, leisure/sporting goods, apparel, desktop/computer accessories, household items

8. Reward the right way Recognize with a tangible, visible reward
Seen by peers, family and friends
Make them proud
Proud to receive and display
Bring positive emotions and reminder of why recognized
More personalized, the greater its impact
Gives higher perceived value
Recognition should involve a tangible and visible reward.  Non-monetary awards are seen by supervisors, peers, family and friends every time they are used. 
Make them proud. When you give an award to someone, you want them to be proud of it. So, you don’t want to give someone something you’re not proud of. Rewards should be something recipients are proud to display. They should evoke positive emotions and remind recipients of when and why they were recognized.
The more personalized the award, the greater it's impact will be. Personalization on an item makes it even more special and gives it higher perceived value.
Choose items that will get the most visibility with your audience.  Do they work in an office?  Then choose a nice desktop accessory or plaque they will use or see throughout the day.  Or, if they travel a lot, pick an item that will travel with them - a watch or leather briefcase.

9. Reward the right way Informal recognition is important
Hand out spontaneous awards when an employee excels
Not just for employment milestones
Sooner, not later
Start recognizing right away to develop loyalty
90 days, 6 months, 1 year, etc.
Retention isn’t fought at 20 years, it’s fought at one-to-5 year level
• Informal recognition is important. While all employees like to receive formal recognition, including annual awards, not all employees are impacted by these programs. Empower your managers to engage rank-and-file employees by handing out spontaneous rewards, such as logoed apparel or desk accessories, when an employee excels.
• If the only time you recognize employees is when they hit employment milestones, you may have already said good-bye to a lot of high-quality employees. Loyalty is less common among the younger generation. You can’t wait five years to show appreciation for loyalty in employees you wish to retain. You start right away.
The retention battle isn’t fought at 15 or 25 years, it’s fought at the one-to-5 year level.

10. Reward the right way Consider the recipient Involve the family
One-size-fits-all doesn’t work
Offer choice and let employees help choose items
Involve the family
Rewards than can be used in leisure time
If an employee’s spouse is on board, he/she will be more engaged in the workplace
• Consider the recipient. One-size-fits-all rewards don’t work, especially on a global playing field. Offer choice in your recognition programs and let employees help choose the items. Effective programs feature high employee involvement during development of program. Ask for employees’ opinions and find out what awards would best motivate them as a group.
• Involve the family. Sending home a picnic basket full of goodies to an employee who has put in long hours helps drum up support at home. If an employee’s spouse is on board, you can bet that employee will be more engaged in the workplace.

11. Reward the right way Give more frequently, but on smaller scale
Generation Y employees crave constant recognition
Reward for day-to-day achievements
Unusual action to please a customer
Long hours to meet project deadline
Cost-saving or productivity enhancing suggestion
Completing a big sale
Reward for day-to-day achievements

12. Summary Increased business is the result of customer satisfaction
If you want customer satisfaction, motivating and retaining employees is key
Retention is directly tied to rewarding and recognizing individuals
Training and motivating employees is the key to customer satisfaction
Keep customers satisfied by treating your employees well. To keep customers, treat employees well.
Increased business is the result of good customer relations
Customer satisfaction stems from employee motivation and retention
Retention is directly tied to rewarding and recognizing individuals