As new generations enter the workforce, employee recognition needs to be continually evaluated. This article presents best practices for bestowing recognition and praise in order to ensure your efforts resonate with employees and motivate them effectively.

Effective recognition must be both frequent and public. Implementing peer-to-peer and 360deg recognition programs into your programs can amplify their effects and extend them further.

1. Be Specific

The best way to show appreciation for an employee's work is to be specific about what exactly they have done well and how. Vague praise has little meaning and may come across as insincere when other individuals have also performed similar duties in the past.

Employees desire recognition of their hard work, and when the recognition is specific and meaningful they're more likely to accept it. Feeling valued by their organization makes employees less likely to leave and saves costs on recruitment and training by keeping employees engaged with their jobs longer.

Specific feedback helps employees avoid perceived bias that could demotivate them, like when some employees receive more recognition due to personal relationships or because of being from certain racial or gender groups. With employee performance management software offering visibility of employee data, recognition should be objectively calculated and evenly distributed among employees.

2. Be Timely

Timing of recognition and praise can have a dramatic effect. Otherwise, employees may feel underappreciated and stop giving as much effort into the company - something which could ultimately prove disastrous in the long run.

An effective way to recognize behavior that you appreciate quickly is to dole out praise as soon as you observe or hear about it - that way, your words of praise will still remain fresh in their mind, giving them time to consider why their performance was remarkable.

Note that showing appreciation to an employee doesn't only apply to work. Show appreciation for personal goals, hobbies or side projects they have taken on to broaden their skill set or knowledge base. By acknowledging these efforts you not only show appreciation but also demonstrate that your company values are truly being lived out every day across your organization, leading to greater morale and engagement across your team.

3. Be Sincere

Be genuine when giving recognition and praise; people are aware when something doesn't feel genuine or when someone tries to gain sympathy by exaggerating praise or recognition.

Ideal, praise should be delivered immediately or shortly thereafter so the recipient can fully experience and remember it; doing so also prevents generic platitudes from turning into empty words of encouragement.

At first, it can be challenging to recognize your team members for their efforts; however, that shouldn't deter you from offering praise and recognition for achievements that may not be immediately obvious. Consider giving recognition for things like going above and beyond in their work, taking on extra projects or responsibilities, or accomplishing challenging assignments or goals.

Create community in your workplace by encouraging employees to recognize one another through a recognition program. This will make the whole company feel closer together while offering employees the chance to see each other receiving recognition for their hard work - something which can be very motivating.

4. Be Flexible

As an example, companies should provide different kinds of recognition not limited to financial rewards alone. This is because different people prefer different rewards; for instance, some might appreciate being given gift cards they can actually use and enjoy; others might find more satisfying being recognized through more personalized methods, like receiving personalized notes written directly by hand.

Companies should incorporate both manager-led and peer-to-peer recognition programs into their strategies for optimal recognition of employees. Some employees may find it more authentic if their peers praise them, helping avoid any perception that managers are being biased or showing favoritism. Furthermore, providing employees with a platform enabling public recognitions via company newsfeed or social channels like Slack can amplify these meaningful accolades further and strengthen employee morale while creating a sense of community. This form of employee acknowledgement can have a lasting effect both boosting employee morale while creating an atmosphere of appreciation among employees that makes everyone feel appreciated and creating a sense of community within companies.

5. Be Personal

Research has proven that providing frequent, genuine positive feedback improves employee job attitudes and decreases turnover intentions, leading to greater customer satisfaction and organizational profitability.

Make praise more effective by making it tailored specifically to the person being acknowledged; otherwise it may come across as insincere or random. Aim your praise at an employee's unique strengths and contributions rather than blindly applauding. A personalized approach demonstrates that their employer truly values them as individuals.

Recognition should take the form of both public and private actions; both can be equally effective depending on the context. For instance, public recognition at team events can help foster an ideal work culture while simultaneously motivating staff members.

However, when it comes to employees' personal lives, they tend to prefer receiving praise privately or more personally. This may be because they prefer not to be the center of attention or find public praise awkward or embarrassing; in such instances, private recognition can be very effective.