How to Get Management on Board With Employee Recognition

It's easy to understand the benefits employee recognition has on a business: it improves team morale, it motivates professionals to put in substantial effort to produce great results, it shows others that your business cares about its employees, and the list goes on. But in order for employee recognition ideas to be truly effective, getting involvement from leaders throughout your organization is essential. Managers who play a direct role in the day-to-day operations of your employees are the ones who see where effort is being put forth and are able to identify those who deserve to be recognized.

Employee recognition awards are so meaningful when it comes from the individual's manager, because the manager is able to specifically point out the impact the employee made and demonstrate how what is being recognized made a difference for the team. As you plan to include trophies in your business strategy to keep sentiment and motivation high among your team, use these techniques to directly involve management in your efforts.

Create an Employee Recognition Training Session

Especially for new managers, recognizing those they manage may not come naturally or may be a relatively foreign concept. Utilize your leadership and development team to create a training that focuses on why employee recognition is important for both employees and the stability of the team and organization as a whole.

During the training, include some role-playing exercises that demonstrate effective, specific, and genuine forms of praise, versus ineffective recognition that is generic or insincere. Ask participants to share examples of times when employee recognition made a meaningful impact on their own work, and encourage a brainstorming session for creative ways to recognize employees.

Make Recognition an Integral Part of Operations

In any type of management onboarding materials, such as an employee handbook, be sure to include a section that highlights employee recognition best practices for managers. From the moment a manager begins their role, they will be equipped with guidelines and ideas for recognition so that they can practice it regularly.

As you plan an annual budget, monthly business initiatives, and weekly team meetings, empower executives and managers to think about ways to make recognition a part of any team gathering. Alert management as to what resources are available to them for employee recognition ideas, such as an inventory of crystal awards you have on hand that can be customized for individual employees based on their contributions.

Cultivate a Supportive Environment Among Management

Keep employee recognition at top of mind for managers by giving your management team a place where they can talk freely about employee recognition successes and share employee recognition ideas with one another. A professional online forum or network like Yammer or a private LinkedIn Group can be an outlet for management to connect with peers and support each other's employee recognition efforts.

By fostering a community among managers with a focus on employee recognition, managers can also improve their relationships among each other as they offer encouragement and techniques to recognize employees. Managers can motivate each other to make their employee recognition efforts more effective and keep improving, which boosts the organization as a whole.

Recognize Managers, Too

Everyone on your team, no matter what position they're in, craves acknowledgement for the work they do. At every level, team members should receive regular recognition when they go above and beyond their duties or when they significantly contribute to your business. By practicing what you preach and showing gratitude to the team that you want to do the same for those they manage, they'll be better able to understand the power of employee recognition and pass it on throughout the business.

Effective recognition is immediate, specific, and heartfelt. It shouldn't just be confined to yearly awards ceremonies when it is expected. Whether you create a custom award for an amazing job well done, or give a fun coffee mug award when an employee surprises you, you can help managers be better motivators by inspiring them in their own roles, as well.

Add Employee Recognition Awards to Your Management Toolkit

It's not enough to just tell managers they should regularly recognize their employees. Set them up for success with cost-effective tools that provide substantial dividends for your business. Getting management to embrace employee recognition can have a powerful ripple effect that not only makes employees more engaged at work, but that results in more productivity for your business and higher customer satisfaction.

Search Awards.com for custom and personalized award options to fit all types of occasions and needs your management team might have. By making employee recognition awards readily available, and by encouraging managers to give them out when it's appropriate, you can build a supportive culture whose team members celebrate each other's successes.