Employee Recognition Ideas For 2024 (2024)

Both employee recognition and employee appreciation are equally important, but they are demonstrated in different ways. Employee appreciation typically refers to compensation, benefits and perks that all employees receive. Employee recognition is about recognizing employees for their specific work and accomplishments.

“Employee recognition and appreciation are often lumped together, although they are actually two different things,” Charlie Saffro, founder of CS Recruiting, tells Forbes Advisor. “To me, recognition is praise or a reward for work-related performance while appreciation is often more personal and acknowledges the employee for adding value to the team because of who they are as a person.”

Employee appreciation involves benefits such as increasing financial compensation, increasing paid time off (PTO) and offering career development opportunities while employee recognition involves individually acknowledging employees for the professional work and achievements they have accomplished.

Saffro provides the following example: “An employee is ‘recognized’ with a plaque for being the top sales performer at an organization. Conversely, an organization may express ‘appreciation’ for an employee who went out of their way to support a peer through a challenging time,” she explains.

While employee recognition and appreciation are different, they both play a role in building a positive and supportive workplace culture, increasing employee morale, engagement and retention. “I believe that employees deserve to be both recognized and appreciated and it’s up to company leadership to have the right parameters and processes in place to ensure team members get the attention they deserve for their efforts; regardless if their contributions were towards a company goal or simply just doing the right thing to support the team and add value,” Saffro adds.

There are a number of employee recognition ideas, though the vast majority fall into four primary categories: praise, prizes, gifts and rewards. The best employee recognition programs are flexible and offer teams the type of recognition that resonates with them, so it’s important to tailor any employee recognition program to meet the individual needs of your organization and its staff.

Here are four ways to demonstrate employee recognition:

Public and private praise is one of the best and most reliable ways to recognize employees. Any company, regardless of size or budget, can implement an Employee Recognition program that involves consistent public and private praise.

“These can be one-to-one messages or handwritten notes, internal company announcements or public announcements,” Saffro explains. Consider sharing praise on LinkedIn, other social media platforms if your company has one, or in your company newsletter.

Of the many ways to demonstrate employee recognition, Saffro says, “I truly think the ‘words of affirmation’ are the most important.”

James Hornick, a partner and CRO at recruiting firm Hirewell, also emphasizes the importance of praise, and public praise specifically. “Simple things like giving shout-outs for key accomplishments at team or company-wide meetings can be very effective for a few reasons. It feels good being praised by your leadership in front of a crowd. Private praise can seem like lip service if no one else is aware of it. But when done openly, the team member is given the added benefit of being shown as an example for others,” Hornick tells Forbes Advisor.

There’s another benefit to public praise. “It can also be used as a teaching moment. You can ask the employee to give a quick synopsis of what made the project (or event, or sale, etc.) successful. They’re given a voice and others can learn new skills from their example,” Hornick adds.

Plaques and badges can be a great way to show employee appreciation for specific milestones or achievements such as reaching a sales target, completing a large project or celebrating a work anniversary.

Badges can display specific skills that recognize employee accomplishment, leadership or technical skills, such as a specific ranking. Adding specific skills and accomplishments to employee badges can help recognize an employee’s contribution to the team and the company as a whole.

Managers can consider awarding prizes to employees with outstanding performance. Deciding how often to distribute prizes and what kind should be part of an Employee Recognition program. For example, a small team might decide to announce a small prize to one employee in a weekly, monthly or quarterly team-wide meeting. Prizes can be awarded for specific professional achievement (such as reaching a sales goal) or awarded more generally to a top performer of the month.

Gifts are another solid way to show employee appreciation and there are plenty of options to choose from. “These can be as small as a $5 gift card or something more significant,” Saffro says.

A Visa Gift Card is perhaps the most versatile gift as it ensures employees will be able to use it regardless of their preferences. Other options include more specific gift cards, such as one for a restaurant or coffee shop or tickets to a concert or sporting event, as long as they match the interests and tastes of the employee.

Tech gear, such as a laptop stand, an ergonomic mouse or an external battery, is another versatile option that a wide range of employees will be able to make use of.

A bonus for a specific accomplishment or completion of a project is an effective way to demonstrate employee recognition. There are several ways to implement bonuses (annual bonuses, smaller year-round bonuses for specific projects) and every company will have to make specific choices that fit their needs. Smaller companies of under a dozen employees could consider awarding a small bonus every month to a specific star employee.

Implementing a sabbatical program employees can take after achieving a certain work anniversary is another great way to recognize employees’ efforts and dedication to the company. Everyone appreciates more time off, and a structured sabbatical goes a long way in rewarding and recognizing an employee’s long-term efforts and commitment. Additionally, added PTO is another option to recognize employees’ efforts. For example, some companies might choose to grant the option of an additional day or two of PTO after an intensive project or an intensive work trip.

While there are plenty of ways to recognize employees, you might wonder when is the best time to do so. There are always opportunities to recognize employees and recognition can be built into the company culture. Since it can be easy to forget to take the time to recognize employees’ efforts in the stress of daily responsibilities, it’s important to establish a plan as part of an Employee Recognition program.

Natural milestones, such as the end of the year, are good opportunities to reflect on and share an employee’s accomplishments. Work anniversaries are another ideal time to take a bird’s-eye view of an employee’s work over the past year (or five, or 10) and share them publicly or privately. Project completion is an opportunity to recognize all the work the team put into the project and call out individual accomplishments.

Employee recognition should be built into a company culture and thus works best when there is an ongoing and consistent plan that incorporates multiple ways of displaying recognition. “Companies should have an outlined Employee Recognition program which includes a variety of the ideas above based on the level of achievement,” Saffro recommends.

Once the plan is established, it’s important to revisit the program, measure its effectiveness periodically and adapt it as the company and team evolve.

While adequate compensation, benefits and work perks are the foundation of any healthy work culture, employee recognition is about demonstrating specific recognition of employees’ work and accomplishments. Public praise is one of the most effective ways to show employees the importance and significance of their work.

An effective Employee Recognition program will involve multiple ways of displaying recognition, will be consistent and will be revisited and updated regularly.