Best ways to give employee recognition

People crave positive feedback, recognition, and acknowledgement by leaders and peers. These factors are key for employee retention. An article from Talent Culture highlights key points to consider when approaching employee recognition:

1. In the moment. Be timely in offering recognition. Catch people in the action of doing great work and acknowledge them on the spot.
2. In context. Recognition works best when given in the context of a larger goal or business-results-focused activity. It is important that employees know their efforts contribute to the business success.
3. Appropriate in volume/scale. Recognition should match effort and results.
4. Authentic, not automatic. When giving employees recognition, you must mean it.
5. Tied to the employee’s perception of value. People know when they are valued. They have a good idea of when their organization values them as well. When giving recognition, it is important to know what your employees value. This way, they are treated as valued team members, and not only numbers.