Employee Recognition: 5 Ways To Recognize Employees By Printing Thank You Cards And More

Are you in the habit of recognizing your employees for a job well done? If not, it's a good idea to get started now - you could be missing a huge opportunity to improve your business' culture.

Whether you're a local business or worldwide corporation, employee recognition can benefit your business in a number of ways, from improving retention rates to helping build a company-wide sense of camaraderie. Over time, employee recognition programs can also lead to a greater sense of employee satisfaction and improved productivity, which ultimately boosts your bottom line. Moreover, the costs associated with letting employees know they are valued pale in comparison to those associated with making new hires. Expressing gratitude to your employees should be a yearlong initiative!

Ready to start? Good. When implementing employee recognition, remember simple gestures go a long way, and personalization is key. Here are five simple things you can do to let employees know you care:

1) Send Thank You Cards to an Employee's Home

Printing thank you cards and sending them to an employee's home with a personalized gift card can go far to make an employee feel good. Often, employees are pleasantly surprised to see something in their mailbox other than a bill or an advertisement - especially a thank you card with a special message.

2) Ask Questions to Learn About Your Employees' Lifestyles

It's easy to manage a group of employees and never really get to know who they are, but don't be that person! You never want to be the company that gives a gas station gift card to someone who doesn't own a car. Encourage managers to ask employees' about their weekends and days. By taking the time to learn about employees, you ensure your messages of gratitude hit home.

3) Reward Employees for Following Protocol

If your company is one that requires employees to follow stringent protocol to avoid accidents or costly mistakes, it's important to recognize when it happens. One way to do this is to treat the entire company to a catered lunch for every quarter where there are no protocol-related incidents.

4) Celebrate Employees' Birthdays Every Month

Everyone has a birthday, and you may as well celebrate. Host a monthly birthday party each month during the lunch or break hours for employees who turned another year older during the month, and serve cake. It's a simple way to let employees know you are paying attention.

5) Send a Personal Email

Did everyone in a department work late to meet a tough deadline? Maybe the entire company coordinated across departments to achieve a big goal. As the president or owner of the company, sending a personal note via email can really help boost morale, not to mention offer a welcome respite from an inbox full of requests.