Employee recognition in sales teams is an important incentive used in many businesses, but other teams’ achievements and contributions often go overlooked. Are organisations today falling short of this culture-shaping gesture?
Business identity is built by all the people within the eco-system who drive operations forward – meaning employee recognition for every department helps support organisational performance.
What is employee recognition, and how is it different from compensation?
While both may seem like an employee reward, employee appreciation is an entirely separate entity to compensation. A salesperson’s commission may be the trigger for an award, but the commission itself is compensation, and the award is the appreciation.
But it’s important to remember that performance metrics aren’t the only reason for employee recognition. If you’re recognising high performance, you should definitely be recognising high contribution as well.
How employee recognition improves engagement, productivity, and team cohesion
When an employee is recognised in the workplace, they become more engaged, more productive and happier in their job.
And with happier employees comes more cohesive teams. Prioritising employee recognition means businesses are more likely to hold onto their staff, creating a stable and motivated workforce – once again increasing productivity.
Employee recognition vs employee replacement: understanding the real cost of turnover
When met with meaningful employee recognition, workers are 45% less likely to have moved on after 2 years. This means businesses are less likely to be scrambling to fill gaps in their workforce.
From recruitment and onboarding to productivity loss, the true impact of employee recognition is found in the cost of the alternative: employee replacement.
The cost of hiring new talent includes:
- Recruitment fees
- Onboarding time
- Training periods
- Lost productivity during transitions
- Loss of institutional knowledge
According to a study by Oxford Economics, an employee on an annual wage of £25,000 (€28,500) will cost a business £30,614 (€35,004) to replace.
But beyond the financial cost, turnover also creates instability. There is a knock-on effect when employees leave – wider teams are disrupted, pressure mounts and morale weakens.
When employee recognition is viewed as a preventative solution rather than a reactive expense, a cultural shift happens across the workplace – values are shared, motivation is collective and job satisfaction soars.
How to build an effective employee recognition programme
Employee recognition in practice is strategic. The more personal the approach, the more effective the results.
In fact, analysis and consulting firm Gallup, and HR software company Workhuman joined forces to create 5 pillars of employee recognition.
When followed consistently, employees are nine times as likely to remain engaged compared to employees whose recognition experiences don’t meet any of the 5 pillars.
These pillars are:
- Fulfilling the expectation: The employee recognition reward should be proportionate to the act you’re recognising. It needs to make sense to the employee.
- Authentic: A unique award that feels genuine will always go further than a tick-the-box gesture.
- Custom award: Having this personalised in both design and material makes it so much more meaningful. True appreciation is personal.
- Equitable: Fair recognition means everyone’s contributions are considered.
- Culture: Appreciation for employee work needs to be a foundation of the day-to-day and not just a gimmick.
High-quality and strategic recognition programmes can take organisations a step ahead of their competition.
More leaders are recognising the need for employee appreciation, but many still underestimate the benefits of recognition becoming a part of workplace culture
Employee recognition beyond Employee Appreciation Day
The recognition day was created by Dr. Bob Nelson to support his book highlighting that tangible gestures of appreciation are effective motivators for higher productivity.
Employee recognition shouldn’t be limited to one single day, however the marking of it serves as an important reminder: employee recognition should be prioritised all year long and should reflect a genuine culture.
Physical symbols of employee recognition, such as plaques, awards, medals or trophies, are effective ways for employers to communicate their gratitude.
They act not only as a lasting reminder for employees but also create a sense of pride in their work and can be a conversation starter for more work-focused productivity. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that will work when showing true appreciation, so creating a unique award that is personal and well thought out will have a greater impact on employee satisfaction and retention.
Why physical awards strengthen employee recognition and long-term impact
While monetary gifts are helpful, they don’t always create a lasting impression. The steps to something tangible are often what leads people to forget where and how they received an item.
The same goes for recognition. There is a time and a place for monetary rewards – sales incentives, pay rises – but the ceremonious value is lost when these incentives are overused. They can also lead to the receivers being forgotten about a few weeks later, or themselves forgetting about the reward after a long week.
In a world of eCards and eGifts, value has shifted back to tangible objects. A physical gift symbolises thought and value, and has developed additional meaning.
Giving your employee a physical, permanent object that is theirs to keep (possibly alongside something of monetary value) also creates a sense of permanence. The award becomes a part of their environment and gets cemented in their memory.
Much in the same way that a thoughtful gift usually shows more care than a gift card, a well-thought-out physical award can strengthen employee recognition more effectively than any alternative.
Personalising an award puts weight behind the recognition. Giving another glass globe or wooden plaque doesn’t say ‘thank you for your efforts’ but is more a transparent attempt to maximise productivity by any means possible.
A reward like this will always feel forced and dated if a thoughtless, dated object is the award itself. It goes from being a gesture of gratitude to a corporation-serving obligation – and your employees will see right through it.
From the material sourcing to the overall design, every part of a trophy should be curated to say something meaningful.
At Upstream Trophies, we can work with you to create a trophy that speaks to your employee. We can advise sources of materials, for example: IT department awards could be made from recycled computer waste, and our design experts can assist with the overall look and feel of the award, ensuring it reflects your brand values. We can help you build a unique corporate award with intention, embody organisational values and include personal touches that will be appreciated and valued by your employees.
Conclusion: why employee recognition is essential for retention, culture, and business success
Adopting the employee recognition approach with full commitment not only leads to higher retention rates and employee satisfaction, but it also increases perceived integrity, which can in turn result in talent attraction.
Implementing this into your organisational culture strategy can make all the difference when it comes to facing challenges ahead or being resilient to external factors. While some organisations struggle, a well-structured employee recognition system can help your business flourish.
Too often, employee recognition is an afterthought. It’s only used for big events, milestones, end-of-year moments or exceptional performances.
But when recognition becomes intentional, regular and structured, it has the power to shape how employees see their work, how long they stay and whether they feel a part of something meaningful, or just another cog in a corporate machine.
