The 4 Best Ways to Recognise Your Employees for a Job Well Done

Imagine one of your employees did particularly great work this month at her job. You’re a good, fair boss and you want to reward her for all her hard work this month and just show her that she’s a valuable part of the team. In fact, you’d like to recognise all your employees who you feel have gone above and beyond in their duties. But the question that now faces you is this: how do you show that recognition and appreciation?
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That’s what we’ll be looking at here today, with a list exploring four good ways to recognise your employees for a job well done. That way, the next time your employee turns in all the work you asked for early, you can have rewards ready!

1. Give a Generous Gift Card

Gift cards are a great way to show appreciation to your hard working employees without it being just a simple cash bonus. It can especially help if you know the interests of the particular employee to whom you want to recognise for their hard work.

If you have a lot of employees working for you and you might not know all of your employees’ interests by heart, it might be better to stick with something more general, like a gift card for Amazon.

2. Hand Out End-of-the-Month Trophies

While the workplace isn’t always a place of competition, sometimes customised awards like trophies are a great way to show appreciation to a particularly hard working individual at the office. You not only give them something that features their name, but also a proclamation of their accomplishments, whether it’s “Most Punctual” or “Most Money Raised” or something as generally appreciative as “Hardest Worker.”

3. Hold an Office Party

Many of us may already hold office parties, such as the ones we hold around Christmas or Halloween, but an employee appreciation party can do wonders for morale and be a great way to recognise a job well done.

Having an office party can be an especially great way to show not just one or a few people appreciation for their work with things like award handouts, but also a good way to show the entire office that you appreciate ALL of their hard work.

4. Consider an End-of-the-Year Bonus or Even a Raise

This one is certainly dependent on budgetary concerns and what kind of money is available in payroll, but if you keep extra on hand for occasions like this, sometimes the best way to show a hardworking employee your appreciation for their job well done is cold hard cash. A raise can be a little tricky for some, but it’s definitely the best long term appreciation, though a year-end bonus is another great way to show that person you know how much effort they put into their work.

The one potential obstacle with this is the risk of seeming like you’re playing favourites. If you’re going to offer bonuses or especially raises, make sure that everyone has an equal shot at receiving one by the end of the year and base it purely on the quality of their work, regardless of how it might impact your business’ bottom line. This way you can still maintain a more familiar atmosphere at your business without the risk of resentment.
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So those are four of the most effective ways to show your appreciation of your employees doing a job well done. There are certainly other possibilities, but these methods are guaranteed to make your employees smile.

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Author Bio

Jeffery Brauer is a Chicago-based blogger who has been writing about marketing, corporate strategy, and client retention for nearly 10 years. When he’s not breaking down and analyzing business models, he enjoys spending time with his wife and twin boys.