6 Reasons to Recognize Workplace Excellence

After gaining momentum in 2021, “The Great Resignation” continues to present challenges for employers in 2022.

The Microsoft Work Trend Index found that a staggering 40% of employees considered leaving their job last year. Among those most affected were the health care and technology sectors, with a 3.6% and 4.5% rise in year-over-year resignations respectively. Although some industries are faring better than others, it’s an undeniable situation: employee retention is a struggle.

So how should businesses respond to a workforce that feels fatigued, overlooked and is considering jumping ship? The answer is clear: make employee appreciation a priority. (Hint: There’s a great time coming up to say thanks for your hard work—Employee Appreciation Day on March 4.)

We know that employee recognition is valuable for retention and promoting a positive company culture. It’s been found that employees who are acknowledged for their workplace contributions are more engaged and inclined to stay with their company longer.

Most employee engagement initiatives recommend recognizing employees for their years of service. But at Hallmark Business Connections, we believe that a years of service program and a recognition program are not one and the same.

Employees should be recognized beyond their years of service. They should be rewarded for workplace excellence, too. And those moments of recognition are best delivered by front-line managers who can speak to the details of how the employee demonstrated excellence.

We encourage you to try recognizing your employees for one of the six workplace excellence ideas mentioned below.

1. Great Work

This might seem obvious, but don’t overlook the opportunity to publicly recognize great work. Spotlight your employees who perform their jobs at the highest level and provide exemplary quality and value in everything they do. Recognizing them gives you the opportunity to demonstrate how the work they do and the effort they put forth benefits customers and team members alike. Research shows that 92% of workers are more likely to repeat a specific action after receiving recognition for it. So, calling attention to great work is a wonderful way to reinforce behaviors that help the company succeed.

2. Company Values

This is where you can strengthen your brand and company culture, both internally and externally, by showcasing employees who bring to life the attitudes and behaviors that fuel your company’s mission, vision and purpose. 83% of HR leaders believe employee recognition benefits organizational values and 85% believe it has a positive effect on organizational culture. Acknowledging people who exemplify your company values also helps increase their influence as a role model for others.

3. Safety

Workplace excellence can be achieved in safety, too. Reinforce your safety policies and programs by recognizing employees who stay alert and proactively prevent accidents from happening in the first place. Look for people who make safety, well-being and security a priority as well as those who play an active role in creating safe working environments through training, mentoring and advocacy.

4. Innovation

To create a culture of innovation, it’s important to reinforce the idea that great ideas can come from anywhere. Thank employees for sharing, prioritizing and exploring innovative thinking and new ideas for improvement throughout the company, not just in research and development. When executed well, an employee recognition strategy could increase performance by 11%*. Rewarding revenue-generating and cost-saving ideas that directly affect the bottom line will encourage a culture of continuous process improvement and innovation.

5. Above and Beyond

Recognize those who invest extra time, energy and effort into advancing a project or opportunity for the betterment of the team, company or customers. Honor employees who demonstrate constant curiosity about the business and are open to new opportunities to learn and grow. This also is a chance to identify associates who go the extra mile to ensure that their work transitions smoothly between departments or teams.

6. Accomplishments and Wins

Whether it’s a big sales win or the accomplishment of a goal, always celebrate your employees’ business successes. Mark the occasion when an employee completes a project on time, to specifications and under budget. Recognize them for growing and strengthening the customer base and the company as well as for consistently producing measurable results.

Great employees deserve thoughtful and valuable moments of recognition throughout the year. In addition, employee appreciation is the key to keeping employees happy, engaged and excited to be part of your team. Hallmark Business Connections offers a range of Employee Appreciation cards to help you send messages of gratitude to your staff.

With Employee Appreciation Day coming up, we offered advice on 3 Quick Steps for celebrating.

*4 Recognition and Rewards Program Levers for Driving Performance and Engagement