What Part Will Employee Recognition Play During the Holiday Season?

Your company holiday events and parties are probably already on the calendar and in the serious planning stages, but where are your recognition efforts on that calendar?

Have you asked yourself what part will recognition play in your seasonal events?

Everyday recognition is important in many ways, from motivation to creating happy employees. However, when it comes to seasonal events, it’s time for you to pull out all the stops to make sure every one of your employees is heard, included, and celebrated for what they’re contributing to the team.

Tips for holiday recognition

Here are some tips for holiday recognition and appreciation:

Start early so your awards are ready. This is a big one. You may think that November is too early to start arranging your recognition and appreciation awards, but it’s not. Special gifts may take longer to order, delivery by post may be delayed, and if your award needs to be engraved, some engravers will have longer turn-around times.
Plan your seasonal recognition events far enough ahead that attendance is easy to make. Send save the date notes so your employees can make their personal arrangements.
Find the hard-working wheels. It’s easy to grease a squeaky wheel, but your hard-working wheels churn every day without complaint. Honor the employees who are always giving and yet haven’t been recognized. They may be harder to find than a squeaky wheel, but it’s far more rewarding for the whole team.
Plan recognition that fits the culture of your workplace. A reserved accounting firm may not be the place for a crazy, on-stage skit. A gung-ho startup may not be the place for a pen. There are dozens of options for recognition that will fit the culture of your workplace.
Employee of the year awards are excellent for marking a superstar performer and you should make plans to have a really special recognition award set aside. Every company should have this basic recognition step well in hand.
Go beyond the employee of the year. Only one person in your company gets to be the employee of the year, but far more people than that also did exemplary work and deserve public acknowledgement. Recognizing an employee under a personal recognition award, like best in department, or best in doing what it takes to get it all done, at a company-wide event, spreads the love a little more.
Avoid the crony curse. Do the same people get nominated and recognized time after time? Shake things up. Look for new names and different departments for your recognition.
Have fun! Seasonal recognition should be your favorite time of the year. Take the time to appreciate and recognize the people who you work with every day; it’s just better that way.

This was originally published on the OC Tanner blog.