Kevin Krupp
Management Services Committee Member
York Repair, Inc.
At York Repair, we have been working hard on employee recognition over the past five years. I still would not consider us experts, but we have certainly improved. I want to pass on a few tips that we have learned to help you implement low-cost employee recognition ideas.
Tip #1: Reward People with Things They Like.
We have all heard the golden rule of treating others as we would like to be treated. In employee recognition, you should apply the platinum rule: Reward employees as they would like to be rewarded. We learned this lesson the hard way.
We give many small recognitions to employees through our York Gold Standard Card Program (more on that later). In one case, we gave a “Leave an hour early - paid” card to a deserving employee.
We thought most employees would love this extra time to catch their son’s ball game, enjoy the afternoon or just get caught up on personal tasks. This turned out to be the last thing this employee wanted because he already felt like he was behind on his job. He felt that if he left an hour early, he would fall even further behind.
Through this instance, we learned that doing something good for the employee means offering something the employee values most. This leads to the second tip.
Tip #2: Ask People What They Like + Work It into Your Onboarding Process.
We surveyed all our employees and asked each of them their preferred snack foods, drinks and valued rewards (like gift cards, sports events, etc.). We then made a spreadsheet listing each person’s favorites.
Also, we integrated this into our employee onboarding process. We survey new employees at 30, 60, 90 and 180 days during onboarding and ask different questions each time. The HR manager sits down with the employee and completes the survey in about five minutes. This lets us know how we are doing with training and the employee’s experience with the company.
At the 30-day review, we ask the preferred recognition questions and add the results to the company-wide spreadsheet.
Tip #3: Make It Easy to Reward People So You Can Reward Them ASAP.
We have a York Gold Standard Card Program in which any employee can fill out a card to recognize something positive that someone else has done. Generally, managers and supervisors reward technicians, sales, administrative and customer service staff, but any employee can submit a Gold Standard Card. That card typically results in a preferred snack and drink reward. We present a gift or gas card if there is a significant achievement.
We make sure to keep a supply of snacks, drinks and gift cards that match our employees’ taste. This is not as hard as you would think because many have similar tastes like Snickers, Reese’s, beef jerky, almonds, trail mix, Coke, iced tea, Mountain Dew, etc. We track who gives and receives cards to make sure all supervisors and managers participate and that the recognition is spread out.
Gold Standard Cards have an added benefit in that people tend to hang onto them. Most employees display them proudly at their desks, and they serve as a bit of “wallpaper” on their cork boards.
As you can see, none of these methods of recognition are very difficult. It is easy to brighten someone’s day and to reward them with a low-cost treat.
When the whole team participates, a culture of recognition can raise the bar and boost morale. We also keep track of how many Gold Standard Cards are given out monthly and send a weekly email to remind employees to give recognition.
So, get out there and give some recognition to your teams!
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