Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/227268
Recognition Employers can leverage their recognition culture in many ways— and it doesn't necessarily need to be formal. Simple 'welcome aboard' emails and status check-ins from senior leaders are great ways to engage on a meaningful and personal level from day one. It's important for new employees to know employers are tracking their progress as soon as possible. Employers can leverage their recognition culture in many ways—and it doesn't necessarily need to be formal. Simple 'welcome aboard' emails and status check-ins from senior leaders are great ways to engage on a meaningful and personal level from day one. Recognition programs can also feature printable certificates, branded merchandise, or custom awards at important milestones. Employees will take note of being recognized for completing training or onboarding surveys. Managers can leverage an achievement-based system to nominate new employees for on-the-fly rewards to call attention to key efforts and bolster early accomplishments. While every organization's approach will be different, all companies should consider recognizing an employee's first year on the job. It's a significant anniversary—it's usually a retrospective moment for the employee, who may or may not be fully committed to the organization just yet. There should be some sort of meaningful recognition at their first year, as this first celebration can give them the right push if it's a memorable one. Gift catalogs should present several options that take a generational workforce into account, leaving something for everyone. An online catalog where employees can choose their gift also works extremely well in this regard. Best Practices The impact of early recognition can be far-reaching when used strategically. The Bureau of Labor Statistics [64] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2013 states that the average job tenure across all industries is 3.6 years, and companies are aware of this. Recognition is a solution to improving this. Current WorldatWork data finds that nearly 90 percent of companies that offer at least four types of meaningful recognition experience lower-than-average voluntary turnover. While onboarding programs are typically short-lived and gift-centric, early recognition programs focus on the employee's long-term growth and development, creating a deeper connection with the organization. An early recognition program simply uses common recognition tools more strategically during the beginning of an employee's career to enhance the effects. It's a more surgical method for improving retention that must be executed as part of a larger recognition strategy. Plus, as achievement-based recognition applications grow in popularity and make recognition easier to administer, companies have started recognizing employees earlier on. Here are seven best practices of an early recognition program. 1. Have a long-term plan. Most onboarding initiatives that reward employees with branded gifts for participation in surveys or training only focus on the first 30 days. But a six to 12-month early recognition period provides enough time to set benchmarks that can track progress, and implement a development strategy. Benchmarks can be tied to rewards. It's important to note the rewards don't need to be extravagant—intangible and low- or no-cost rewards can also be used. It all depends on what the organization is willing to invest. At the end of the day, recognition is only effective if it's meaningful and engages the employees on a personal level. So employers must design a program that strikes a healthy balance between tangible and intangible rewards, while still remaining cost-effective. A meaningful development strategy should be benchmarked with the employee as soon as possible and revised at six-month intervals, as organizations probably won't see reliable indicators of the employee's progress until then. Career development should be an ongoing strategy, but an extra focus should be placed on it during the first year to let the employee know the employer is fully committed to their development.