Developing a comprehensive recognition program is an in-depth process that will have a direct positive effect on employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and company profitability. Awardpro has developed standards that are key components to a successful recognition program.

Recognition strategy
This should link to your corporate vision, mission and values.
• Identifying employee behaviors that advance the company or organization goals and values.
• Recognizing those behaviors
• Promoting the behaviors

Management’s Responsibility
Managers are the eyes and ears to a recognition program for two reasons.
• Employees work for managers, not organizations
• The manger-employee relationship largely determines employee satisfaction.

Feedback from a manger makes an employee feel either appreciated or unimportant. A manager has an influence on the performance of an employee. Employees choose to leave a job when they are unappreciated. Often, employees decide to leave a job based on the relationship with their manager, not the organization.

Measuring a Recognition Program and Making Changes to a Program
Measuring the effectiveness of your recognition program will help you determine what is working and what is not. Three other advantages of measuring the program are:
• Justifying the recognition program to the boss or the CEO
• Determining the effectiveness of spending
• Identifying what activities or awards are worth the financial investment.

Recognition Training
Training managers about recognition–what it is, how it issued and what they can expect from it- will help the organization or company adopt a recognition program

Managers are the key to the success of any recognition program. Managers want increased employee productivity, decreased turnover and increased employee satisfaction. However, few know how to use recognition to get these results. Corporations should equip managers with the tools needed to implement recognition programs.

Planning a Recognition Event
Planning a recognition event requires some creativity and acute attention to detail. While each event requires special preparation the checklist below will get you started:

• Set Budget
• Set Event Date
• Choose Theme
• Determine Location
• Send Invitations
• Determine Final Guest Count
• Identify Award Recipients
• Choose Award(s)
• Notify Presenters

Program Change and Flexibility
Recognition programs evolve and change for a variety of reasons. For example, the date that you’ve gathered throughout the life of the recognition program will guide improvements for the future. Below are reasons recognition programs change.
• Program Improvement
• Changes in Leadership
• Organization Changes
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Budget Changes
• Organization Policies
• Changes in Participation

Whether you implement a basic, small-scale recognition effort or develop and extensive celebration program, do something. Recognize the Accomplished, appreciate the hardworking and motivate others to reach for the Stars.

Awardpro (a.k.a Penny Fleming) has been creating award events since 1983.