The first Friday of March is celebrated as Employee Appreciation Day. This also kicks off the quarter where most companies appraise the performance of their employees over the past year and reward them accordingly.

Research shows that both financial and non-financial rewards impact the job satisfaction and motivation of employees. Employees are likely to be motivated to improve their performance with both monetary and non-monetary rewards which is stated as employee appreciation and/or recognition.

Ideally, if an employee has performed well in a certain task or has met the set targets then this should be recognised immediately, within a few days of achievement in order to communicate to the employee that good work is being noticed. However, many companies leave it to the end of the year and the annual work appraisal forms a big part of ‘Employee Appreciation’ programme. This is especially true of India.

Companies in India believe in monetary compensation for outstanding performance and hence the annual appraisal conducted at the end of the financial year becomes in many ways the main recognition of an employee’s work.

Ways to Implement Employee Appreciation

A form of employee appreciation and the most traditional method is an appraisal that includes a substantial pay hike combined with a letter recognising an employee’s outstanding contribution. This combination compensates the employee for his/her efforts as well as underlines the reason for which he/she is being rewarded for. This creates a clear line of communication that what are the future expectations as well as noteworthy achievements that have been recognised by the employers.

Many employees consider an appraisal as a right and hence this might not be adequate motivation. Perks and benefits that reward an employee’s achievement throughout the year according to targets achieved are an extremely popular form of employee appreciation. Rewarding employees with gift-cards, vouchers for their work as well as on special occasions is another recognised way of showing employee appreciation.

As millennials enter the workforce, human resource departments are realising that the new age workforce is not impressed with a ‘one-size fits all’ reward package. Millennials are known for showcasing their individuality and hence an employee appreciation package customised for the employee is extremely appreciated in today’s time.

Social and peer-to-peer recognition has been recognised to increase employee engagement with a firm’s identity and ideology. Recognising and/or appreciating an employee on the social media platform that is seen by their peers helps boost an employee’s confidence leading to better work performance.

Surveys suggest that happy employees that feel cherished and appreciated at the work place perform 12-15% better in consecutive weeks. Hence employee appreciation is a sure-fire way of increasing the productivity of the workforce.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 04, 2019 12:52 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).