Michael C. Fina Releases List of Top 5 Employee Recognition Programs

 Michael C. Fina, a global incentives and rewards company, has ranked and broken down recognition initiatives into five categories, in descending order:

1. Service awards (programs that recognize milestones like years of service).
2. Above and beyond recognition programs (those that call attention to workers who do more than the bare minimum).
3. Peer-to-peer initiatives.
4. Manager-to-peer initiatives.
5. Core-value recognition programs (those that reinforce desired behaviors within the company).

By way of breakdown:

• Service awards are employed by 91 percent of organizations. Over 66 percent of organizations believe employees should be recognized for such milestones beginning at the first year mark.
• Above and beyond recognition programs recognize employees who go “above and beyond” their daily duties and may inspire others to become more productive. Large organizations with at least 20,000 employees are the primary users of these types of programs.
• Peer-to-peer programs entail a culture of recognition where employees receive feedback at least once per week. Such initiatives generate more opportunities for recognition. Just 30 percent of employees are recognized more than once per year despite a major increase in engagement with more frequent recognition.
• Manager-to-peer awards provide managers with a tool for recognizing teams in order to motivate higher performance and employee engagement.
• Core-value programs link central corporate values to recognition initiatives to reinforce those behaviors most desired by an organization. Nearly half (44 percent) of employees don’t feel that their company’s recognition programs are tied to core values.