Maximize Your Recognition Strategy

Recognition is a powerful tool to show and tell employees how much they are valued. It provides a meaningful way to reinforce your core values and behaviors, to recognize great work and reward results.

While recognition and appreciation are often used interchangeably, for organizations looking to build stronger cultures, understanding the differences, while leveraging all types of recognition, is critical to success.

Click here to learn more about implementing a recognition strategy that leverages both recognition and appreciation and why creating more moments that matter is essential!






#EmployeeRecognition #RecognitionStrategy #CompanyCulture

Where do we go in 2023?
Recognition priorities for the new year and beyond.

2022 had a couple of road bumps – from quiet quitting to the great resignation – those real-life scenarios emerged, highlighting the need for strategies to retain employees. This is top of mind for us and it’s no surprise that at Incentive Services, we look at life through the lens of “employee-first.” And with that lens, we see a clear path to success through long-term recognition strategies.

How can you be a leader in creating a culture of belonging? By recognizing employees, you ensure that they are seen, heard, and that they know their contributions are valued. Recognition done right will help you grow engagement, fellowship, and camaraderie for happier teams and a stronger organization.

Learn how you can make 2023 your teams’ best year ever!






#CompanyCulture #EmployeeRetention #EmployeeExperience

Today’s Service Awards: Not your traditional recognition program.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” When you think of this quote, people typically consider how it relates to their own behavior and presence. However, in today’s competitive hiring and retention landscape, it’s critical for companies to think about the first impression THEY make on a new employee in that first year. No longer can organizations wait for the traditional 5-year milestone to show gratitude and appreciation. What can you do to make employees feel like they belong straightaway? What can you do to recognize and reward their work? And what can be done to keep it going?

Learn how you can establish a foundational service award strategy from day one!






#HireToRetire #OnBoarding #EmployeeEngagement

Holiday Recognition: Sparking Enthusiasm and a Sense of Purpose

Holidays mean different things to different people, but gratitude, no matter how you translate it, is a universal connector. Gratitude and recognition will ALWAYS make the holidays bright for everyone.

The end-of-the-year holiday season is an ideal time to spark your teammates’ enthusiasm and recognize their accomplishments, while ensuring they understand how valuable their contributions are to your organization. Investing time and energy into employee recognition and gratitude during the holiday season can be paramount in positively impacting employee engagement and inspiring motivation for the new year.

Learn how you can take advantage of the energy and excitement during the holidays and get employees in the mode of gratitude.






#HolidayRecognition #RecognitionStrategy #EmployeeEngagement

Why Measures Matter: Examining the value of ROI.

In the last of our three-part series on strategic measurement for recognition strategies, we’re examining return on investment (ROI) – a measure that indicates the financial return of a recognition strategy. Arguably one of the most prevalent, universally understandable and accepted measures of success, ROI can be calculated differently based on business models, programs, or circumstantial situations.

So why measure ROI? As it relates to your recognition program, understanding whether it is worth the investment is probably the biggest reason. As we shared in Part 2, when evaluating the impact of your recognition strategy, ROO and ROI go hand in hand. It’s great that you may have a program or strategy in place, and you may have some ROO measures that look positive, now the next piece is determining if your strategy is bringing in a return on that investment.

Learn how calculating the ROO and ROI of your recognition strategy will provide the foundation that shapes your company culture for the long-term engagement of your employees.






#StrategicRecognition #EngagementMetrics #EmployeeEngagement

Why Measures Matter: Examining the value of ROO.

Return on objective (ROO) focuses on defining and achieving specific measurable objectives. Traditionally, ROO has been considered an alternative success metric – another way of analyzing the effectiveness of a program/campaign/strategy. In fact, ROO goes hand in hand with ROI, and enables your organization to make informed decisions for continuous improvement and also gain an understanding of how your investment is going.

Having a solid measurement plan around your recognition strategy (of which ROO is one part) means you can clearly make your case with relevant data showing that it’s not just for HR, but for the greater good of the company. Determining the right objectives to put in place for your overall ROO is key – measuring without context or without a plan to do something with your data won’t tell you the bigger picture.

Learn how to define your ROO to make a long-term impact on the culture of your organization!






#StrategicRecognition #EngagementMetrics #EmployeeEngagement

Why Measures Matter:
Making the case for strategic recognition.

It’s not uncommon for organizations to find their recognition programs disconnected from one another. Different departments, leadership, and management styles want to implement their own initiatives, creating more of a pop-up programmatic culture. These programs often end up being short lived and ineffective in developing long-term employee engagement.

The solution is to take a strategic approach to recognition with a supportive framework that is more than just a series of touchpoints here and there. One of the most critical components of transforming a recognition program into a recognition strategy is around measurement – and being able to make decisions based on data rather than gut. The good news is that it’s easy to put measures in place that allow you to test, learn and modify your plans accordingly to develop the perfect strategy.

A measurements-based, outcome-focused recognition program will create align and integrate efforts across your entire system, ensuring engaged employees and affecting organizational change.

Check out some measurements that matter to your organization and learn how to implement them into your recognition program!






#StrategicRecognition #EngagementMetrics #EmployeeEngagement

The Great Resignation: Part 3
Newbie or not newbie – it’s all about the connection.

We have an opportunity to make 2022 the year of the renewed employee experience, and a chance to flip “the great resignation” into the “greatest year of retention”. Employers have a chance to start the employee experience off on the right foot – with exceptional onboarding, fostering a sense of belonging from day one.

This month, we’ll teach you the basics of onboarding new hires. Investing in connections on the front-end with a new hire will pay the proverbial “dividends” on the back end, creating and maintaining a thriving culture of continuous employee engagement.

Here are three considerations for effectively onboarding new employees!





#GreatResignation #EmployeeRetention #RecognitionStrategy

The Great Resignation: Part 2
Considerations for creating your total rewards strategy to recognize & reward employees.

Last month we talked about a few ways companies can avoid being victims of “the big quit,” and we highlighted the importance of creating regular recognition experiences as part of a total rewards strategy. In this issue, we want to talk about a few considerations for creating a total rewards strategy (and how cash is a short-term solution).

We’ll share how “the big quit” may actually be an employee reshuffling, and how it gives us an opportunity to alter our most valuable employees’ experiences to retain them. We’re being given a chance to learn how to invest in our culture with engagement strategies, offering the recognition and connections that your employees seek!

Here are a few considerations for what you can do to find balance for your total rewards strategy!




#GreatResignation #EmployeeRetention #RecognitionStrategy

The Great Resignation: Part 1
Looking at work/life through the lens of the employee experience.

Anthony Klotz, a Texas A&M professor who came up with the phrase “the great resignation” back in May of 2021, believes that during the pandemic, people “re-imagined what normal could look like,” without commutes, with more family time, better pace, and less pressure. Comments like “Life is too short to be unhappy for five days a week in exchange for two days of freedom” have been posted; and hashtags, memes, and TikToks have emerged around “quit my job.”

So what can you do to avoid a great resignation of your own? What kind of experiences can you create for your teammates to ensure the benefits of your workplace outweigh the option to resign?

Check out some ways to keep your teams happy and dedicated to your organization!






#GreatResignation #EmployeeRetention #RecognitionStrategy