Companies are always looking for new and cost-effective ways to optimize internal performance, especially in this challenging economy.

It’s no secret that ensuring the happiness and motivation of your employees is critical. By instituting a structured employee recognition program you can reduce the risk of unengaged workers, turnover and more. We have dealt with many St. Louis job seekers whom have had different employee recognition experiences.

Eric Mosley and Derek Irvine, co-authors of “Winning with a Culture of Recognition”, offered insight and ways to engage your employees that will benefit both parties in the long term. As a St. Louis staffing firm we think it’s very important to ensure employee happiness. Below are some of the key topics we took from the authors’ interview with Staffing Industry.

• Employee recognition is essential to your company. Your employees are just like employees everywhere else— they have the desire to be appreciated, rewarded and acknowledged for their efforts on the company’s behalf. As humans we are all wired to crave acceptance, and this is apparent on all levels of your company. Your ability to weave a practical recognition program into your company objectives will enhance performance and employee morale.
• Employee recognition doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. We understand the challenges many St. Louis companies are facing regarding their budgets and bottom lines. Not every company can send employees on a trip or float the bill for a weekend adventure. Various reinforcements of recognition such as “employee of the month”, gift cards, or even cubicle awards can make the difference when offering praise to employees. This also gives you the chance to stress company values and ethics when presenting the recognition.
• Employee recognition creates opportunities for face-to-face communication. Especially in larger companies throughout St. Louis, there is often a sense of barrier between managers and employees, if nothing else because of factors such as company size. Individual recognition creates an opportunity for a manager and employee to communicate one-on-one, if even for a couple minutes. Employees want to feel like their daily work contributes to the company’s overall objectives, and there’s no better way to reinforce that feeling than when the employee speaks with the manager.

Of course, company size and budget will affect how you set up your program. But it’s important to consider the long-term effects of a successful and structured program that keeps your employees motivated and happy. What practices does your company use for employee recognition?