Employee Recognition Ideas

Ideas to begin thinking of how you can recognize your staff/faculty:

1. Give your staff free tickets to Liberty sporting events, theatre tickets, meal swipes, etc.
2. Post a thank you note on an employee’s door.
3. Give special assignments to people who show initiative.
4. Arrange for a team/dept to present the results of its efforts to cabinet-level/Chancellor.
5. Make a thank-you card by hand.
6. Establish a place to display memos, posters, photos and so on, recognizing progress towards goals and thanking individual employees for their help.
7. Establish a “Behind the Scenes” award specifically for those whose actions are not usually in the limelight.
8. Plan a surprise achievement celebration for an employee or group of employees.
9. Present “State of the Department” reports periodically to your employees acknowledging the work and contributions of individuals and teams.
10. At a monthly staff meeting, recognize your area's Employee of the Month and invite co-workers at the meeting to say why that person is deserving of the award.
11. Have staff vote for top manager, supervisor, employee and rookie of the year.
12. Ask your boss to attend a meeting with your employees during which you thank individuals and groups for their specific contributions.
13. Send a letter to all team members at the conclusion of a project, thanking them for their participation.
14. Start an employee recognition program. Give points for attendance, punctuality, teamwork, etc. Provide gift certificates to employees who reach certain point goals.
15. Start a department suggestion program.
16. Write a letter of praise recognizing specific contributions and accomplishments. Send a copy to employee’s HR personnel file.
17. When you hear a positive remark about someone, repeat it to that person as soon as possible (Face-to-face is best, e-mail or voice mail are good in a pinch).
18. Call an employee to your office to thank them (don’t discuss any other issue).
19. Publicly recognize the positive impact on operations of the solutions employees devise for problems.
20. Acknowledge individual achievements by using employee names in status reports.
21. Express an interest in employee’s career development goals.
22. Post a large “celebration calendar” in your work area. Tack on notes of recognition to specific dates.
23. Create and string a banner across the work area.
24. Identify your team's specific areas of interest in job-related skills. Then arrange for them to spend a day with an in-house “expert” to learn more about the topic.
25. Arrange for an outstanding employee to have lunch with a dean or director.
26. Allow an employee to choose his/her next assignment.
27. Recognize a team accomplishment by designating that team as consultants to other teams.
28. Recognize those committed to personal health and wellness.
29. Find out the person’s hobby and buy an appropriate gift.
30. Purchase, then write a personal note in a favorite book as a gift.
31. Purchase an item for their office/desk that would not normally be standard-issue, but that they would enjoy using daily at work.
32. Design a “Stress Support Kit” that includes a stress ball, joke book and other fun/simple aids to stress – or design your own.
33. Serve ice cream sundaes to all of your employees at the end of a project.
34. Once a year, have a “Staff Appreciation Day” where the managers supply, cook and serve food.
35. Serve a team a hero party sandwich at the end of an assignment, for a job well done.
36. Give flowers to an employee at their home or office as a thank you.
37. Purchase a unique pin to serve as a memento for a task well done.
38. Hold informal retreats to foster communication and set goals.
39. Give a personalized coffee cup.
40. Give an employee a blue ribbon for achievement.
41. Design and give magnets with appropriate messages.
42. Give a deserving employee a mug filled with treats.
43. Give a framed poem (poster or card) as a thank you.
44. Throw a lunch party for your unit.
45. Give a note reading, “Thank you. You are a lifesaver!" Attach a roll of Lifesavers.
46. Serve popcorn and lemonade on Friday (especially after a particularly hard week).
47. Have weekly breakfasts with groups of employees.
48. Treat an employee to lunch.
49. Bake/bring a gift (cookies, bread, etc.) for an outstanding employee or team.
50. Send birthday cards to employees’ homes, signed by dean or director.
51. Pick one employee a month to write a thank you note to or verbally thank them, based on their personal recognition language.
52. Allow a salary employee to leave 2 hours early a Friday of their choosing.
53. Allow a salary employee to have an extra 30 minutes to their break for a week.
54. Allow two high-performing individuals that have the same area of responsibility/skills to freely swap one or two tasks/projects to empower & reward them.
55. Announce an employee's accomplishment at the next staff meeting & encourage everyone to clap for them.
56. Allow your team to dress casual/wear jeans a specific Friday.
57. If a married employee (or one that has family/dependents) had to stay late or work extra hours for a special project, send a gift/flowers home with them to their spouse/dependents, to thank them for giving Liberty more of the employee's valuable work.
58. Publicly acknowledge the employees that have recently graduated with a degree doing Continuing Education at the next staff meeting or newsletter.
59. Bring in morning snacks/juice one morning for team/dept.
60. Afternoon picnic at a park with team/dept.
61. Themed dress-up day for department & give awards to winners (such as 80s attire, their favorite sports teams, etc).