Next-gen employee recognition: 16 strategies + employee recognition program examples

This article was originally published on May 4, 2023, and was updated on October 21, 2024.

Miriam Connaughton, Simpplr’s Chief People & Experience Officer, highlights this shift: “In the face of a global talent shortage and increasing diversity of work models, the quality of employee experience becomes a strategic differentiator. Companies that nurture their talent through continuous learning, recognition and technological innovation will lead the way.”

Simpplr’s next-gen recognition roadmap provides a clear path forward, blending investment in employee experience (EX), making recognition a daily practice, and leveraging AI-powered tools for timely, personalized acknowledgments.

This approach fosters a culture of appreciation that boosts morale, enhances retention, and drives overall organizational success.

Get your free copy of our ebook, Next-gen employee recognition: The modern talent retention playbook, to learn more.

16 appreciation strategies + employee recognition program examples

A strong employee recognition and rewards program can be founded on a three-step plan called the next-gen recognition roadmap. By following this broad framework and the appreciation strategies aligned to each step, you’ll be better equipped to build, track and manage a recognition and rewards program that meets the evolving nature of today’s workforce.

Now, let’s explore actionable and specific tactics that can shape your employee recognition program — whether they’re daily actions, traditional forms of recognition, or long-term strategies.

Related: How effectively do you appreciate your people? Take our 5-minute employee appreciation assessment!

Step 1: Invest in your employee experience

“The upside of technology is making it easier for everyone to get what they need — especially managers, because they are the secret sauce and the most important channel for delivering the employee experience.” ~ Miriam Connaughton, Chief People & Experience Officer at Simpplr

Create a positive and consistent EX, forming the foundation for a culture of recognition. When employees have positive experiences at work, they perform better, stay longer, and positively impact their colleagues. Here are three strategies that lay a strong foundation:

1. 1. Create a consistent experience: Ensure all of your people, regardless of their role or location, have access to the same resources and support. Use a unified employee experience (EX) platform for multichannel communication, seamless access to important knowledge and tools, integrated recognition and rewards capabilities, and consistent messaging from leadership. Employees feel secure and focused when they know what to expect.
2. 2. Gather continuous feedback: Regularly seek employee feedback through surveys, suggestion boxes, and one-on-one meetings. Enhance your employee listening strategy with technology that centralizes employee surveys, sentiment, engagement and insights in a single platform. Acting on this feedback shows employees that their voices are heard and valued.
3. 3. Support people managers: Managers are pivotal for providing and encouraging daily recognition and appreciation, which has been shown to increase job performance almost four-fold and improve engagement. Empower managers with AI-powered dashboards that give them a view into their team’s engagement levels along with recommended actions they can take to boost employee satisfaction and productivity. For example, Simpplr’s My Team Dashboard helps managers gauge how engaged their people are by surfacing quantifiable indicators, such as adoption, responses to surveys, recognition awards (given and received), task completion and more.

Employee recognition program example: Credit Acceptance

“The way the Simpplr platform enables us to engage and recognize our employees has enhanced the culture of our company in such a positive way.” ~ Krystal Barrad, Web Content Specialist at Credit Acceptance

Credit Acceptance needed to revamp their employee recognition program to build a stronger, more connected culture. The old intranet was clunky and hard to use, leading to low engagement and missed chances to celebrate employee achievements. The challenge was to create a lively platform that would effectively highlight team members and foster a sense of community.

Credit Acceptance launched Simpplr’s intranet platform to boost their employee experience, enabling seamless employee recognition through various content formats like videos, podcasts and stories. Employees are celebrated for milestones, business successes, community contributions and personal achievements. This approach encourages team members to share their stories and support each other, creating a vibrant and engaged community.

The new intranet platform led to a significant increase in engagement. Credit Acceptance saw a 30% jump in intranet usage right after launching Simpplr. Stories featuring team members drove higher views, with leadership posts seeing a 112% increase when using personalized images. The culture of recognition fostered by Simpplr has positively impacted their performance on the Fortune & Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey, underscoring their position as one of the best companies to work for.

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Step 2: Make recognition routine

Make recognition a regular, meaningful part of your workplace culture. Frequent and genuine recognition can significantly boost morale and retention. Here’s how to start making recognition a routine part of your day:

1. 4. Increase frequency of recognition: Encourage managers to provide recognition more frequently. While many managers believe they offer regular recognition, the reality is that employees often report receiving it far less frequently. Aim to make recognition a consistent part of the employee experience.
2. 5. Automate and personalize your recognition: Using an employee experience (EX) platform with AI capabilities, like Simpplr, makes it possible to automate and significantly enhance personalized recognition at scale. AI can analyze employee data to provide insights into what types of recognition are most effective, and automate certain aspects of the recognition process to ensure it is timely and relevant. 
3. 6. Align recognition and rewards to core values: Customize awards and badges to align with company values, continuously cultivating your culture and brand. 
4. 7. Support managers with ways to easily weave recognition into routine activities and interactions with their team members: Unifying your recognition and rewards program is a huge step toward providing this support. Using an EX platform that integrates recognition and rewards enables you to configure, view, track and manage your program in one central hub — simplifying your employee engagement tools.

Employee recognition program example: Agero

“Since launching Simpplr’s Employee Recognition, we’ve found employees to not only be posting and engaging more on our intranet, but our communications content views have increased more than 17%.” ~ Ashley Anglisano, Senior Internal Communications Specialist at Agero

Agero faced the challenge of recognizing their employees on a large scale, and they tackled it head-on by integrating Simpplr’s Employee Recognition. This move brought their diverse workforce together, simplified the recognition process, and significantly boosted overall engagement.

Before having a unified platform, efforts were fragmented, making it hard to track and celebrate achievements effectively. Agero’s existing tools created digital friction, hampering collaboration and underutilizing their recognition programs. This disjointed approach not only took up a lot of time but also reduced the visibility of employees’ hard work.

To fix these issues, Agero integrated Simpplr’s Employee Recognition into their intranet. This seamless integration streamlined the recognition process, making it efficient and user-friendly. AI-driven content moderation took care of compliance concerns, and a solid communication strategy engaged employees across the board. By leveraging analytics and cultural champions, Agero ensured a smooth rollout and widespread adoption of the new program.

The results were immediate and impressive. Engagement surged, with 696 posts and replies in the first month — 22 times higher than before. Groups that were usually quiet started participating actively, and recurring awards tied to company values like “Going the Extra Mile” reinforced Agero’s culture. Unifying recognition on Simpplr improved visibility and provided valuable insights into engagement trends.

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Step 3: Embrace tech and AI

“Picture a recognition system so seamlessly integrated and intelligent it becomes part of the daily workflow. AI-powered platforms like Simpplr do this, making a culture of recognition more easily attainable.” ~ Miriam Connaughton 

Use AI-driven platforms to enhance your recognition programs. These tools provide real-time feedback, track achievements, and ensure timely and impactful recognition.

By leveraging AI-powered technology, you can create an environment where employee recognition is seamless, impactful and deeply integrated into the daily workflow.

AI enhances employee recognition and rewards by automating reminders for key dates — like birthdays and work anniversaries — and prompting managers to recognize team members who might have been overlooked. It offers valuable analytics, helping leaders identify trends and improve program adoption. Additionally, AI enhances personalization by tracking and showcasing meaningful acknowledgments across teams, ensuring recognition is timely and relevant.

Here are actionable steps you can take in building a robust employee recognition and rewards program using a next-gen EX platform like Simpplr:

1. 8. Create a rewards store: Offer a variety of redemption options in a comprehensive portal, enabling employees to choose rewards that truly resonate with them.
2. 9. Recognize service awards: Automatically reward work anniversaries and milestones with personalized, memorable recognitions that highlight the individual’s journey and valued contributions.
3. 10. Implement spot awards: Instantly reward stellar performance with customizable awards that allow control over badges, budgets, frequency and more.
4. 11. Design functional awards: Tailor awards within departments or divisions to foster participation and recognize key achievements at the right time.
5. 12. Engage through multichannel platforms: Reward employees via Slack, Teams, email, web, mobile and other preferred channels to ensure seamless integration into their workflow.
6. 13. Foster peer-to-peer recognition: Encourage a culture of appreciation by enabling employees to highlight core values, enhancing visibility and community engagement.
7. 14. Automate personalized messages: Send AI-generated appreciation notes that feel genuine and tailored to the individual.
8. 15. Gamify digital rewards: Introduce instant digital rewards and gamified recognition systems for quick and engaging acknowledgments.
9. 16. Utilize AI-powered analytics: Track recognition efforts through sentiment analysis and real-time engagement dashboards for continuous improvement.

Employee recognition program example: Quartz Heath

“Our intranet is an essential tool for recognizing our employees’ success at work, in our communities and as individuals.” ~ Lori Devoti, Sr. Internal Communications Specialist at Quartz Health

Quartz Health’s innovative leap into cutting-edge technology has transformed their approach to attracting and retaining top talent. By harnessing advanced tools like their state-of-the-art intranet platform, Prism, Quartz Health has significantly elevated employee recognition and engagement, making their workplace a beacon of appreciation and connectivity.

Quartz Health faced the challenge of uniting a geographically dispersed and diverse workforce, following multiple mergers. The need to enhance employee engagement and ensure consistent recognition across locations and departments was critical.

They implemented a Simpplr-powered intranet called Prism to create a unified and engaging employee recognition program. Leveraging Prism’s robust capabilities, Quartz celebrated achievements and fostered connections through personalized employee newsletters, dashboard tiles, and interactive elements like leaderboards and videos.

The company saw a dramatic increase in engagement, with 99% of users logging on, 99% viewing content, and 30% actively contributing. This comprehensive recognition strategy significantly enhanced employee morale and engagement.

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More employee recognition and rewards program examples

Here are some general types of employee appreciation examples that you can customize to improve the employee experience for your people: 

Employee of the month/quarter: This is a traditional recognition program in which you recognize an employee who has exceeded their tasks during the specified time frame. It’s a basic approach, so going above and beyond here is helpful. How can your organization better personalize this achievement? In addition to visible recognition, consider giving a reward like a personalized gift or points to be used at your organization’s rewards store. 

Peer-to-peer recognition: Among the most impactful types of recognition, encourage employees to recognize one another’s efforts by establishing a system to nominate their coworkers for their contributions to their teams and the organization. This will help build relationships and create a more cohesive company culture, as employees will feel appreciated by the company and their peers.

Personalized thank you notes: Handwritten notes from managers or team leaders can help your people feel genuinely appreciated. Not everyone wants their name and pictures front and center, so the intimacy of a personalized and handwritten letter or card really resonates with some employees. 

In an age when it’s much easier and faster to send an email or text, a handwritten note stands out and illustrates that leadership made this thank you a priority and not an afterthought.

Celebrate milestones: Celebrate a work anniversary, personal milestone or notable success with a formal shoutout and/or special gift. Everyone wants to be valued and recognized for being an essential part of the team. Celebrating even the simplest events, such as six months with the company, can enhance well-being and boost productivity.

Team-building events: Plan events for team development, such as a business outing, a game day, or a fun team-building activity to demonstrate that you value your people’s dedication and hard work and want them to enjoy some fun. It also gives employees a chance to get to know one another better outside of the workplace. And, of course, this contributes to building a better team and a more cohesive company culture.

Meaningful rewards: Beyond business cycle performance-based awards (e.g., annual merit increases and bonuses), show appreciation for going the extra mile with rewards that echo your organization’s culture and values. For example, with Simpplr’s unified Recognition and Rewards you can easily offer: 

• Functional awards: Design and distribute tailored awards within departments or divisions to foster participation and recognize the right achievements at the right time.
• Spot awards: Instantly reward and recognize stellar performance with awards fully customized by user profile to control badges, budgets, frequency and more.
• Service awards: Automatically reward work anniversaries and milestones with personalized, memorable recognitions that highlight the individual’s journey and valued contributions within the organization.

Employee wellness incentives: Inadequate attention to employee well-being is a top reason for high employee turnover rates. And this makes employee wellness programs an excellent option for employee recognition programs. You can choose personalized rewards that boost your employees’ emotional and physical wellness, such as fitness subscriptions, spa certificates, nutritional consultations, and access to mental health sessions or seminars. 

Highlight employees in marketing materials: Showcasing the people who live your company’s values, go above and beyond for your customers, or bring your organization’s mission to life is a terrific way to acknowledge them. Collaborate with the marketing department to establish the platforms on which to highlight employee accomplishments. For instance, an employee could participate in the corporate podcast to discuss their professional path, author an article for the company’s monthly newsletter, etc.
 
Annual employee appreciation celebrations: Get your whole organization involved and celebrate what every individual contributes to the shared mission and strategy. Make it a yearly tradition where you throw your employees a party celebrating their expertise and efforts towards making your company great. You could hold a ceremony that recognizes individual employees for achievements such as customer service or going the extra mile when it wasn’t required or asked.

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The path forward for employee recognition

Talent shortages, diversity of work models and technology innovations are reshaping our workforce, but the road ahead is full of opportunities for how we show appreciation. The promising path forward starts with AI-driven recognition and rewards. Formal processes like performance reviews, promotions and pay increases aren’t enough. Recognition is also about expressing gratitude and appreciation in a way that acknowledges a person’s inherent value – as a co-worker and as a human being. 

Employee recognition is more than a well-being booster — it’s a differentiator in your culture and performance.

Unified employee recognition and rewards solutions like Simpplr elevate your recognition strategies with tailored and scalable solutions that ensure every bit of praise hits home. Simpplr is the first platform to seamlessly integrate Recognition and Rewards into employee communications, fostering a meaningful work environment that boosts engagement and performance. Our unified Recognition and Rewards solution is designed to help you drive engagement, boost performance, and create a culture where every achievement matters.

Contact us today to learn more and schedule a demo!