Companies don’t have to throw some formal, all-expenses-paid-for party in order to recognize and reward their employees for professional excellence. Sure, having a large party or gathering such as this is perfectly fine once in a while, but recognition can be done through informal channels as well. However, it’s important for companies to follow some basic rules and guidelines when performing informal employee recognitions.

What Type of Recognition Do Employees Want?

The most obvious answer that comes to mind is a cash bonus. Regardless of the industry or line of work, I think it’s safe to say that most employees would happily accept a cash bonus for their efforts. But several studies have polls showing that cash isn’t always the most wanted form of recognition by employees.  Sometimes your employees want something more tangible…something they can hold on to and show off.  Being able to brag about their recognition in the form of a plaque, trophy or other type of award is a great way to recognize and make your employees to feel more appreciated.

Informally Recognizing Employees Through Social Media

Social media offers a fast and effective way for businesses to informally recognize their employees. If your company has a Facebook page, perhaps you could make a short post thanking the top-performing employees of the previous month. It only takes a couple of minutes to make a post on your company’s Facebook page, but doing so will have a lasting impression on employees.

It’s easy to stray off from the objective once you start posting on social media. The key thing to remember is that you want to maintain a professional environment without getting too personal. Recognize employees only on the company’s official page (not personal pages) and monitor the comments for profanity, spam, and other unwanted content.

Other Informal Recognition Ideas:

You don’t have to limit your company’s informal employee recognition strictly to social media. Another idea to consider is a hand written letter to the employee, telling them how much you appreciate everything they’ve done for the company. Rather than printing out 50 of the same generic letters, you could personalize each one with information about the employee whom will receive it. This added effort will have a stronger impact on employees.