by Ronald Manalastas

Created on: June 03, 2008

There are several hundreds of ways to demonstrate employee appreciation. A simple "pat on the shoulder" with a casual utterance of "you're work is OK," a plaque of appreciation, a salary raise, a company-paid vacation, a scholarship grant, a gold watch, a car plan, or a job promotion may serve the common purpose of giving due recognition to a performing employee.

But which ways are great? Which gestures of appreciation can have immense impact on a virtuous employee? What motivates an employee to continued high performance?
Which ways generate the most significant organizational value?

There is actually no hard and fast rule in pinpointing which employee recognition platform is superior, or the best practice. Everything seems to be situational, largely dependent on the need, perception, and expectation of the employee. An award such as being declared a "model employee" or "employee of the year" can hit the recipient at the heart, to the point that the award becomes a "tear-breaker" or an emotionally-loaded event. But it is neither impossible nor a remote happening that such employee could later decide to seek greater career fulfillment in another company for the satisfaction of "higher-level" or "most compelling" needs.

While employee appreciation or recognition may appear paradoxical and twin-bladed, no company can subsist honorably and profitably without it. "Employees" is the most important asset of any organization, especially nowadays where the youthful sectors of the labor force go for transient or part-time employment. The young ranks of employees seek more time to pursue personal activities they are most passionate about. Their regular work just becomes a financial bridge for the conduct of things they love most.

With all the contradictions, how do we tackle the dominant importance of being able to adopt great ways to show employee appreciation?

The all-embracing answers:

Do less on gratuitous financial remuneration, but invest heavily in things that uphold the value of the individual. Focus on the satisfaction of needs pertaining to being loved, attention and recognition, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Navigate with confidence on the human side of the enterprise as it is where the best terms of employee endearment can grow.

Based on my 20 years of senior management experience, I am delighted to share the following specific prescriptions on how to evolve an employee appreciation program that matters.

1. Call employees by their first names, make it a discipline.

The

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