What employee recognition trends should you be watching?

With great talent becoming harder and harder to attract and maintain, employee recognition remains important for organizations of all sizes. Staying on top of the latest employee recognition program trends can help you retain your best talent. Here are some of the trends to watch out for.

• Social good continues to grow: While many employees choose to donate their rewards and personal finances to various philanthropies, many employers are allowing employees to also give back while on the job. Organizations, such as GlobalGiving and Charity:Water, allow their employees to have a hand in bigger, company-wide charitable campaigns, and other employers are matching employee donations.
• Mobile continues to dominate: The ubiquity of smartphones means that your employee recognition programs need to be accessible on mobile. Whether it is employee gift cards that allow online purchase, e-gift certificates, or recognition portals accessible through an app, mobile friendly programs are becoming required.
• Positive cultures win: Creating a positive culture in the workplace does more than just function as a form of employee recognition, but creating a culture where employees feel engaged and receive positive feedback can be enough to keep them motivated, without monetary rewards.
• Early rewards: While most organizations celebrate milestones such as 5, 10, or 15 years with the organization, many companies are choosing to start this clock sooner with rewards given to employees who have been with the company as little as 1 year.
• Get personal: Employees are looking for more than a canned message from the HR department when they receive an award. Employees are looking for personal messages from their immediate manager or senior managers to make them feel appreciated.

These are just some of the trends that are hot in the employee recognition world. Is your organization utilizing any of these tactics?