This Year's Best Employee Recognition Examples

HR managers understand that employee recognition is one of the most motivational, and essential, factors in the workplace. They can be experts in the field and are often on the lookout for the ultimate employee recognition examples so they can remain up to date about the latest, and best practices.

Employee recognition is key as it leads to engagement which can then boost job satisfaction and improve productivity. 

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However, it can be challenging to introduce fresh, new ideas into your employee recognition repertoire and truly allow employees to feel consistently appreciated. It’s truly important to find the right gestures and words for the occasion. 

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To make this easier for you, we’ve looked at the best employee recognition examples in 2022 and have included our own recognition ideas, all in one article! Continue reading to learn about the best employee recognition examples and find highlighted information on the benefits of introducing these rewards to your team.

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Best Employee Recognition Examples Of 2022

A Few Of The Year’s Best Employee Recognition Awards So Far

Spot Rewards

PocketPair Inc., a games developer company in Japan, gave its team a paid long weekend off so the employees could play a highly anticipated video game. Their team had fun, destressed from work and participated in a fun activity together.   

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This is definitely one of the most fun employee recognition examples we’ve seen! Spot rewards can be granted at the employer’s discretion and are a great way to surprise and recognize your employees in one go. 

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Employee Innovation Awards 

The Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) is held annually to recognize the contributions of innovative employees of color in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

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This year, four employees at EB received awards for their outstanding innovations while fostering a diverse environment in their workplace.

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Vacation For Employees

A British company, Yolk Recruitment, is treating its entire workforce to a vacation this year in the tropical island of Tenerife as a reward for their dedicated work throughout the pandemic. 

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This employee recognition example should be more common, especially after 2-3 years of restrictions in the wake of COVID-19.

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Our Suggestions For Employee Recognition

Here we’ve compiled a list of employee recognition examples from our end that are available in PerkUp!

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Celebrating Birthdays And Other Special Days

We have a range of rewards suitable for marking special occasions like employee birthdays. Whatever the employee's hobbies or interests may be, we’ve got it covered!

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Various companies like KPMG give their employees the day off for their birthdays. Other companies that also offer this recognition include the marketing company Awin, the tech company Click Travel and Dunelm which specializes in home furnishing. 

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If you’re unable to offer your employees a day off during peak productivity times, you can easily opt to reward them with a massage or spa treatment to enjoy over the weekend.

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Attach a meaningful message to personalize the reward even further with something like: “Thank you for being here today on your birthday. We are so happy to celebrate this day with you!”

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Recognition Of Hard Work

You should always reward your employees for their hard work. It’s their efforts and dedication that fuels the company’s success and it’s important for them to know how appreciative you are.

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The best way to do this is by simply rewarding them with the power of choice. The PerkUp platform offers a range of rewards with countless gift options to choose from. 

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Again, combine this with a grateful message of recognition like: “The pride you take in your work inspires everyone to work harder and achieve more” or simply, “Thank you for going the extra mile!” 

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Recognition Of Outstanding Achievements

Has an employee accomplished a particular professional milestone or educational achievement? It’s important that they’re rewarded for this as they continue to prove how much of an asset they are to the company.

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Acknowledge their achievement with a spot reward so they can gain access to a wide selection of audiobooks.

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For an educational achievement, you could include a message of recognition like: “Congratulations on your graduation! You inspire us all to do better.”

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If they just received a well-deserved promotion, you can try our following example of employee recognition: “You’ve more than earned this promotion with your constant dedication and hard work. Congratulations on this huge achievement!”

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Recognition Of Awesome Innovation 

Innovation is what allows a company to strive for excellence rather than mediocrity and employees that fuel this deserve recognition and relevant rewards. For those that have brought an inventive attitude to the workplace, you can recognize them through these messages:

• Your creativity knows no bounds! Thank you for your amazing contribution to the future of this company.

• It’s people like you that are responsible for the success of this company. Thank you!

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Recognition Of A Work Anniversary 

It’s always important to celebrate special occasions such as work anniversaries as it lets your employee know how valued they are in the company. 

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Announce their work anniversary with a message like:

• Congratulations on your 1st anniversary with the company! Since you have started working here, you've added so much value to the team.

• Wow, another year with the company! That means another awesome year of working with you.

• Every year at this company shows how much you and the business have grown. Endless thanks to your hard work. 

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Related: 17 Thoughtful Work Anniversary Gifts For All Employee Milestones

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Recognition Of Years Of Service Or Retirement

Milestones such as many years of service or retirement are a huge deal and should be celebrated appropriately. An employee appreciation party and one of our great rewards is an excellent way to extend relevant recognition.

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Honor your employee’s years of dedication and loyalty by celebrating their milestone with our customizable rewards, like a short vacation. 

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Offer an adventure trip with one of our perk partners AllTrails and include a stay at one of our other perk partners, Airbnb! 

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Let them know how much you appreciate their years of service with one of the following employee recognition examples:

• Your hard work over the years helped make this company what it is today. Thank you!

• Your contribution to this company will never be forgotten and we wish you all the best in your retirement.

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Recognition Of Fantastic Sales

Sales targets can be hard to meet, let alone beat. Give your best salespeople recognition for going the extra mile and exceeding targets. 

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Tell them how impressed you are, with a suitable reward and a few words like:

• No one thought it could be done but you did it. Congrats on the sale!

• Those sales figures are incredible and I know how much work went into them. Well done!

• Nice job landing that account! All those months of hard work and perseverance have paid off. 

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Related: Best Sales Spiff Ideas To Motivate Your Team

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Recognition Of Excellent Teamwork

Teamwork is always of great importance in the workplace but it’s not always easy to form a dynamic group.

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When employees work well together as a team and accomplish a goal, give recognition to every individual by recognizing and rewarding team members with awesome rewards they'll love.

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Show the team that you value their collaborative mindset with one of these messages:

• Well done Team! Your dedication to each other and positive attitude are the reason for our success!

• You saw it through from beginning to end, and everyone did their part. Bravo!

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Recognition Of Great Mentorship

The role of a mentor is not an easy one - it takes a special kind of person to give guidance and support during the first days in a new work environment. 

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They should be recognized and rewarded for their compassion and understanding while helping the new employees fit in. 

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Show them what a star they are through a thoughtful reward and comments like:

• Your commitment to excellence inspires others to fulfill their potential.

• Your guidance and encouragement have made such a difference to the team. Thank you!

• Thank you so much for your superb training and guidance! 

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The Benefits Of Employee Recognition

Studies in the workplace show that almost half of all employees value spontaneous rewards while 69% of employees commented that receiving better rewards would increase their loyalty to the company. 

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These are great benefits to implementing employee recognition in the workplace and the positive impact of rewards are endless too.

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The influence of recognition is not just for the employee, but also for the entire and even the employer. Let’s take a look at these benefits below.

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Benefits For Employees

• Employees who receive recognition for their achievements are highly motivated to continue achieving high levels of success. .

• Rewards in the form of educational development can help them further their skillset and such rewards may also help them complete their jobs more effectively.

• Perks such as childcare, health, and fitness benefits will help employees lead better lives outside the workplace meaning happier, more productive employees.

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Benefits For Co-Workers

• Co-workers of the employee receiving recognition also benefit - seeing someone in the company be recognized and rewarded can motivate them to work hard too.

• When a reward is offered for teamwork, all members of the team feel valued and appreciated at once. This definitely promotes a collaborative work environment. 

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Benefits For Employers

• Providing acknowledgement and recognition where it’s due will show employees that they’re appreciated and will motivate them to perform better. Research has shown that 41% of companies reported employee gifting improved retention.

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Our Tips For Effective Employee Recognition

Follow the four helpful tips below to make your employee recognition efforts more effective.

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Don’t Keep It Quiet

To be congratulated by one’s employer is appreciated, but to be rewarded is even better and to be rewarded and congratulated in front of the team is an experience unlike any other. 

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Make sure that everyone in the company, or at least in the employee’s division, understands who’s being acknowledged so they know who to recognize and congratulate as well. 

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Your message of recognition could go out in a general chat platform (e.g. Slack) used by the whole office or can be simply placed on the company’s social media site or bulletin board. 

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Pay Attention To The Details

Pay attention to the details and emphasize the impact that the employee has made, especially by acknowledging any hurdles they’ve overcome or obstacles they’ve faced. 

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Avoid generic messages and be specific - a mistake or omission could dull the joy that the recipient would have otherwise felt.

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If they have landed a specific account, name it! If they completed a new qualification, state what type of qualification it is! If it’s their work anniversary or they’re leaving after many years of service, get the number of years right!

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Don’t Delay

Delayed recognition is not as effective as immediate recognition. Don’t risk your employees wondering if you forgot about their achievements or doubting how much you value their contributions.

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As soon as you become aware of their achievement, send out a message of recognition. 

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If an employee is retiring after many years of service, announce it within the week before they leave the company so everyone at the company has time to acknowledge them. 

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Personalize It 

Make recognition messages more interesting with GIFs, emojis, memes, and photos. This will personalize them, introduce an element of fun to the team and will definitely make it more memorable!

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The theme should fit the occasion, work environment and employee demographics. This will ensure that your message of recognition is appropriate and well-received. 

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With our rewards, you can set custom themes and messages to fit any occasion. You can also use our system to reward employees over the festive season. 

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In Conclusion

Show your appreciation with one of these employee recognition examples and reward your team with the gift of choice

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We at PerkUp understand the importance of a positive dynamic between employees and their organization, and we work to cater a flexible, streamlined and simple platform so every individual can receive the rewards and recognition they deserve.