• ABOUT COLONIAL COMMUNITY
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• RECOGNITION
• COMMUNITY BUILDING

Informal Recognition

Informal recognition focuses primarily on performance achievements, goal accomplishments, and other milestones by individuals or teams and provides an atmosphere of continuous and spontaneous praising’s and rewards.  It may occur monthly or quarterly and impact fewer employees than Day-to-Day recognition.  The types of contributions that might be recognized in informal programs are:

• Staying late to help someone prepare a presentation for the next day.

• Volunteering to cover for a co-worker who is out sick.

• Going out of your way to help boost morale or create a positive, inclusive work environment.

• Exceeding expectations for a goal or milestone in a long-term collaborative project.

• Implementing a business process improvement idea.

Employee Recognition Profile

Not all employees like to be recognized in the same way. A good starting point is to have your staff complete the Employee Recognition Profile to learn more about how they like to be recognized for their good work.

On the Spot Recognition & Rewards

On the Spot Awards are delivered at the time of achievement. These acknowledgments provide praise for contributions when the desired behavior occurs.  This type of recognition can be given to individuals, teams, or work groups. They may come in the form of candy, flowers, lunches, group events or outings, movie tickets, etc. These awards should not exceed a value of $100 per individual per year. Make sure you are familiar with the GW Policy on the Taxation of Gifts, Prizes and Awards to Employees.  

Positive Vibes

Publicly thank, congratulate, or recognize a GW colleague on either a job well done or a special occasion.  Positive Vibes peer to peer recognition can be used by employees and managers to recognize and appreciate each other.  This is a great non-cash recognition vehicle.

Other Informal Recognition Ideas

There are many great no cost and low cost ways to give recognition.  The Recognition Profile should be used to find out employees preferred ways to be recognized. Click here to learn more about GW departmental recognition best practices.

• Nominate the employee for a University formal award program like the Service Excellence Celebration

• Write a letter/email of praise recognizing specific contributions and accomplishments. Send a copy to senior management and the employee’s personnel file.

• Allow employees to leave early or take a long lunch.

• Support “flex-friendly” schedules

• If you have a department newsletter, publish a “kudos” column and ask for nominations throughout the department.

• Encourage and recognize staff who pursue continuing education.

• Establish a place to display memos, posters, photos and so on to recognizing progress towards goals and thanking individual employees for their help.

• Send hand written thank-you cards to employees who go the extra mile. Optional – include a set of movie tickets or a chocolate bar (based on preferences).

• Invite employees to workshops/seminars or plan a brown bag lunch for your team

• Give Certificates of Appreciation or Recognition highlighting what they did.

• Have a pizza party for staff after completing a major project.

• Serve ice cream sundaes to all of your employees at the end of a project.

• Hold informal retreats to foster communication and set goals.

• Have weekly breakfasts with groups of employees.

• Bake/bring a gift (cookies, bread, etc.) for an outstanding employee or team.

• Treat an employee to lunch or coffee.

• Encourage and allow employees to attend University events.

• Plan a surprise achievement celebration for an employee or a group of employees.

 

CLICK HERE to go to the Recognition Resources page for more resources, do’s and don’ts and Managers Tips

CLICK HERE to return to Recognition Toolkit Overview