How to use Tremendous for employee recognition

By Zach Links|5 min read|Updated Oct 17, 2024

Employee recognition programs can improve employee engagement, helping you boost productivity and retention across teams.

Companies with well-implemented recognition programs have 31% lower voluntary turnover rates. And that translates to substantial cost savings.

The true cost of replacing an employee can be up to 2x their salary when considering hidden costs like potential project delays and lost institutional knowledge.

However, creating and managing an employee recognition program can be challenging. Many companies struggle with consistency, fairness, and the administrative burden of distributing rewards.

That's where Tremendous comes in.

Our platform simplifies the process of sending rewards, making it easy for businesses of all sizes to implement and maintain employee recognition programs.

Here’s how you can use Tremendous to create an impactful recognition program for your team.

Your budget will influence the types and frequency of rewards you can offer.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends allocating at least 1% of your total payroll to recognition.

Some companies choose to budget 2% or more — a modest investment that can boost engagement by 40%, even when employee wages are lower than market rate.

There’s no magic number, but you can start by allocating 1-2% of payroll for recognition. However, this can vary depending on your industry, company size, and specific goals.

Remember, employee recognition doesn't have to be strictly monetary. Non-monetary recognition — like public acknowledgment and extra PTO — can enhance your program’s effectiveness and raise the perceived value of your program’s rewards.

Consider recognizing both big wins and small, consistent efforts. For example, you might reward employees for exceeding sales targets, but also for consistently demonstrating company values in their day-to-day work.

Be sure to include a mix of individual and team-based recognition. This approach encourages both personal excellence and collaborative success.

While performance-based rewards can be motivating, be cautious about overemphasizing them. Focusing solely on top performers can create an overly competitive environment and may inadvertently demotivate other employees. It's important to strike a balance that recognizes a wider range of contributions.

Consider incorporating recognition for personal improvements, high levels of effort, or "side-skills" like mentoring junior team members. This broader approach ensures that your recognition program doesn't just reward the same small group of top performers repeatedly, but acknowledges growth and effort across your entire workforce.

Now comes the easy part — actually sending rewards to your deserving employees.

Tremendous makes this process simple. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Log into your Tremendous account and click Send rewards.

Select the kind of rewards you’d like to send. You can send digital rewards, or ship physical Visa gift cards to employees’ addresses.

A screenshot of the Tremendous UI prompting users to decide the kind of reward they'd like to send.

We recommend sending employee recognition gifts digitally. They'll land in your employees’ inboxes immediately, no matter where in the world they are.

Then, decide how you want to deliver your rewards: via email, text message, or reward link.

A screenshot of the Tremendous UI prompting users to decide how they'd like to deliver rewards.

For employees, it’s likely easiest to send rewards straight to their company email address.

Next, choose the rewards you’d like to offer to employees.

With Tremendous, you can give employees more than 2,000 ways to redeem their reward, from direct deposit and Venmo payouts to Amazon gifts cards and charitable donations.

Toggle on or off the retailers or payout methods you’d like to make available to employees.

A screenshot of the Tremendous UI prompting users to select the products they'd like to make available to employees.

Add your company logo and a personalized message to the reward.

Name and save your campaign so you can skip this step in the future.

Click into your campaign and you’ll be prompted to add recipients. The fastest and simplest way is to bulk upload your recipient list straight to Tremendous with a CSV file.

A screenshot of the Tremendous UI showing which recipients will receive employee recognition.

Click send (or schedule to send, if you want rewards to hit your employees’ inboxes on a specific day). That’s it – you’re all set.

To ensure your recognition program is meeting its goals, it's important to regularly measure its effectiveness.

Track changes in key performance indicators (KPIs) related to your program goals. These might include employee engagement scores, turnover rates, or productivity metrics.

Consider a mix of work output figures (like sales numbers or project completion rates), qualitative feedback from managers and peers, and employee sentiment data from engagement surveys. Don't forget to measure program-specific metrics such as reward frequency and distribution across teams.

Regular surveys can also provide valuable feedback on how employees perceive the recognition program. This qualitative data can offer insights that numbers alone might miss.

While tracking metrics is crucial, direct feedback from your employees can provide invaluable insights into your recognition program's effectiveness. Regular surveys or focus groups can help you understand what's working well and what could be improved.

Consider asking questions like:

How clear are the criteria for receiving recognition?
Do you feel the recognition program is fair and equitable across all teams?
How valuable do you find the rewards offered through the program?
Are there any other ways you would like to be recognized for your contributions?
How has the recognition program impacted your motivation and job satisfaction?

Remember, the goal of gathering feedback is to continuously improve your program. Be prepared to make adjustments based on what you learn from your employees.

The most effective employee recognition programs are those that evolve over time. Use the insights gained from your measurements and employee feedback to refine and improve your program continuously.

This might involve adjusting your recognition criteria, changing the types of rewards offered, or modifying the frequency of recognition. Don't be afraid to experiment with new ideas — what works for one company may not work for another.

As your company grows and changes, your recognition program should evolve too. Regularly revisit your program goals and ensure they still align with your overall business objectives.

Employees generally understand if recognition needs adjustment when business is down. The key is transparent communication from leadership about the company's financial health and any necessary changes to the program.

When leaders openly share challenges and the reasons behind program modifications, employees are less likely to feel overlooked or undervalued. This transparency can actually foster trust, even when rewards might be less frequent or substantial.

Implementing a thoughtfully-structured employee recognition program with Tremendous can significantly boost employee engagement and productivity.

Ready to improve your employee recognition program with Tremendous? Sign up for a free account or take a demo with us to learn more.