Recognizing Employees

Employee recognition is the explicit acknowledgment and praise of employee behavior, outcome, or achievement that appreciates, rewards, and motivates them. Rewards, one of the manifestations of recognition, can be monetary or nonmonetary. Although feedback and monetary rewards are important to intrinsic motivation, the focus of this chapter is on nonmonetary recognition. Recognition is also a social reinforcer because it confirms that the recipient's work is valued by others. Exceptional performance is an obvious choice for recognition, and exemplary performance is often best identified by the recipient's coworkers or supervisor, or even by customers and communicated via customer service surveys. The chapter presents a case example that looks at how Disney appreciates and motivates their Cast Members, which is what they call their employees working at the Disney Store or at Disney Parks, through a variety of programs.