You know recognition is important to keeping your employees motivated and productive, but what is the best way to recognize an employee's accomplishments? Well, it depends on the employee.

According to a survey from the Deloitte Greenhouse Experience Group, there's no one-size-fits-all way of acknowledging achievement—or, at least, there shouldn't be.

How recognition is delivered is important to some people, while the person doing the praising is important to others, and the cause of the acknowledgement is essential to others. And while it's certainly not unwelcome, cash isn't the necessarily the most valued form of recognition.

A new growth opportunity is the favored form of recognition for 47 percent of respondents; monetary rewards in the form of salary increases (23 percent), high performance ratings (21 percent), and bonuses (10 percent) are also welcome, but to lesser degrees.

How do you know what type of recognition to give? According to Deloitte, you can break employees into four categories:

Pioneers value possibilities. They spark energy and imagination, and believe big risks can bring great things.
Drivers seek challenge and generate momentum. They're technical, quantitative, and logical.
Guardians value stability, and they bring order and rigor. They're deliberate decision-makers apt to stick with the status quo.
Integrators value connection and draw teams together. They're empathic, diplomatic, and relationship-oriented.

According to the report, 75 percent of people are satisfied if someone acknowledges their work—but 36 percent of women would like it better if it were put in writing. Only 28 percent of men expressed such a preference.

There are other differences between men and women on how such praise is received. While only 34 percent of women want to be recognized for success—compared with 46 percent of men—it's not that they don't want recognition; they just want it for other things. Knowledge (27 percent), effort (22 percent), and living the organization's core values (17 percent) are their preferred sources for acknowledgment.

See also:

Instant Insights /

Understanding the Complexities of Worker Recognition

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