An employee recognition letter is used to show an employer’s gratitude for their hard work. This demonstrates that the employer is pleased with the employee’s conduct and urges them to continue in the same manner. So,
An employee recognition letter is meant to show that the employer recognizes the efforts his or her employee(s) put in at their work or recent achievement.
This demonstrates that the employer is pleased with the employee’s conduct and urges them to continue in the same manner.
Generally, there are three types of employee recognition letters which include;
- Formal letter
- Semi-formal letter
- Informal letter
For you, the employer, you can opt to use a formal or semi-formal type. Semi-formal if you are in the mid-level management such as officers, team leaders, supervisors, etc. Formal letters are given by higher-level positioned managers or officers. Formal recognition letters are characterized by a formal style, tone, and content so as to observe a standard level of professionalism. As an employer, you can decide to give out recognition letters on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. The letter can be written as an email, handwritten, or typed. It is advised that the letter be written around the time when the event or conduct being praised occurs. An employee recognition letter can be addressed to multiple employees, and therefore it does not necessarily have to be directed to one employee.
Additionally, it has been observed that 85% of professional employees want to receive recognition on a daily basis. 36% of women and 28% of men prefer the acknowledgment to be in writing.
Importance of Employee Recognition Letter
Handing out employee recognition letters has been proven to have significant benefits to an organization. For example, companies that have a recognition culture have been observed to have the following changes;
- 3 times more increased employee retention
- A 2.5 times increase in employee engagement
- 2.25 times more likely to carry out frequent recognition
- 79% more likely to give their employer’s brand a high rating.
Employee retention can be attributed to the inspiration, and encouragement employees get from knowing that their efforts do not go unnoticed and they are appreciated within their place of employment. This can be a morale booster and can lead to an increase in dedication to their work which eventually increases productivity.
A recognition letter also helps build a strong relationship between you and your employees and can encourage them to talk to you more openly about their needs and concerns.
How to Write (Format) an Employee Recognition Letter
So, how do you write an employee recognition letter? What are the contents of an employee recognition letter, and in what order do they appear? We shall try to answer these questions in this section.
Decide the format
The first thing you do is determine the format which you wish to adopt. This is dependent on the style and culture of your company. For large corporations, emails are often used.
Mention employee’s information
The next step involves identifying who is the sender and recipient. This information is written at the top-left corner. For a formal recognition letter, the information to include is the name, address, phone number, and email (where applicable). Now, remember, in cases where you do not wish to sound too formal and letters sent via email, you can just use a salutation, for example, ‘Hi Jane’ without necessarily including header information.
Start with a greeting statement
Since a recognition letter is meant to feel personal, always start with a greeting. This can be done by doing your salutation or greeting followed by the employee’s first name. For example, “Hi Martin” or “Dear Sarah” would suffice. Greetings should then be followed by a statement of the purpose for writing the letter.
For example,
Congratulations for overseeing the Nashville Water drilling project and, more so, getting it done before the scheduled date.
Write the body of the letter
After letting the recipient know the purpose of your letter, you can now proceed to demonstrate how much you appreciate them and the work they have done or do. You can enrich your appreciation by highlighting key points, traits, or achievements you took note of. Break down the actions that stood out most as the aim is to encourage them to continue with this type of conduct. Leaning on their strengths is also advised. Other things you can touch on include the observed relationship between the employee and fellow co-workers, personal encounters with the employee, and such.
Pro Tip: It is advisable to keep the tone formal but also make it sound friendly and more open to the employee.
Conclude and sign the letter
Now that you have stated your intentions, you can include a closing statement. You can do so by reiterating your appreciation, and where promotion or a raise is due, declare it at this point in the letter. You can then sign off by the usual formal structure of “Sincerely” followed by your name and job title. A more straightforward way to do this, especially for emails, is signing off and stating your name.
For example,
Regards
Jerry
HR manager
Or,
All the best,
Angelina
Must proofread the letter
The final step is proofreading to check for errors. Reading it a few times helps determine if you have said exactly what you wanted to say. Where errors of grammar or typos appear, correct them before sending the letter. Reading it aloud can help with checking if the tone was properly observed.
Employee Recognition Letter Examples
In an effort to give you a clear picture of what is expected in an employee recognition letter, we have provided samples of different types of recognition letters.
Standard Employee Recognition Template
[Employee’s name]
[Employee’s address]
[Phone number or email]
[Date]
[Employer name]
[Company name]
[Company address]
Greeting,
[Opening statement stating the purpose of the letter]I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation for the time you have been with us and your continued devotion to your work.
Your efforts this past [duration, e.g., week, month, etc.] have been excellent, and we as management are happy to see such dedication from our employees. I’d like to inform you that due to the [Title] presentation you made on [date of presentation], we were able to get investors for our [Title] project.
[Mention of incentive such as promotion if applicable, for example] we plan on appointing you to spearhead the project, which would not have been possible without you.
[Closing statement] Thank you for leading from the front.
[Sign off]Sincerely/Faithfully,
[Employer’s first or last name]
[Signature]
[Job title, e.g., Manager, MD, etc.]
Recognition Letter from the Manager
Allan Sandler,
234 South Avenue,
Salt Lake City, MA 444
24th February 2021
Janice Baker,
Bixel Retailers,
5555 North Boulevard,
Jacksonville, TX 1117
Hi Allan,
I take pride in seeing you spearhead the model that led to the sales increase for the month of April.
I acknowledge that sales totaling to the revenue generated in April are not easy to attain, and the fact that you did it despite the ongoing financial constraints is proof of your exemplary marketing skills. Other executives and I have definitely noticed your input, and we are delighted to have you with us.
We plan to adopt the marketing model you proposed in the future and continue the great work you’ve been doing.
Thank you and much appreciation,
Janice
Recognition Letter From C-suite
Newspeak Electronics, NY branch,
Team, congratulations on being the fastest growing branch of the company for the just-ended financial year. You have shown tremendous dedication and cooperation to surpass the set target, and this will not be taken lightly. We commend the positivity you have all shown and setting an example for others to follow. We continue to encourage innovation, and we shall support you as much as we can. We wish you good health and radiance. Continue to shine your light and be ambassadors of yourselves as well as the company’s.
Carrie Winks
COO.
Milestone Recognition Letter
Hi Annette,
Congratulations on being promoted as the regional director; and has been long overdue, but here you are.
Annette, you should be proud of yourself for how far you have come from an entry-level as an administrative assistant. I believe the company could not have found a better-suited person for that position. I am certain your impact will be much welcomed as I have heard of how well you get along with management and other employees of the company.
It has been such a delight working with you for all those years, and I am ready to continue the same.
All the best,
Smith
Free Templates & Examples
Here are free downloadable templates for better understanding:
Writing Tips for Employee Recognition Letter
As an employer, you want to make sure that a high level of appreciation is portrayed in the recognition letter. For this letter to serve its purpose as effectively as desired, here are some tips you can consider during your writing process.
Principles of RISE
The acronym RISE stands for Regular, Immediate, Specific, and Encouraging. These are all aspects that you should aim to be represented in your recognition letter.
Regular– recognition letters should be handed out regularly, which could be at least once a week. This should be done as a routine practice to establish such a culture in the organization.
Immediate– As soon as you notice particular praiseworthy conduct from your employee(s), ensure that you issue your recognition letter then. This encourages the repetition of desirable acts within the company.
Specific– the recognition letter should be written in such a way that it feels personal. The letter’s primary focus should be the employee being recognized and their achievements. Also, try to avoid any prevalent employee shortcomings.
Encouraging– the recognition letter should urge fellow employees to adopt a recognition culture moving forward. Employees should be encouraged to keep up good conduct.
Apart from this, other general tips include:
- Be honest- The recognition letter should be a true reflection of your opinion about the employee in question. The employer should be sincere in terms of the information they give. Mae sure praise is going to the workers who actually did the job.
- Be particular- You can opt to go into details of what they exactly did. This helps the employee clearly understand what they are being praised for.
- Consider their future- A recognition letter can adopt a forward-thinking approach by stating the employer’s excitement to work with the employee in the coming days and incentives such as a promotion or raise the employee can expect.
- Appraise their strengths- Highlighting the employee’s strengths can go a long way in improving their confidence. Therefore, any positive trait that was evident from their achievement can be highlighted.
- Mind your tone- Try to keep the tone as formal even though the letter should be a bit fun to read. The letter should encourage communication within the organization.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A recognition letter can be used under different scenarios such as when employers wish to thank employees for; putting extra effort that benefited the organization; doing an outstanding act or conduct such as helping a fellow employee; volunteering to fill in for another employee; working overtime, performance; their service after a significant amount of time or appreciate an employee’s active role in a company-related project, event, or activity.
Primarily, an employee recognition letter contains; a description of the hard work or conduct being encouraged, specific actions the employee did that got the employer’s and general attention, a timely deliverance to make sure its relevance is not compromised, a formal but friendly tone.
Various people can send a recognition letter from managers, supervisors, leaders in an organization to co-workers.
Final Thoughts
An employee recognition letter can go a long way in boosting an employee’s confidence and, eventually, their performance. Organizations are recommended to make it a culture to recognize employee’s input towards the company’s sustenance. When writing a recognition letter, clearly describe your appreciation, breakdown actions, personal encounters, and make sure to issue it as soon after the event or behavior being praised is noted. Always determine the format you want to use first, and in cases where the company has a customary format, use it. Encourage the employee to keep up. All the best.
