Employee Recognition: How to Implement, Celebrate, and Achieve It in Canadian Workplaces

In today’s competitive hiring landscape, Canadian employers are facing a familiar challenge: how to keep top performers engaged and loyal. While compensation and flexibility matter, one of the most powerful and often overlooked tools for improving retention is employee recognition.

Focusing on why employee recognition matters should be near the top of any business leader’s agenda. Employee recognition isn’t going unnoticed by workers. In a 2025 Robert Half survey of 835 Canadian workers, we asked how they felt workplace culture has changed in the past five years. The research revealed 42 per cent of the workers felt “companies are placing a higher priority on workplace culture and employee engagement.” Recognition isn’t just about saying “thank you.” It’s about creating a culture where employees feel seen, valued, and motivated to contribute their best work. When done right, employee recognition can boost morale, strengthen team dynamics, and reduce costly turnover, which in the long run can increase job satisfaction and retention.

So how can people managers and team leaders implement meaningful employee recognition strategies that stick?

Employee Recognition Program Strategies:

Start with a Recognition Mindset
Build Recognition into Your Team’s Rhythm
Tie Employee Recognition to Retention Goals
Customize Recognition for Your Team
Measure and Evolve Your Efforts
Recognition Is a Retention Strategy

Start with a Recognition Mindset

Before launching an employee recognition program or initiative, it’s important to embed recognition into your team’s everyday culture. That means shifting from occasional praise to consistent, intentional acknowledgment of effort and impact.

Recognition can be:

Formal: awards, bonuses, or structured programs

Informal: verbal praise, handwritten notes, or public shout-outs

Peer-driven: team members nominating each other for contributions

The key is to make it timely, specific, and authentic. A quick “great job” is nice but calling out what was done well and why it mattered is what makes employee recognition meaningful.

Build Recognition into Your Team’s Rhythm

More Insights

Employee recognition shouldn’t be reserved for annual reviews or milestone achievements. Instead, look for ways to integrate it into your team’s regular routines:

Kick off weekly meetings with a “recognition round”

Use Slack or Teams channels to highlight wins

Celebrate project completions with a team lunch or virtual toast

Encourage peer-to-peer shout-outs during huddles

These small moments of appreciation can have a big impact on engagement especially in hybrid or remote environments where visibility is limited.

Looking to build an employee recognition program that fits your team’s needs? Explore Robert Half’s Insights on employee recognition and how it drives retention:

Tie Employee Recognition to Retention Goals

Recognition isn’t just good for morale, it’s good for business. Every person wants to feel appreciated for the work they do. And in today’s hybrid workforce, an employer’s gratitude can make an especially big impact. So be sure to recognize your direct reports who go the extra mile and explain how their hard work helps the organization. Connect small actions to the bigger picture so employee’s recognize their contributions on a broader scope. In a 2025 Robert Half survey of 1,500 hiring managers, 80 per cent agreed that offering career advancement opportunities to individual contributors who don’t want to be people managers is important for employee retention. Employee recognition can play a key role in highlighting and rewarding those contributions, even when they don’t follow a traditional leadership path.

When employees feel valued, they’re more likely to:

Stay longer with your company

Recommend your workplace to others

Go above and beyond in their roles

Recognition also supports other key employee retention drivers like career development and workplace culture. For example, recognizing someone’s growth in a new skill or leadership role reinforces their sense of progress and purpose.

Customize Recognition for Your Team

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to employee recognition. What feels meaningful to one employee might feel impersonal to another. That’s why it’s important to ask your team what kind of recognition resonates with them. Don’t be afraid to ask workers for their input, this is after all a chance to celebrate their achievements.

Some may prefer public praise, while others value private feedback. Some may appreciate a gift card, while others would rather have a flexible Friday afternoon. The more personalized your approach, the more effective it will be.

Example: A team lead at a Toronto-based fintech company noticed one of her analysts consistently went above and beyond during quarterly reporting. Instead of a generic “thank you,” she approved a professional development stipend for that employee to attend a data analytics conference, something he had expressed interest in during a 1:1. The gesture not only recognized his contribution but also supported his career growth; employee recognition supporting retention.

Learn more about what benefits and perks employees want in our latest Robert Half Salary Guide

Measure and Evolve Your Efforts

Like any people strategy, recognition should be reviewed and refined over time. Here are a few things to consider tracking quarterly or year-over-year:

Participation in recognition programs

Employee feedback in engagement surveys

Retention rates before and after implementation

Use this data to adjust your approach and ensure your efforts are aligned with what your team values most.

Recognition Is a Retention Strategy

More Insights

Employee recognition isn’t a soft skill. It is a strategic lever for building stronger, more resilient teams. By celebrating success consistently and authentically, Canadian employers can improve morale, reduce turnover, and create a workplace where people want to stay and grow.

Ready to take your employee recognition program to the next level? Explore tools, tips, and insights from Robert Half’s recognition research: