Three-quarters of people are satisfied that someoneacknowledges their work—but 36 percent of women would like itbetter if it were put in writing. (Photo: Shutterstock)

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

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

How recognition is delivered is important to some people, whilethe person doing the praising is important to others and the causeof the acknowledgement is essential to others. And while it'scertainly not unwelcome, cash isn't the necessarily the most valuedform of recognition.

Related: Vast majority of employers have employeerecognition programs

A new growth opportunity was the favored form of recognition for47 percent of respondents; monetary rewards in the form of salary increases (23 percent), high-performanceratings (21 percent) and bonuses (10 percent) were also welcome,but to lesser degrees.

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

(Source:Deloitte)

For Pioneers, recognizing a big win and giving them a newproject will put wind in their sails. For Guardians, recognize notjust their big wins but ongoing commitment to keepingthe ship steering in the right direction. Similar toPioneers, the best way to recognize a Driver is to give them a new,challenging opportunity while recognizing the value of theirexpertise. And Integrators enjoy their behind-the-scenes rolekeeping everything running smoothly–make sure they know it doesn'tgo unnoticed.

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

There are also other differences between men and women on howsuch praise is received. While only 34 percent of women want to berecognized for success, compared with 46 percent of men, it's notthat they don't want recognition; they just want it for otherthings. Knowledge (27 percent), effort (22 percent) and living theorganization's core values (17 percent) are their preferred sourcesfor acknowledgment.

And surprisingly, most people—49 percent—would actually preferit if word of their achievement is public but shared within a smallgroup, rather than broadcast to the world at large. Thirty-fourpercent would prefer private recognition, while only 18 percentactually want a big public declaration.

In addition, while 37 percent would like that recognition tocome from leadership above a direct supervisor, 32 percent wouldlike it to come from that direct supervisor and 31 percent wouldprefer it came from their colleagues.

“There is tremendous value in understanding the perspectives ofthose you work with, and this includes their preferences for howthey want to be recognized,” says Suzanne Vickberg, seniormanager, applied insights lead, the Deloitte Greenhouse Experience.“This understanding can help create more-successful workingrelationships, while fostering a workplace that validates itspeople and their unique contributions.”

Read more:

• The real reasons employees quit
• Compensation or validation: which matters more toemployees?
• 2 trends that will transform employee rewardsprograms in 2019