Employee recognition programs, like social networks, should play out the same way. Even though some of the methods have changed, the basic human needs for recognition have remained. To improve performance, we've always wanted praise, recognition and incentives for the hard work that we do. These behaviors could be as small as getting taken out for dessert for completing a chore around the house when you were younger, to training in a sport hard for a long period of time to win a trophy, to now the more sophisticated incentive program for exceeding your company goals in your work.