Recognition of Employees should be a top priority of your business – both for the benefit of them and for the business health and happiness! Here are some findings from research and authorities – around the globe and Australia (our emphasis added) –
Stuart Hearn at business.com writes – A recent workplace study conducted by Clear Review, a performance review software system, found the number one workplace frustration to be a lack of appreciation regarding effort and performance. A remarkable 40 percent of employees, from a diverse range of fields and positions, stated that employee recognition was simply not a priority in their business, something that limited their motivation to truly excel.
We have known for a long time that employee recognition is a critical aspect of performance management. As a result, many companies make it a point to acknowledge employee performance during monthly check-ins. But how can employee recognition benefit a company? And how can you give your employees the appreciation they deserve?
Employee recognition improves engagement levels
Many sources will attest to the fact that recognition is a fundamental human need. In order to feel engaged at work, we need to know that what we are doing actually matters, and that it is appreciated. Without this knowledge, employees consider their role purposeless, and employee engagement levels within your organization will plummet. In fact, recognition has consistently been shown to be a top engagement driver. If, however, you dedicate time and resources toward developing an employee recognition program, employees will become more loyal and positive toward their company.
To further demonstrate the effect of recognition on employee engagement, we can look to the following facts and figures:
- In companies where there is a strong focus on managers praising and recognizing employee performance, engagement levels increase by nearly 60 percent.
- Workplaces making use of strategic recognition are 48 percent more likely to report high employee engagement.
- According to a Canadian workplace study, when employees were asked what their managers could do to improve engagement, 58 percent answered with “give recognition.”
- Businesses that spend as little as 1 percent of payroll on recognition have a 79 percent greater likelihood of seeing more positive financial results.
An Australian Company, Red Balloon, performs quarterly surveys and in one report finds –
There are six basics or standards required to deliver on expectations and start to engage a workforce; our suggestion is that organisations that do not include these activities as part of their engagement mix stand little chance of breaking past average levels of engagement.
- Training and Development Programs
- Recognition Programs
- Non-Cash Rewards & Incentives
Training and Development is of particular interest as organisations that do not invest in it are highly unlikely to have an employee engagement score of over 40.
- Parental Leave
- Time off for Study
- Flexible Working Arrangements
These last three activities are core ingredients of engagement because organisations scoring <40% are just as likely to invest in them as 80%+ organisations. Investing in them is now a standard that has little uplift in terms of engagement scores but would definitely have a negative effect if not invested in or taken away once they were in place.
What are your thoughts and experience?
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