Receiving accolades from your employer for your work is the basic description of “employee recognition”. Organizations that acknowledge, appreciate and praise their juniors are recognizing their performance in one way or the other. A simple gesture in the form of a “thank you” mail or a spontaneous pat on the back is a proven metric to boost employee motivation level.
Surveys all over the globe have revealed that recognition-rich culture benefits the entire organization. While “employee recognition” is self explanatory, it is easily forgotten in no time. The top brass are constantly challenged in the smooth running of their empire and hence leave no stone unturned to keep their employees happy. Thus dawned the employee recognition program especially to uplift employee motivation. Highlighting the achievement by way of formal rewards program, with the CEO’s coming forward to do the honors appeals to the employees in general.
What comes to mind is that do these recognition programs actually work? Needless to say these programs are cost friendly i.e. even a small percentage of increment goes a long way in inducing employee motivation scale. There is a thin line of difference between recognition and appreciation. Valuing your employees views and contributions is appreciation. On the other hand, recognition is an act of showing appreciation. Keeping in mind the well-being of their workforce, employers in general are of the opinion that recognition is in fact an investment rather than a cost.
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Recognition is all about the effort and contribution put by the juniors which are noticed and well appreciated. At any given point, most of the employees are happy with small gestures of a simple ‘thank you’, but recognition and generous appreciation coming from the employer acts as a great booster. Besides paying people fairly for the work they do, employers must not miss the opportunity in highlighting when employees achieve various milestones in their tenure or for their outstanding behavior, applauding the valuable contributions of their workers who are instrumental in scripting the success of the organization.
Having the best talented staff on board is in itself an achievement for any employer. But to retain them for a long term is equally essential. Recognition and engagement go hand in hand.
Knowing your employees on a one to one basis like personal interaction helps in effective recognition and engagement and correlates strongly with higher retention. In the present competitive work scenario, research has revealed that workplaces where employees are not given recognition feel demotivated and thereby leaves the organization with a high attrition rate.
Employees when appreciated and valued tend to be committed which in turn will enhance loyalty and be more focused on their work. As a result, the chances of the employees leaving to find work elsewhere diminishes.
From an employees point of view, the top three forms of recognition desired by them are monetary based. Although money plays a vital role, one must not forget that the new generation places equal emphasis on the other forms of appreciation for example: a pat on the back, expressing gratitude for the extra effort, a personalized but simple “Thank You” message from the higher ups act as great motivation boosters. A survey released by LinkedIn earlier this year reveals that 70% of workers would readily work harder if they are recognized for their effort. Being held in high esteem by their peers is one of the biggest motivators.
Engagement and recognition are intertwined and cannot be separated. HR Managers of larger organizations should constantly interact with their workers thereby bringing them closer and understanding their needs which is an essential ingredient for a successful and smooth running company.
A sense of belonging and security is felt by workers when they are included in all the important discussions, decision making meetings etc and finally publicly recognized for the hard work put in by them. Recognition has a direct correlation with one’s sense of belonging whereas work engagement is the degree to which people enjoy the work they do, are committed in the task and thereby reinforce the work engagement.
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Recognition: A new leap from Tradition to Innovation
The tried-and-true rewards for the deserving employees depended upon:
- Length of the tenure
- Outstanding achievement during their work period
- Adding quality to work or cracking a deal with a new client.
A decade ago, the only tangible awards one knew were on the spot bonuses in way of cash or gift vouchers, thank you notes or at the most paid travel vouchers.
A new wave has emerged wherein millennials besides expecting a substantial salary want real- time feedback. Recognition need not be public announcement or financial rewards. Emphasis has now shifted from retrospective performance to honest feedback recognition tactic.
New, bright and innovative ideas have worked wonders when acknowledging workers and these are all value based recognition programs. In a 2017 Globoforce study- a whopping 93% of workers said their hard work holds meaning when such initiatives are taken by the employers. One cannot fathom the feeling when you are showered with praises for your successful work. These super strategies not only bring a grin to the employees face but also strengthens the ties between employer and his workers.
A new approach where employees, although less experienced, are invited to attend high level and important decision making meetings, giving an initiative to put their view across thereby bolstering their sense of wellbeing and raising their self confidence a notch up too is being applied by managers these days. Such tactics are proven to be sure-shot workforce productivity boosters as they burgeon employee motivation level, leading to 100% employee engagement and focus.
References:
- “How recognition and engagement work in tandem” by Valerie Bolden-Barrett, Nov 26,2018.
- “Why your business needs employee recognition programs?” by Human Resources at Paychex Dec 6 2019.
- “Building employee engagement through recognition” by Tandem HR March 1, 2018.
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