Why Bother With Employee Recognition?
When we talk about workforce performance and retention, we often bring up compensation and workplace environment, but employee recognition rarely comes to mind. But you’d be surprised how a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘good job!’ can have such a significant impact on your workforce.
For one, employee recognition can quickly boost performance and morale and push employees to strive for self-improvement by acknowledging their achievements in the workplace. It can also affect your company’s turnover and retention rate one of the major reasons why well-performing and well-paid employees leave their jobs is because they don’t feel appreciated. Lastly, employee recognition can help you achieve a happier and more collaborative workplace by acknowledging team performance and accomplishments.
Now that you know how vital employee recognition is in the workplace, we’ll be taking a look at tips and considerations to ensure that you’re implementing it effectively and fairly:
#1 Be Fair
Recognition should be ‘grounded’ on facts; in other words, when you recognize an employee or team in a workplace, there should be no question of whether or not they are deserving of it. Otherwise, the workforce would think that you’re basing recognition on favoritism, which can be disastrous and result in dissent and dissatisfaction in the workplace. Recognition doesn’t necessarily have to be performance or metric-based either; you can acknowledge good behavior, a promotion, or their tenure in the company (i.e., anniversaries).
#2 Be All-Inclusive
As much as possible, you’d want to have an employee recognition program that considers everyone in the workplace. Depriving other employees of recognition can negatively impact their morale and performance, and could even create divisions and conflict in the workplace — in other words, excluding some employees can do more harm than good in the workplace. So try to find ways for you to recognize the entire workforce either as groups or individuals.
#3 Give Awards, Bonuses, or Treats
While a ‘thank you’ and a pat on the back can provide an employee with an ample amount of appreciation, why not go further by providing them something more tangible? You can give monetary bonuses, certificates, gift cards, and other items to employees and teams that you recognize. You don’t even have to spend so much for it, either; you can treat the whole office a free lunch for a job well done, or even order custom cakes from your local bakery in Sterling Heights to celebrate the achievement or occasion.
#4 Thank Them Personally
As a manager or owner of the company, it can mean a lot to an employee if you can personally shake hands and thank them personally for their performance or continued tenure in the workplace. Have a quick sit-down, chat a bit, and tell them that you appreciate their valuable contribution to the company/organization.
#5 Get Feedback
If it’s your first time integrating employee retention, you’re bound to have a few misses. Which is why it’s essential for you to also ask your employees with regards to any employee recognition initiatives you’ve put in place to see what you’re doing right or wrong, and how you can further improve it to be more effective.
The Takeaway
Apart from compensation, benefits, and workplace environment, employee recognition should also be duly recognized as a major player when it comes to performance, morale, and retention. So make sure that you don’t neglect your employees’ need for acknowledgment by following these basic yet practical tips.
