Employee recognition is letting your team know that their hard work is valued, this can be achieved by rewarding employees. A reward can be anything. A lot of companies come up with a huge range of rewards. Sometimes it can be as easy as saying “Thank you” or “Well done” which can be very powerful coming from a manager to an employee and have a huge impact on an employee’s performance. Remember everyone likes to feel appreciated, it does not need to cost the earth!
My experience when thinking about what to reward an employee is to keep it simple and don’t get carried away. Remember this isn’t what you would like! Get your employees – teams to do this, which will help create buy in right from the word go!
I once was part of the recruitment process for a large UK blue chip company. The applicant was telling me he had been with his last employee for over 30 years – which is incredible in this day and age. He then went on to tell me he had the same role in the company for all of that time – he was content and viewed it as a job for life. The only reason he left was he didn’t feel valued. It was only when he resigned the company finally woke up and showered him with praise, but by that time he had already made his decision to leave. I have heard similar stories over the years and I know they may not be always 100% accurate – it’s just something to reflect on.
Benefits that can be achieved through employee reward and recognition
Engaged employees – Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to your business. They are aligned to the values and the goals of the business they work for and will do their best to live and breathe, the values, and goals of the business day in and day out. Engaged employees are also more likely to shout about it, making your business a place of choice, where people would like to work! It is also very powerful when building your brand.
Increased productivity – Research has shown that over 70% of employees would work harder if they were better recognised by their employers – Wow! Remember this is not always financial! Employees that are being rewarded and recognised for their efforts, are more likely to be better trained, happier and engaged, therefore resulting in increased productivity.
Retention – keeping your team. Research shows that businesses that implements a culture of recognition and reward in their work place are 5 times more likely to retain staff, therefore reducing employee turnover, recruitment, and training costs.
Increased revenue – Lowers employee turnover by acting as a retention tool. Increased productivity and employee engagement all work to create operational efficiencies within all aspects of your business, increasing profitability.
Think of recognition and reward as an investment in your business not a expense!
Mike Jack is the Director of The One Consultancy