statistics don't lie
In every employee survey, one finding is constant – employees want and need recognition. OGO’s employee study showed that 80% of employed Americans don’t feel their employers recognize the contributions they give to their jobs. Amazingly, in this same study, employed Americans said they would put more energy into their jobs if they received recognition for their work. Dr. Paul L. Marciano predicts that recognition can produce as much as a 1:1 ratio to performance. Now that’s powerful enlightenment!
“Recognition is the greatest motivator” – Gerard Eakedale
consequences of not providing employee recognition
What happens when employee recognition is not a practiced priority? Not providing employee recognition cultivates a workplace culture of low morale where employees feel used, unmotivated, and often frustrated. Dr. Jean-Pierre’s research found that absence of employee recognition is the second leading cause of stress and burnout, right after workload.
Since unmotivated employees do not feel like they are a part of a team, it is difficult to build unity or collaboration at the organization. Frustrated or depressed co-workers can undermine the work of engaged employees. Unengaged employees can get careless and become a safety concern. Negative attitudes make employees feel like they are not trusted which can lead to employee theft and even worse unethical behavior.
The truth is that when employees are not recognized, they become unhappy and actively look for a another job – even a job that pays less. Employers who do not provide their employees with sincere, genuine recognition experience minimum engagement, awful customer service and terrible productivity.
“The power of recognition is one of the strongest forces for stimulating human and social action.” – Lowell Milken
employee recognition as a management strategy
As an employee experience coach, I train business owners in the importance and benefits of employee recognition. It is more than a people skill, although that should be a great motivator to practice recognition. It is actually a human resource skill and a powerful management strategy. Dr. Paul L. Marciano points out that there is no psychological resource more consistent than the positive impact of recognition on employee performance. In his opinion, after years of research, Dr. Marciano predicts that employee recognition can produce up to a 1:1 ratio in performance.
Imagine telling one of your employees that he or she did an amazing job and that the client was highly impressed with their results. In the very next task, your employee is highly motivated to reproduce this behavior as he or she realizes that you are noticing their work and appreciating it. People want to feel like they make a difference. If your company provides customer service, your employee realizes that they can make a difference not only in your company but in your client’s life as well.
increase engagement and productivity
Employee recognition is the most effective way to increase your employee engagement, customer service and productivity. It cost nothing and employees would rather have sincere, personal acknowledgement from their employer than structured reward programs. Most reward programs only reward a handful of employees, usually those already engaged, and then punishes the rest. These kinds of programs also have a price tag which doesn’t produce the revenue it takes to run them. Pay attention, always be on the lookout for good work and never fail to recognize each and every employee as they do something good. Be a good finder.
“There are two things people want more than sex and money – recognition and praise. – Mary Kay Ash
If you would like to learn more about how employee experience coaching can help your company increase revenues, create excellent customer service, cultivate a workplace culture of unity, creativity and become the employer of choice attracting top talent, schedule a call with me today.
Many years my friend, many years....