There is nothing more demotivating as a child than showing your parents a drawing you spent hours on, only for them to shrug it off. This child still exists within the adults who are working for you today. 

It is a natural human emotion to feel deflated when the person we look up to isn’t proud of or even receptive to great work. So now is the time to pay attention to those who deserve recognition for their work ethic and positive attitude before they leave and find a company that will do so consistently 

This doesn’t have to be your fate.  Let’s look into why this subject is so important and learn about some examples of employee recognition you can implement as soon as possible. 

The Importance of Employee Recognition

Unfortunately, it‘s not too uncommon for an employee to feel undervalued. Even if they have:

1. Worked at the same job for a while now 
2. Put in a lot of effort every day 
3. Stay late and arrive early 
4. Go above and beyond the norm 

Without good recognition,  it feels like the company hasn’t noticed at all. 

Now, imagine being recognized for your efforts with a personal thank you or an extra-paid day off; motivation skyrockets, and all of a sudden, you feel much more loyal to your company.

This is essential for creating a positive and productive workplace, and once you develop a consistent incentive strategy, you will see a huge difference in overall performance. Workplace morale is so important that 95% of workers state they are 2-4 times more likely to produce for  their company if they love working there.

Source

It’s all well and good pulling an employee aside and telling them how great they are, but when you create tangible benefits and rewards for their good work, reaching goals never gets old. Companies with strong recognition programs have better customer satisfaction as well as lower turnover rates, and higher productivity. 

Here are some of the benefits derived from effective employee recognition programs: 

Boost in Morale

Having high morale in your company is essential for happy, engaged employees. They need to feel like they are being rewarded fairly for the work that they put in. It’s all about give and take, so if you just take and take, you cannot expect your employees to accept it and stick around for long. 

You will know when your staff has high morale. There will be a sense of comradery, work will be completed on time and to a high standard, and they will be confident in their abilities to take on new challenges in their role. 

Recognize and reward employee achievements, and you will see more members of the company push themselves (within reason) to reach them. 

Positive Company Culture

Employee rewards build trust and loyalty within the company and therefore harbor a healthy, positive company culture of recognition. When everyone is getting along and respecting one another, the atmosphere in the office is perfect for sharing ideas and collaborating on projects. If your company culture is negative, communication will suffer, and employees will constantly look elsewhere for work. 

Having a shared sense of purpose allows the company to move forward as a whole, cohesive unit. This is essential for taking on ambitious new tasks and knocking them out of the park. 

Improves Employee Retention

As you may have guessed, employees are more likely to stay with a company that makes them feel valued. But a lot of managers seem to forget this and only do something about it when it’s too late. 

Having a high staff turnover is a killer for companies big and small. It comes with a host of issues, including reduced productivity, higher costs, and decreased morale. Also, word gets around, and if your company is losing employees left and right, people will catch on. This makes it harder to hire new candidates and score work with stakeholders. 

Employee appreciation boosts job satisfaction and encourages both professional and personal growth. Therefore, people will stay with a company because they know that this road will lead them to success, whatever that may personally mean to them.