Employees like to be appreciated. In fact, regular doses of appreciation and a ‘thank you’ when they do something well can actually be a bigger motivators than a pay raise. Feeling appreciated surely goes a long way in the employees’ eyes and is the first step in building a culture of recognition.
Turnover, M&A and productivity, just to name a few, are constantly posing challenges for many organizations. It is essential to acknowledge and reward staff for the things they do well. HR departments should be seeking out new ways to recognize good work, increase employee engagement and formal employee recognition programs might just address these challenges – rewarding staff for success, performance or tenure in different ways.
Rewards and recognition make employees feel valued. A person who feels like what they do is appreciated is more likely to stay in their job. The trickle-down effect means you’ll see increased productivity, reduced turnover and reduced recruitment costs – translating to a measurable return on investment and a tangible improvement in your all-round business performance.
But first you’ll need a strong recognition program, one built on a solid strategic foundation that also meets the human need to be acknowledged. We’ve identified seven requirements for creating a culture of recognition.
- MAKE IT TANGIBLE
- MAKE IT TIMELY
- FOCUS ON VALUES, NOT JUST PERFORMANCE
- BE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT
- BUILD ADVOCACY AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION
- MAKE IT FUN!
- MEASURE AND MANAGE
The key to making these seven steps work is of course the amount you choose to invest in the program. According to World at Work, the benchmark recognition spend for top performing companies is 2% or more of payroll. Companies that spend at least 1% of payroll have levels of engagement that are up to 85% higher than those spending less on their employees.
So stop letting all the other priorities of the day, week or month keep you from tweaking, enhancing or replacing your employee recognition. Every HR professional knows, it’s your employees that make your business tick and they deserve some recognition and appreciation.
Kevin Hunter
Content Marketing Consultant
