Employee appreciation is an essential part of human need at the workplace. Employees react positively when management shows appreciation for their good work or effort.
When employees are valued for the work and effort that they have put in, productivity level increases and this motivates them to improve their good work as expected.
“Sir, can I have a word with you in private?”
That is the type of question any manager or supervisor would not want to hear. Obviously, you should not be thinking of the worst but how prepare can you get when your employee slide that envelope across your table.
It is the worst feeling, as a leader or part of the management team, when one of your employees decide to call it quits. You then start to wonder if it is the lack of employee recognition in the company.
The How and the Why
There are a number of companies that does not see the importance of employee recognition. Management often sees the bigger picture of achieving goals, getting the profits and making the big bucks, but they often forget the people who are involved in making their goals achievable.
Employee recognition is important as it increases the level of productivity at work, reduces the employee turnover, generate higher profits and do not forget the increase in customer satisfaction. A happy employee is a happy customer and when you have a satisfied customer, the sales will come in automatically and they may even increase.
Management has to try and keep their employees engaged in order to have positive results for the company. Start penning out the activities or events your company could have in order to encourage employee engagement. You can also read the five C’s of the foundation of employee engagement strategies.
Employees do not quit jobs, they quit managers
A lot of times, employees are happy with their job, but they are not with their managers or supervisors. Employees feel that their managers make them feel undervalued. People want to know they are making significant contributions at work.
Remember to put yourself in your employees’ shoes by asking yourself questions like “What is it that allows your employees to do their job well?” or “How am I able to help my employees in achieving their task easily?”. There are some managers who managed to climb the corporate ladder, but they forget how they got to the top in the first place.
Help your employees by having clear expectations of their task. When your employees have no clear direction from you, it can be difficult or even impossible to succeed at the task given. Have a clear communication with your employees and set the tone and culture of the company.
Try peer recognition
Turning to peer recognition is a brilliant way of employee appreciation. People want to thank their co-workers for the work they do or the help that they received even before asking for it. This way, employees can feel appreciated without having to wait on their leaders or the management team. Employee peer recognition is as equally as important as it creates a positive corporate culture.
Try and make peer recognition part of your company culture as the recognition that they receive from their peers can have a very powerful impact and make the office into a workplace conducive.
Start your employee recognition program today!
Happy and engaged employees would bring in not only positive energy to the workplace but also increase the company’s profit and sales. While it may take weeks or even months for you to plan some activities for employee engagement, you can start giving employee recognition without spending a dime.
An acknowledgement to that employee in the company’s newsletter or praise your staff at meetings in front of their peers are a great start to employee recognition. Also, do not underestimate the power of the words ‘Thank You’. Place a ‘Thank You’ sticky note on their desk before the start of the day. There are other methods that you could try out and give employee recognition as part of your company culture.
In Summary
As you asked yourself how important employee recognition is in the company, there is someone out there among your employees who are thinking or even planning to call it quits. You can avoid that from happening by cultivating a positive work environment, encouraging employee engagement and exercise employee recognition among your employees.
Start your employee recognition program today!
