Showing employees appreciation not only motivates the individual being recognized but it sends a message to others about what behaviors and best practices you value and expect.
Here are 5 stats that should convince every manager to give thanks – and give it more often.
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69% of employees say they would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognized.
When asked what leaders could do more of to improve engagement, 58% of respondents replied “Give recognition”, according to a Psychometrics, A Study of Employee Engagement in the Canadian Workplace 2010. A simple pat on the back or acknowledgement of a job done well is a low cost, high impact way of motivating your employees.
Today’s social recognition tools enable everyone in the organization to easily send thanks for great work or milestone celebrations. With the CSISTARS dashboard, employees can even go one step further by liking and commenting on their peers accomplishments.
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Praise from a leader amplifies the positive impact.
According to a recent Gallup Workplace survey, almost a quarter of respondents cited recognition from a high-level leader or CEO as most memorable. How do employees prefer to receive this recognition? Public recognition via an award, commendation or certificate was listed at the top for preferred forms of recognition.
CSISTARS eCertificates, eCards and Social Recognition/News stream enables leaders to personalize and align recognition to the company’s core values quickly and in some cases automatically.
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The more recognition programs you have, the better your results.
It may sound like a myth but according to a World at Work study, 67% of organizations offer between three to six different recognition programs (4.6 is the average). It was found that as the number of programs used increased to four, the perceived effect on employee engagement, motivation and satisfaction grew considerably. Organizations that leveraged result-driven recognition programs like Above and Beyond Performance, Peer-to-Peer, Wellness and targeted behavior programs, tended to experience even greater overall success.
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Money is not as important as you think.
Once you’ve paid your employees fairly, money will not motivate employees to go above and beyond everyday – or ever for that matter (Globe and Mail, Leadership Lab). Managers need to focus on removing extrinsic barriers to motivation; things like bureaucracy, poor leadership, and a toxic environment serve as de-motivators. Once these factors have been remedied, you can focus on the top two intrinsic motivators; achievement, and recognition for achievement. Figure out which is most inspiring to individual employees and how each prefers to be recognized; publicly or privately.
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Employees want feedback…the good, bad and ugly.
According to a study by PwC, nearly 60% of survey respondents reported that they would like feedback on a daily or weekly basis—a number that increased to 72% for employees under age 30. More than three quarters of respondents felt feedback is valuable but less than 30% said they receive it.
You don’t need to spend piles of money on gift cards to show employees you value their work. A simple heartfelt thank you note, eCard or public recognition from a manager is often all it takes to make an employee work to their potential on an ongoing and consistent basis.
CSISTARS makes giving thanks easy with social recognition tools and support that educate and energize managers and employees. Contact us for a demo!
Lori is the VP of Recognition for CSI International Inc. She has a MBA with a minor in Human Resources, is a Certified Recognition Professional and member of the SHRM blog squad. Prior to joining CSI STARS, she worked at Mercer Human Resource Consulting and Youthography, a youth market research agency. Connect with CSI STARS on LinkedIn to learn how we cultivate a workforce that loves coming to work.
