Today’s tight labor market has created an environment where employers are bending over backward to retain their top talent.  Companies are looking at pay increases, benefits packages, training opportunities and other perks to keep their employees satisfied and engaged.  But they often overlook the most simple and inexpensive way to improve engagement — an employee recognition program.

Employee recognition programs can be greatly beneficial for engagement

How Full is Your Bucket, a Gallup publication by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton, asserts that the number one reason people leave their job is that they don’t feel appreciated. The Global and Real-Time State of Employee Engagement shows that 63% of employees feel like they don’t get enough praise, and 83% think its better to give someone praise than a gift.

What is the Right Program for Your Organization?

An employee recognition program, whether formal or informal is, at its heart, an acknowledgment of a job well done. Whether it’s a simple thank you note from the boss or a monetary reward for reaching a specific goal, an employee recognition program can motivate, boost productivity and create loyalty. It can send a message to all employees about what the organization values as success. 

Recognizing employees after a job well done will boost satisfaction, motivation and productivity.

Make it Personal

The most effective recognition is authentic and it is individualized to how each team member wants to be recognized. Never forget that every business is a people business.  Think about who is delivering the message.  

A Gallup workplace survey in 2016 showed that “the most memorable recognition comes from an employee’s manager (28%), followed by a high-level leader or CEO (24%), the manager’s manager (12%). A customer (10%) and peers (9%).”

Make it Strategic

The way you recognize and reward your workforce can shape the very nature of your organization.  What does success look like in your business culture? What behavior do you want to reward and encourage?  Establish measurable criteria for what constitutes a rewardable behavior.  Communicate those criteria to your workforce.

Make it Timely

Recognition should come as close to the event you are recognizing as possible.  Don’t give your employee the time to forget the context of the situation.  Timely appreciation will lead to repeated excellence.  If the recognition is public, it will encourage the desired behavior in other employees.

Make it Authentic by Making it Specific

For recognition to be authentic it must be specific.  “Thank you for your hard work” is fine, but it could apply to anyone and any situation.  Show your employee that you’ve really been paying attention.  Pull out the performance data to drive home the message of genuine appreciation. This is the fun part of holding your employees accountable!  

An accountability tool like CommandHound constantly collects performance data at the individual level.  It provides management with the information needed to implement an authentic employee recognition program. 

• CommandHound is an employee accountability tool to drive business processes
• CommandHound has been developed from the ground up to provide management with data on employee performance.
• CommandHound develops Accountability solutions that directly drive business performance. Our software helps businesses Make Sure Things Get Done™. CommandHound is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. 

Original post by: Pamela Larrave