Written by Toni Sperlbaum
March is Employee Appreciation Month – what a great opportunity to take a step back and evaluate how your organization is showing your employees how much you appreciate them. There are obvious reasons as to why this is important, but did you know there is actual business strategy behind employees feeling valued and appreciated?
Here are the stats:
Companies with strategic recognition reported a mean employee turnover rate that is 23.4% lower than retention at companies without a program
Organizations who recognize their employees exhibit 28.6% lower employee frustration levels than companies who don’t
In a recent study by Forbes, companies that scored in the top 20% for building a recognition rich culture enjoyed a 31% lower voluntary turnover rate
Praise and commendation from managers was rated the top motivator for performance, beating out other noncash and financial incentives, by a majority of workers (67%)
Employee engagement is defined as “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals”. Providing recognition has had a proven impact on employee engagement.
Only 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, according to Gallup’s new 142-country study on the State of the Global Workplace
When asked what leaders could do more of to improve engagement, 58% of respondents replied “Give recognition”
When companies spend 1% or more of payroll on recognition, 85% see a positive impact on engagement
This INCLUDES engagement in wellness program! In fact, Gallup found that managers alone are 70% responsible for wellness participation. This includes the manager’s ability to make their employee feel valued and appreciated, in addition to being approachable, communicating well, encouraging participation and even “giving permission” to participate.
Here are some easy ways to start recognizing employees today:
Profile recognized in employee newsletter
Social media on your public page recognizing employees for their accomplishments (what a great recruitment tool, too!)
Send a handwritten note
Call an employee to your office just to thank them (without discussing any other business or issue)
Create a specific award that shows appreciation for people who go above and beyond
Include praise as an agenda item at staff meetings
Acknowledge individual achievements by using employee’s names when preparing a status report
Have a sticky pad of “You Rock” sticky notes on your desk. Write one short note of praise to an employee each day.
Collect testimonials from your customers and start a testimonial wall (see picture of HPA’s testimonial wall)
There are high tech, comprehensive programs out there you can invest in (check out terryberry.com, a Grand Rapids based recognition company) that provide great engagement by managers and results to an improved company cultures and in return, business outcomes.