Perhaps you have been fighting this, wondering if employee recognition is important at your business. Well, we hope this post will help you see some of its importance.
The ‘work industry’ is no longer what it used to be. It is presently facing a lot of challenges. People are retiring, changing jobs, or leaving the workplace altogether in favor of greener pastures. Many factors could be responsible for this. But two of the most common issues are lack of pay and poor engagement/a toxic workplace. Employee engagement is critical to successfully running your business.
Instituting regular and valuable recognition initiatives at an organization can greatly improve employee engagement. And a better engagement leads to longer retention, happier staff, more profits, and a better organizational experience for all.
Here are some of the benefits of using employee recognition to enhance employee engagement and happiness at your own business.
Why Employee Recognition Is Important In Your Business
#1: Better Morale
Morale is the engine that drives high-quality performance. One amazing significance of morale in any organization is its ability to impact mental well-being and health. Poor morale is associated with negative things. It brings people down, makes them feel anxious or depressed, and ultimately contributes to a substantial lack of productivity.
Poor morale can be caused by many things, including poor management and lack of communication or clearly set goals. Poor work-life balance causes stress and tension, too. So improving morale can start there!
Beyond that, there are other ways to improve morale at any company. Looking for a way to improve communication, feedback, and recognition can be a good way to boost morale across the entire company. And this always brings a desirable result every time it’s implemented.
#2: Improved Performance
Did you know that when you recognize your employee’s accomplishments you can incentivize them to perform better? It’s true. Praise, giving a shout-out to an employee, or a simple “job well done” to a colleague can go a long way to improve that employee’s performance over time.
Happy employees who know they’re contributing positively to the organization are more likely to be engaged. Engagement drives better performance. Better performance drives accomplishing goals, which in turn creates an overarching atmosphere of high-quality work in a positive, non-toxic environment.
To help teams improve their performance, talk to them. Ask them what they think would help them perform better. Help them find areas for improvement. Devise a plan and/or budget and implement these ideas. It can be a lot easier to find incentives for your team. You only need just a little bit of effort and communication with them.
#3: Employee Retention
Do you find yourself having difficulty retaining employees? Does your staff experience a feeling of dread when it’s time to report to the office, remotely or online? Is there a generally low turnover rate at your organization? If so, taking a step to start recognizing your employees can help turn the tide. Employee retention is a big deal. It costs more to hire, onboard, and train new staff.
But that isn’t the only concern. Sometimes, you can consistently start having people engage in a mass exodus from your organization. And it could be that you suddenly started having trouble attracting new talent on top of retention issues. If that is it, then how do you help retain employees? Recognize their contributions and talents!
Using an employee recognition platform, everyone can recognize accomplishments, specifically, and in real-time. Recognition serves to improve engagement and ultimately leads to a more cohesive (and functional) team.
#4: Stronger Leadership
Have you ever heard the phrase that some managers are leaders while others are merely bosses? This means that some people are more interested in ordering workers around and leveraging their power than they are in actually accomplishing the organization’s specific goals.
These are the typical bosses in this scenario. The leader in this scenario is the individual who tries to communicate with their team and help provide some level of accountability. Someone who ensures a quality work environment, feedback, and training.
Leaders are willing to help their teams do what is needed to thrive. Working directly with the team and sincerely utilizing recognition builds stronger leadership and also helps develop the talents of the entire team.
#5: Smooth Communication
Sometimes, the leading cause of disengagement and apathy at work is a lack of communication. Workers like to know what they’re doing and to be empowered to perform well. This can easily be accomplished with two-way communication between management and employees, colleagues and each other, and between teams.
To facilitate this, it may be best to use a cloud-based recognition or performance management service. These services allow for instant, almost real-time feedback and check-ins from any member of the team.
This unhindered mode of communication gives employees and management a platform where they can directly interact with each other. It will also make it easier for the management to guide employees ad easily address any potential concerns.
Smooth communication leads to more understanding, less misunderstanding, and eventually better recognition for all. And who wouldn’t want that?
