Recognise This! – Frequent, timely recognition linked to your core values reduces turnover, increases productivity in delivering your company goals and objectives, and increases employee engagement.
The latest Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker is out and the findings are quite interesting. I like this bi-annual report because it focuses on the opinions of employees, uncovering trends over time. The “Fall 2012 Report: Revealing Key Practices for Effective Recognition” is no exception.
The details of this report are so interesting, I struggled to find a way to summarise it in a blog post shorter than the actual report itself. Then I realised a common trend throughout the findings – deeply incorporating your core values into your strategic, social recognition programme matters.
Of course, just being recognised in any form for the work they do is critical for employees (Findings 1 & 2). That’s why lack of recognition is the second most cited reason by employees for why they want to leave their current jobs. Compensation, unsurprisingly, is first, but recognition ranks high above “relationship with manager,” which is what most people think the problem is when employees choose to leave.
But any old recognition programme (pizza parties, employee of the month, and the like) is not good enough. The research shows recognition tied to core values delivers far better results (Findings 3 & 5):
- 87% of employees with formal, values-based recognition programmes report feeling appreciated, vs. 78% of those without values-based recognition and 57% with no recognition at all
- 79% of employees say recognition tied to core values gave them a stronger sense of company goals and objectives
- 65% of workers who could name their values say they had a strong grasp on company objectives, versus only 23% who say they didn’t know any
- 88% of those who know their core values say they are engaged vs. 54% of respondents who say they didn’t know any of their company values
- Workers with values-based recognition programmes are far less frustrated with getting things accomplished at work
Frequency and timeliness of recognition also plays a key factor (Finding 4). As the report points out:
“We found a strong trend-line to indicate that recognition has a significant impact when it occurs most recently, and therefore frequency of recognition is a key factor in effectiveness. Of those who were recognised within six months, for example, 78 percent report that they loved their jobs, whereas only 49 percent of those workers who had not been recognised in six months share that sentiment. This trend occurred across the board in our findings. Frequently recognised employees are 26 percent more likely to see their culture as positive (48 percent vs. 38 percent), and 70 percent more likely to be highly engaged (56 percent vs 33 percent).”
What does all this mean? Frequent, timely recognition, based on your core values:
- Reduces turnover
- Increases employee understanding of and commitment to delivering against company goals and objectives (which translates to increase productivity directly on your top organisational priorities)
- Increases employee engagement (willingness to give more discretionary effort to achieve your goals and objectives)
If you’re going to make the effort and investment in employee recognition and rewards, then get the most ROI by tying frequent, timely recognition to your core values.
Does your organisation have an employee recognition programme? What is it tied to?
