Why Employee Recognition Matters

The most important asset in your organization is your people which is why it’s essential to ensure that they remain happy, engaged and ready to work. Two of the most critical factors in an organization are employee happiness and engagement and when you have those things, it’s a well oiled machine that you’re dealing with. This is why employee recognition matters so much. Without it, you’re going to start seeing your business struggle. Employee morale is a predictor of employee engagement, and there are so many ways that employee recognition in the workplace can be shown. 

Employee Recognition

From fostering peer recognition to showcasing the efforts your employees make, there are so many ways to do it – but you first have to understand why it matters so much. Let’s take a look below at why employee recognition really does in your business.

Image source: Pexels

1. Attracting – and retaining – the best talent. If you want to ensure that you are keeping your employees and attracting the best talent, you have to recognize their efforts. Whether you are going to hand out custom awards at a monthly ceremony or you’re going to give daily compliments, you need to show it and when you do that, you will keep your top talent on board. There is a real war for talent out there and when people feel valued and appreciated, they will stick with you for longer.
2. You’ll boost employee morale. There seems to be this assumption that just because these are adults, they don’t want to be showcased and celebrated from time to time. We ALL want that pat on the back, whether in longevity or in recognition of effort being put in. Recognition has a positive effect on morale, and it’s one of the biggest indicators of engagement out there. Employees feeling more appreciated keeps them doing their best work at all times and will most likely be more satisfied in their environment. It’s all about giving people the chance to have that positive outlook.
3. It’ll increase engagement. If you want people to be invested in their work, show them that you appreciate the effort they’re putting in. Employee engagement is vital as an engaged employee is more likely to be efficient, productive and less likely to leave their jobs. When you show recognition for an employee’s work, you end up with happier and more motivated people working for you, and who wouldn’t want that?
4. Improving productivity. As well as keeping your employees engaged, you’ll ensure that their productivity levels are much improved at the same time. This is essential for your workplace being productive and it shows employees that their efforts are most appreciated. Employee recognition leads to much higher quality work, which then drives their performance and the bottom line here is that your bottom line is also better.
5. They can offer better customer service. A key metric for every and any business is revenue. When you have happy employees, they offer better customer service and that directly impacts your business revenue. Happy people are more likely to encourage others to purchase from the business again and again, and that makes customers happier in the long term.
6. You’ll reduce the turnover rate. Turnover in your team needs to be as low as possible so that you keep your talent for as long as possible. High turnover rates cost businesses a lot of money, and if you are dealing with people leaving all the time, you’re going to have to spend a lot of money advertising and training new people over and over again. This can be avoided by ensuring that you show your employees that they’re doing a good job. Recognition is a powerful tool in your business and having a program in place that recognizes your employees will help to reduce resignations.
7. You’re going to show your business is the best. Businesses care about money and every business decision you make will be made with your bottom line in mind. If you want to make sure that your business is thriving, then you have to ensure that your people are thriving, too. Customer satisfaction and retention are excellent side effects of this, and you will find that you also end up with increased profitability and revenue, which is why investing in a good recognition program is a huge investment to your business, too.

Conclusion

Your employees matter, and when you don’t put the effort in, they won’t put the effort in with you or with their work. Go and create a program that shows your people that they count. Employee recognition is key to your company’s success.