For those loyal readers to this blog, by now you should’ve caught on to the notion that there might be something to all the noise being raised in Human Resource departments around the country when it comes to employee recognition.  You simply CANNOT ignore the fact that it is indeed employee recognition that will keep your company successful and remain competitive within the new market landscape.  It’s critical issue #1 to have an employee recognition program in place that shows appreciation for hard work ethic, rewards for continued excellence, over-achievement, and continued teamwork.

Instills Confidence - I challenge you to go out of your office right now and into the hallway, find a random co-worker (just pick the closest one), and pay them a heart-felt compliment.  Don’t be general with your comments, rather choose something more specific, like, “You really did a great job yesterday in presenting the end-of-the-year numbers to the rest of the team.  Those numbers provided much insight into how we should focus our strategies for this upcoming calendar year.”  Now once you give the compliment, observe what your co-worker does.  Did they smile?  Blush?  Say ‘Thank You’?  Of course they did.  Everyone wants to feel that they are appreciated.  Now comes the confidence part - watch them walk away.  I bet they have a bouncier spring in their step.  It’s because just by recognizing someone, even if only by verbal comment, builds confidence.

Productivity - now let’s take that same experiment from above and fast forward about a week from now, or a month from now.  How is the performance of that employee now?  Better?  Faster?  My bet is that they are working more productive than ever before.  Why?  It’s because the last time they produced good work, they received recognition for it, and felt good about what they were doing.  Since the employee tasted recognition once, they want to work hard to receive more recognition.  The more recognition the employee receives will lead to greater productivity because they WANT to do the work, rather than HAVING to do the work.

Loyalty - the happier your employees are, the less they want to leave you.  This is really the most simple lesson of all in employee recognition.  Letting your employees know that they are appreciated and they are a valuable asset to the overall company’s success and growth will decrease attrition ten-fold.  Who really wants to work for a company that under-appreciates, devalues, or mistreats their employees?  If that is happening, how long do you think that employee would stay?  Not long, I bet.

It’s that simple really - instilling good employee recognition practices into your company’s culture can yield lasting effects to the overall success.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Share This

Recently, a small tech company based in Dallas implemented an employee recognition program to spark team-building and act as a morale booster.  Simple in design, the ‘Awesome’ program’s concept is to allow each employee to vote for another employee who they think is ‘awesome’.  The reason can be for anything - performance, assistance on a task, going above and beyond, stellar customer service, whatever.  The employee recognition program tallies the awesome votes and displays the results online.  At the end of the week, the employee with the most amount of awesome votes gets to choose how they would like to be rewarded.

What can be taken away from this example, is that an employee recognition program, no matter how simplistic or complex it may be, speaks volumes in increasing overall employee satisfaction about the company they work for and builds morale.  Far too often, companies feel they need to have a ‘Ferrari’ type solution when it comes to employee recognition because it’s shiny and has a lot of toys - expensive toys.  Remember, the more complex the employee recognition program is, the more expensive it will cost to bring to life.  Which usually means, less you have to spend on rewarding your employees.

The best advise is to consult with experts who know what they’re doing in the world of incentives and employee recognition.  Once you’ve explained to them what objectives you are looking to accomplish, they will have a better understanding (and experience) as to what the proper solution would be best fit for your organization.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Share This

By now, most companies understand there needs to be more done in increasing employee engagement and boosting workforce morale, but there still seems to be a big roadblock in convincing executives that its worth its weight in gold to invest in employee recognition.

Arming your Human Resources with the proper research and case studies will help build a credible case to the CFO’s and CEO’s on accurately measuring “The Return on Engagement”.

Here are a few studies providing examples of the newest techniques in employee engagement.

According to Sirota Survey Intelligence study of “The Enthusiastic Employee 2009“, employees directly reporting to managers who are disengaged themselves, are 12% less likely to stay, 33% more likely to “be frustrated with the company’s systems and processes”, and 13% less likely to be innovative.

In 2008, the HR consulting firm, Watson Wyatt, published a report entitled “Continuous Engagement: The Key to Unlocking the Value of Your People During Tough Times“. The report concluded that “leaders that link their Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to the actions and programs that increase employee engagement can expect to be rewarded.”

BlessingWhite, a global leader in employee engagement consulting reported in 2008, that of the employees who are currently engaged with their the company they work for, 85% indicate that “they plan to stay with their employer for at least the next 10 months”.

There are plenty of other facts, figures, and studies out there that will help build a better business case when it comes to the benefits of employee engagement. The greatest lesson to convey to upper management is that there is a direct correlation between employee engagement, retention, and performance.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Share This

Let’s take a look at some statistics regarding employee engagement and its impact in the workplace:

-  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, last year (2010), combining the months of February, June, and October, the number of employees who voluntarily quit their job far exceeded the number fired or let go.
-  Gallup recently reported that the US economy spent approximately $370 Billion in lost productivity due to actively disengaged employees
-  Of those employees who are engaged, 67% become valuable advocates to their company as an organization (Gallup)
-  According to ACCOR, 75% of leaders have no formal strategy when it comes to employee engagement (it’s stunning to note that 90% of those same leaders recognize the importance of employee engagement to the success of their business).

The truth is in the numbers.  Having a formal employee engagement strategy, or employee recognition and rewards program is critical in today’s corporate culture.  Rewarding your employees can be as simple as a ‘pat on the back’, a ‘high five’, or a ‘kudos to you’, or more with employees working towards achieving performance goals for a nice reward at the end.  Either way (or both), implementing a rewards program into your corporate culture will empower your employees to work smarter, produce more, and with greater quality.  Why?  By creating an exciting and rewarding environment for your employees, they WANT to work for you because they feel appreciated, and at the end of the day, their contributions to the organization not only matter, but are noticed.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Share This

Before implementing any type of employee rewards program into your company’s culture, you need to first consider a few important factors.

Just as investing in asset management, technology upgrades, corporate security, product development, and marketing are all important areas of running a successful business, so too is the investment in creating and fostering the right corporate culture which motivates your employees.  Without a solid corporate culture, which engages your employees, may critically cripple your goals as a company.

Among the most valuable benefits to implementing employee recognition programs into your corporate culture include:
-  Drive employee engagement
-  Decrease attrition
-  Strengthen manager-to-employee relationships
-  Improved peer morale
-  Empower employees to choose their own reward
-  Reinforces existing corporate culture and company values
-  Encourages goal setting and rewards achievements

Establishing an employee recognition program cannot only improve employee engagement and retention, but foster innovation, which will lend itself to improving the bottom line.

Popularity: 47% [?]

Share This

In today’s world, the companies who are staying ahead of the curve are moving a greater amount of resources and budget to bolstering the engagement of their employees through innovative rewards program solutions.    Properly designed employee rewards programs wrapped around existing business objectives can serve as a useful tool in inspiring your employees.

Recognize Your Employees - showing appreciation for employees who excel in their performance or stand out in the crowd can yield dramatic returns.  When the appropriate recognition is extended, such as direct from a manager, the employees feel the value they bring to the table, while inspiring those around the employee to perform at their best as well.

Offer The Right Reward - who are we to determine what is best to give someone who performs at their best as a reward.  Make sure you give them the option to choose for themselves.  Perhaps give them something to work for.  For example, perhaps a particular employee would like to get a certain handbag they have been eying in the department store for quite some time.  Each time they achieve their goals in the office, reward them points.  The employee is more likely to repeat the positive behavior to accumulate more points to eventually redeem for that handbag.

The key to retaining your valuable employees is in showing proper appreciation.  When employees feel valued, they are more likely to outperform even themselves.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Share This

How much does it cost to say ‘thank you’?  Not much.

How much is the return after saying ‘thank you’?  Infinite.

Top companies from around the world are discovering the dramatic returns on the integration of a ‘thank you’ or ‘kudos’ culture into their workforce.  Recently, global giant Hewlett Packard initiated a pilot program within their workforce.  For HP employees who volunteer within their community each month receive recognition in gift cards as a way of saying, ‘thank you’.

The program has received such notoriety that the Harvard Business School studied the program and noted, “when organizations give employees the opportunity to spend money on others – whether their co-workers or those in need – both the employees and the company benefit, with increased happiness and job satisfaction, and even improved team performance.”

When developing an employee recognition program into your own company culture, it’s important to keep a couple of points in mind:
1.  Pay close attention - to the ebb-and-flow of your corporate culture and what the motivational drivers are with your employees
2.  Don’t underestimate the power of simple ‘kudos’.  They don’t cost much, and go a long way towards appreciation.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Share This

Earlier this spring, the non profit organization WorldatWork, reported on their findings of a survey dealing with employee recognition programs.  They surveyed about 5,600 members across the US, and Canada, and measured their responses to their views as to where the trends are going with regards to employee recognition.

Of the 677 members who responded to the survey, WorldatWork reported that over 80% of their employers offered one or more type of employee recognition programs within the last 2 years.

With a median program budget 1% of payroll between the employers, over 50% of surveyed members responded that they felt their recognition programs had a positive impact on employee recognition, motivation, and engagement.  Retention, however, feel short at only 42% of respondents indicating a positive shift.

No matter what your budgets may be, its important to remember that just by offering any type of recognition to your employees will have a positive impact on your workforce.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Share This

Recognizing your employees can come in a variety of different forms from informal peer ‘thank you’s’, to team performance, to mystery shops, to manager spot awards.  Whatever the form may be, it’s important to have at least some kind of employee recognition program woven into your corporate culture these days.  Studies have shown that what employees value most about their current work environment is:
-  Their work is interesting and valuable to the overall company
-  They feel appreciated for the work that they do
-  They feel included as part of the ‘corporate family’

According to many of the top executives at today’s Fortune 100 ‘Best Companies to Work For in America’, they all regard recognizing the value and importance of those who work for them” the keys to their success.

Let’s face it, everyone is working harder these days by definition; accomplish more with less.  This being said, it’s never been more important to keep your employees engaged through constant recognition and rewards.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Share This

There can be a lot said about the fictional character Michael Gary Scott, former regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton and how he managed his employees.  As actor Steve Carell so brilliantly portrayed in NBC’s hit television series ‘The Office’, Mr. Scott regarded himself being a boss second to being a friend to his employees.  And while many of his management tactics are perceived to most as immature, offensive, or unwittingly mean, there are a couple of lessons to be learned in keeping your employees motivated.  Here are a few tips to consider in effective employee engagement.

*  Recognize Your Employees - unconventional at best, Michael Scott, can’t help himself when it comes to celebrating his employees.  For example, during the first season on ‘The Office’, Michael Scott holds Dunder Mifflin’s own Emmy Awards celebration called the ‘Dundy Awards’.

*  Individualization - each employee within your company has their own personality with unique backgrounds and different tastes.  When celebrating  your employees’ accomplishments, make sure the reward is customized to each recipient.  Even in the Dundy Awards example, Michael Scott customizes each award given to his employees based on their personalities.

*  Celebrate Often - perhaps Michael Scott celebrated just a bit too often, but it important to make sure that employee recognition doesn’t just happen once a year.  It should rather, be the strategy to continually let your employees know how valuable they are and that they are appreciated.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Share This