You can have a robust team helping out with the growth of the organisation when a functional recognition programme is in place. However, growth and recognition must be inclusive, visible, and measurable to succeed. HR professionals and business leaders should always consider ways and means to motivate employees through the effective implementation of these programmes. They should be built into the system itself for the smooth functioning of the business.
One of the most important determiners of a successful organisation is the wellness of the employees. So it goes without saying, that the same applies to employee recognition. Read on to understand why employee recognition is important and how it can be planned well.
Importance of Employee Recognition
A well planned programme can influence many aspects of an employees’ work life. HR managers and team leaders are the bridge between the company and its employees. They play a very important role in maintaining job satisfaction in their employees. They are responsible for the properly defining and allocating of roles and responsibilities, communication of company values, and at the same time, taking the time to gather and act on feedback from the employees. They are the facilitators of employee recognition programmes.
Among many other things, the following can be said to be the importance of employee recognition.
Employee retention
Did you know that annually, on average, 13% of employees worldwide plan to leave an organisation? This could be owing to several reasons, including work dissatisfaction and career stagnancy. From the moment a job vacancy is advertised, all the way to the onboarding process, so much money is spent. And with such a high turnover rate, it costs a fortune for the company especially during these trying times.
This is where employee recognition comes in. It can be in the form of training and development, rewarding for top performance, gifting on special occasions, recognising creativity and innovation, etc. It helps in retaining employees who are vital for the organisation’s growth. Satisfied employees do not leave the company at the drop of a hat. When an organisation takes a lot of effort into the training and development needs of the employee, then the retention of employees should not be overlooked to help reap the benefit from these programmes.
Reduced work environment stress
Employee recognition helps reduce the stress levels within the organisation because employees are confident that they are heard, and they know they can represent their views safely and without bias. Moreover, an effective employee engagement programme includes feedback which is very important for the growth of a business.
When an effective system is in place, there is no need to stress out, and employees can contribute their best happily. They are likely to be more involved in their work environment, have a good sense of belonging and purpose, and this will ultimately help in improving their overall productivity too.
Team Connectivity
Coordination and cooperation within the team is crucial for the timely and effective completion of projects. Individuals need to actively contribute to the team for a harmonised day-to-day work experience.
And recognition of employees brings trust among peers. It’s also an opportunity for other members of the team to acknowledge the caliber of the member who is being recognised. Implementing employee recognition programmes ultimately helps strengthen the bond between team members.
Healthy competition
When all employees are duly recognised for their work contributions, it creates a space for healthy competition. Jealousy among peers and unnecessary conflicts can be avoided.
Healthy competition helps a lot in the growth of the organisation. And an effective recognition programme gives no room for workplace rivalry, and each employee will want to excel and be the best in their own work contributions. Encouragement in the form of visible recognition helps achieve this. Training and coaching the HR leaders in this respect can help the organization achieve a common goal.
Benefits of reward and recognition
Rewarding employees means that the leaders are paying attention to their team’s work, and it can have a huge positive impact on the mindset of the employees. Here’s how:
positively reinforced work environment
Employees surrounded by positivity are more productive. Your work atmosphere should reverberate positivity. Intentionally lending a listening ear to their issues, and appreciating their efforts helps build a positive environment and enhances work productivity.
Rewards make employees understand that they matter, are valued, and their efforts well-worth the recognition. When they are suitably rewarded for good performance, they are motivated. They do not see themselves as separate entities from the company but as a part of it.
improved employee engagement
Companies should strive to improve their employee engagement strategy. This can make employees more connected with the organisation. When the employees are better engaged, they tend to display more initiative in their jobs. They are also concerned about the company’s growth as they understand their growth is interlinked with that of the organisation’s. It creates an optimistic workforce and helps business growth.
talent retention
Recruitment is a long process, and it is not easy to find talented resources easily. But once you have the right people, you should take the right steps to retain them too. Employee rewards and recognitions help achieve this. If not, they could easily move over to competitive offers elsewhere.
Providing opportunities for their career growth along the right acknowledgement for their achievements helps in retaining their expertise. There should be a system in place that monitors performance and rewards team members suitably.
productivity boost
By improving the morale of the employees, the reward programme helps improve productivity. Hiring people and having all vacancies filled cannot help in increasing productivity. People you employ should be happy and contribute to the growth of the organisation. This is possible only when the organisation takes good care of them.
Employees and businesses are dependent on each other for eachother’s growth. This is a factor to be considered while designing any reward programme. When employees are recognised for their efforts, they are more than willing to put in greater efforts. And it also instills a sense of loyalty.
Employee Recognition planning
Every company should consider the company values, working culture, the uniqueness of each employee, etc., while designing an employee recognition programme. Here’s how:
well-Defined objectives
The first step would be setting the right objectives for your programme. Is it improving employee engagement, aligning people with core values, improving harmony in the organisation, etc.? The objectives that are set then becomes the basis for your action plan.
Whatever you reinforce to your employees through the reward programme, they give back. You have to be clear about this before setting your objectives.
Allocation of budget
Budget plays an important role. Anything that you plan will have to fit within the budget you set. You have to plan all your employee recognition activities within this budget as well. You need to find options that can be suitable for engagement and also meet your needs.
Planning effectively helps allocate a budget for all kinds of activities. You should also know the frequency of these reward programmes to plan your budget. So allocation of the budget also depends on planning your employee recognition programmes.
Be flexible
All employees cannot be measured on the same scale. People vary in terms of their competence and caliber. Your employee recognition programme should take into account this aspect also. It should be flexible and fit into these aspects.
The programme should be adaptable. It should consider several aspects before comparing peers. This way, when the programme is executed, it will be liked by all types of employees alike.
Measuring the results
To understand the success rate of your programme, you need to measure the results. The success of the programme depends on how well it has landed with the employees. Feedback from the employees is one of the best ways to find this out. It will let you know whether the programme was meaningful and what needs to be changed to make it better.
Feedback has to be gathered frequently so that even during the course of implementation of the programme, changes can be made incrementally. Recognition can be of many types – social, peer-to-peer, or monetary. and not all recognition types applies to all employees, so directly hearing from them helps bring in the desired changes to the programme.
Final words
Most successful organisations run an employee recognition programme. Having a dedicated team to manage this will reduce the burden on department managers and for better implementation. Since employee recognition is an important component of employee engagement, it is essential that organisations give it the importance it is due.
Author: Srikanth Acharya – CEO at Offineeds
Photo credit: Sayo Garcia on Unsplash
