You have read about the importance of employee recognition, and you have tried to enact recognition programs in your workplace — but it does not seem to be working. Your employees remain as disengaged as ever, and turnover rates remain high. What are you doing wrong?
Frustratingly, employee recognition is both easier and more difficult than it might seem. On one hand, workers typically crave any kind of acknowledgement and appreciation from their business leaders. On the other hand, business leaders can make any number of serious mistakes in supplying recognition, which can lead to jealousy, resentment and resignation.
If you are baffled as to the ineffectiveness of your current recognition program, it may be suffering from one of the following issues:
Unclear Goals
What are you trying to accomplish with your recognition program? Many business leaders understand that supplying recognition is vaguely better than depriving workers of positive attention, but if you do not have clear goals for your recognition program, you won’t see clear benefits. You should define the objectives of your recognition program as soon as possible, which will help direct your efforts. Some examples of goals for a recognition program include:
- Reduce employee turnover
- Shape corporate culture
- Increase worker productivity
As much as possible, you should quantify your goals, so you can measure the effectiveness of your program as it develops.
Ill-defined Reward Criteria
If one worker is receiving recognition for coming to work on time but another worker does not receive recognition until they complete a project successfully, your recognition program has a fatal flaw. Both you and your workforce need to understand which behaviors earn rewards and recognition — and these behaviors need to be standardized across your staff. The employee recognition and reward options, offer should be based on the same set of criteria to ensure fairness and consistency. If you are guided by nebulous notions of “good behavior,” you could risk confusing your workers and reinforcing the wrong actions around the workplace. As soon as possible, you should write down your expectations for employees. You should share this information with your workers, so they know how to earn your praise.
Focus on Performance
Performance matters — but it is not the only thing that matters in the workplace. As important as the work produced is how that work is produced; an employee’s attitude and everyday actions are just as important as their ultimate results. While you absolutely should recognize and reward performance that contributes to company success, you should also pay attention to other behaviors that make a difference in the workplace, such as:
- Reliability
- Integrity
- Emotional intelligence
- Creativity
- Adaptability
- Commitment
- Punctuality
Inconsistency
When was the last time you recognized an employee’s achievements? If your company recognition program is active only a few times per year, it is not relevant enough to your staff’s experience in the workplace to affect their behavior. You need to provide recognition frequently, at least a few times per week, to keep the program fresh in your workers’ thoughts. Putting effort toward consistency with your recognition program also means that you will provide appreciation for actions and behaviors in a timely manner, increasing the impact of recognition in the workplace.
Favoritism
Every business leader has employees they prefer, but only the worst business leaders will act on these preferences in a professional capacity. Favoritism is one of the most damaging habits a leader can fall into; showing favoritism cultivates envy and animosity in the workplace, and these comparison emotions only compel employees to leave in search of healthier and more supportive organizations. Your recognition program should work to prevent favoritism by making some types of recognition, like employee anniversary recognition, available to every worker. Then, you should find ways to appreciate all staff in some way, as long as they are somehow contributing to company success.
Invisibility
Recognition that takes the form of a private email or a handwritten note can feel personal and meaningful, but it does not do much to build up your recognition program. Most of the recognition you supply should be visible to your entire staff; it should take place out loud at meetings or be featured prominently in company newsletters. When recognition is public, employees have the opportunity to learn from the behaviors of their peers who are receiving praise, and they will be more motivated to alter their behavior going forward.
Employee recognition might be as easy as proffering a handshake to a hardworking member of your team. However, you do need to get the rest of your recognition program right if you want to see lasting results.