Job Satisfaction & Retention Survey: The Importance of Recognition

Salary.com recently issued its 2007/2008 Employee Job Satisfaction and Retention Survey, finding that employers are out of touch with employee satisfaction levels and continue to underestimate employee job search activities. This is a costly disconnect as the survey also shows employee replacement costs due to turnover increased 40% from $15,000 in the 2006/2007 survey to $21,000.

Consistent with previous surveys, “insufficient recognition” once again was a top reason employees’ cited for leaving a job. Recognition was nearly equal in importance to both men and women with only one percentage point difference in their reporting.

It’s concerning to me that the reporting on the value of recognition does not seem to change year over year, but employers do not seem to be learning from it. This tells me companies are either not changing their recognition practices in any meaningful way or they are tackling the challenge through ineffective methods.

In the case of recognition, perception is reality – employees must believe they have been positively recognized for their efforts and then have some means of remembering that recognition for it to have lasting impact on job satisfaction and ultimately employee engagement.

Employers: do you feel you are recognizing your employees appropriately? Employees: do you agree?