Do You Want Your Company to Succeed in this Recession? Start Recognizing Employees Now!

The Recognition Council recently issued a report, “The Time for Employee Recognition and Rewards Programs Is Now,” that summarizes well the reasoning for and benefits of recognition in a recession.

Evolving research tells us that:
• Employees who feel valued and trusted are more productive.
• High performing employees will leave companies if they do not feel valued.

By using definitive recognition and rewards programs, managers can expect:
• A visible way to measure employee performance.
• Clear identification and reinforcing messages about best practices by consistently rewarding behaviors that produce results.
• A way to quantify and track exemplary behaviors and best practices in activity reports.

At the same time, employees experience:
• A more rewarding culture that reinforces company standards and values so employees are motivated to incorporate them into their goals and performance and also encourages company loyalty.
• Established methods that make them feel valued and foster enterprise wide performance improvement.
• Peer-to-peer recognition that encourages and energizes teamwork and camaraderie.

The report goes into far greater detail on the importance of recognition and appreciation for retention, engagement, productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read the report and tell me what you think of its findings in comments.