As busy executives, we are immersed in the hustle and bustle that makes up our day-to-day lives. Often, we can mistakenly disregard employee recognition, and the hard work our employees put into their career that helps pave the way to our company’s success.
Fibernetics, a certified Great Workplace according to conducted studies from Great Place to Work Canada, has made culture and workplace happiness the forefront of their business since 2014. Ensuring everyday that their employees are recognized, Fibernetics has implemented multiple initiatives that focus on employee recognition, and a boost of motivation that can help their loyalty in the future.
The “I’m in!” mantra, Employee Appreciation Day, and the monthly Delivery Superhero Award all has been implemented at Fibernetics for employee recognition. How do we know praise works? Well, not only is it tried-and-true within the walls of Fibernetics, but also there are a plethora of articles that discuss the importance of praise, and its correlation with both loyalty and motivation.
Keep your employees happy, and in turn you will have happy customers, and a happy you! 41% of companies that use peer-to-peer recognition have seen positive increases in customer satisfaction, says Globoforce. So when you implement a program based off of employee praise and recognition, it impacts more than just your employee’s happiness.
According to Monster, “my boss is so busy he doesn’t have time to thank me,” becomes the mantra for employees who feel unrecognized, and they become immediately discouraged about you, and their career. Employee recognition can be a simple action that does not take a significant amount of money, time or resources. On a high-level, as you make employee recognition an essential in your day-to-day, a simple “thank you” to your employees provides them a sense of accomplishment, and builds a stronger relationship with yourself and that individual, but it doesn’t have to stop there.
Taking an interest in your employee’s work styles, personal lives and general personalities will provide you insight on the most effective way to praise that individual. For example, some employees may find recognition in front of others to be more uplifting; where as others feel a private one-on-one conversation is significantly more considerate. According to Social Cast, 69% of employees would work harder if they felt their efforts were better appreciated, and according to Globoforce, only 14% of organizations provide managers with the necessary tools for rewards and recognition. See the problem?
Fibernetics’ “I’m in!” initiative provides the employees with the option to partake in company events, team building and contests that promote relationship building and communication with other employees and managers. This gives managers the chance to learn more about their employees, be transparent, and an opportunity to recognize the individuals’ hard work. You may find providing your employees with an initiative similar to Fibernetics’ “I’m in!,” but crafted to your own company’s values, beneficial to your employee’s morale and overall happiness.
Having an employee appreciation day, or an employee of the month, should not be labeled as an ‘old school’ or ineffective approach to employee praise and recognition in our opinion. Nowadays, employee of the month programs are considered negative, and not realistic for sustaining the expectations you have for your employees. However, we believe that in combination with regular praise, and a strong initiative that binds your workplace culture and relationship building together, employee recognition days and an employee of the month program are not harmful to the loyalty employees. In fact, it’s a day to celebrate the success of your employees – and that is what leads to loyalty and motivation.
Implement an employee recognition program today, and see success tomorrow!
