Companies that can create a positive environment for their employees outperform their competitors who do not by more than 200%. A crucial aspect of creating that type of workplace is generating regular, genuine employee recognition.
As business owners, there are so many tasks to take care of to try to make your company successful. It can be overwhelming which means some important tasks fall away out of the top priorities. But failing to recognize your employees will have serious negative consequences. Even if you think you’re too busy.
There are so many benefits of employee recognition, it should always be a top priority for your leadership team. This guide will help you understand what you can expect from your company when you make it a part of your daily culture.
Develops a Sense of Belonging
It’s human nature to want to feel like you are a part of something instead of on the outside looking in. Your workplace is no different, especially when there are a lot of employees of different levels. For many employees, it’s easy to feel like you’re just another body and like you could be replaced at any moment.
When you start to introduce praise on a regular basis, you start to change that line of thinking.
Employees will start to feel like they are a crucial part of the team and important to the success of the company. That belonging will change the entire feel of your team to a much more positive outlook.
Reinforce Desired Behaviors
Obviously, every boss or team leader wants their employees to handle their responsibilities without having to be reminded and micro-managed. When everyone is doing their jobs the whole operation can run smoothly without issues and a lot of productivity.
But not every employee is sure that they’re doing a good job or what they’re supposed to be doing. This is where added recognition can work as a reinforcement tool. When team members are rewarded for things, those actions become desirable and people will start to do them more often.
Employee recognition techniques can help you solve problems you’re having throughout the team as well.
Promotes Teamwork
Regular acts of recognition can also help boost employee relationships and promote more teamwork within your company. If this is something that everyone is struggling with, you can simply make it a point to highlight those times when good teamwork has been used to reach a goal. This will help make it a desirable outcome and more employees will strive toward it.
It’s important to make sure you’re spreading out your rewards and recognition so that everyone feels they have an opportunity to be validated as well. This eliminates the competition aspect and makes it easy to see everyone should be working together.
Shows Effort from Leadership
For many employees, there can often feel like a huge disconnect between them and those in leadership positions within the company. This can lead to serious unhappiness when they feel like the bosses don’t see or value the work that they’re doing.
Adding regular employee recognition to your work relationships can help bridge that gap and help employees feel seen and heard.
Luckily, it’s easy to show your leadership team is making an effort with programs like Guusto where you can quickly and efficiently share the good things you’re seeing. It’s an incredibly helpful way to show employees their value.
Improves Company Culture
Successful companies work hard to create a company culture that is focused on employee happiness and continually monitor it to make sure it stays that way.
The company culture consists of the energy of the workplace, how everyone feels there, and regular activities that become a part of the business. When there is an emphasis on employee recognition, it starts to become something everyone expects and participates in. It’s a tradition that helps create the feelings and camaraderie a business needs.
This type of focus is a quick way you can start to make shifts and changes in your company. Everyone feels better when participating and it can set the tone to eliminate poor company culture.
Opens Communication Lines
One of the most difficult parts about working on a team is having open, clear communication. It’s so important to be able to work through issues to make sure everyone is being productive and meeting expectations.
When your employees are regularly hearing about the good things they and the team are doing, it’ll be easier to handle those more difficult conversations. They’ll know you do value the positive work they’re doing and will be more willing to listen to the feedback you need to give.
It also gives employees an opportunity to give you praise as well!
Increases Employee Retention
A major priority for every business should be employee retention for many reasons. It’s a huge money saver to be able to keep employees on the team instead of having to find new ones and put them through all of the onboarding and training processes. But also allows you to keep your company culture intact.
The longer employees work for the company, the more invested they will be and the more willing they will be to do what it takes to create a successful environment.
It’s better for everyone when there’s not a lot of turnover through several positions.
Importance of Employee Recognition for Businesses
Employees are the backbone and heart of a company. Without the right ones who love your business as much as you do and are willing to work hard, it’ll never be successful.
This is why it’s so worth it to invest in employee recognition and make that a regular part of your company. It shouldn’t come as a surprise or shock to your team when you notice things they are doing well. And the more your practice, the easier it becomes and the less you have to think about making it a priority.
If you’re interested in learning more about the best business practices, check out our other articles today!