I’ve heard from many companies over the past several months that they cannot afford employee recognition today as a result of the challenging economic times we are all enduring. While I understand the need to cut costs and spend responsibly, I caution companies who view employee recognition as an option or expendable cost …. Are you sure about that?
The recent white paper published by the Recognition Council (www.recognitioncouncil.org), Thesis: Employee Recognition and Rewards Programs Can Generate Significant Revenue and Profits, makes a fantastic case for why now, more than ever, is the time to invest in an employee recognition program. I would encourage you to check this out as there are many great points about how a company simply cannot afford NOT to recognize employees – regardless of the economy.
I write today though to pose a simple challenge to you … one that will not cost you a dime and will likely instantly improve your employee morale! I want you to say “Thank You” to a different individual that you work with each day this week. This is what I call “on the spot recognition” and it truly works! It is amazing how we can all get caught up in the grind of daily business and forget that the simplest phrase can truly make an employee feel valued and actually may make them work harder in the coming days/weeks/months. In a recent survey of 1,000 workers conducted by White Water Strategies it was “found that saying “thank you” or praising staff can affect job satisfaction as much as one percent pay increase.” And I think that we would all agree that working on saying “thank you” as a form of authentic, honest employee recognition today will fit better in the budget than a 1% company-wide pay increase.
To put this into numerical terms lets look at how simply saying “thank you” could impact a company of 500 employees with an average annual salary of $40,000. By giving consistent recognition and praise to your employees on a regular basis rather than giving each employee a 1% raise – you can have engaged employees and save $200,000 a year!! That can make a big difference to any company’s bottom line!
So again I challenge you to start implementing “on-the-spot recognition” in your company TODAY… you can’t afford not to! THANK YOU for taking the time to read this today. See, it’s that easy…
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt – FUD – is rampant in the workforce. Layoffs and bad economic news make us want to hide under our desks and wait for better times. “Don’t do anything wrong” can unconsciously lead to “Don’t do ANYTHING”. What better way to overcome the paralysis that ensues than to catch people doing things right and recognize them in front of others. On a personal level, the worker gets confirmation that they actually ARE doing things correctly, and it is noticed and appreciated. On a team level, the behavior is set out before others as credible and achievable.
My only wish is that blogs had spell check! My passion brings on my haphazard spelling!
Lyn, I used your FUD today at a Loyalty conference seminar in Florida and got a great laugh from the audinece.
Lyn I hope you are doing well and continuing to spread your passion at Sprint Nextel. They should be about ready to listen and learn again.
Thank you,
Louise
Thank you for the reminder that it is more important than ever to recognize and reward behaviors and performance that is driving the right results. In this challenging time in our economy, people are looking for reassurance and approval.
Hello,
I certainly appreciate the research completed by White Water Strategies and would agree that through the simple act of saying thank you and acknowledging an employee’s good work goes a long way toward employee retention. In today’s market and environment, our goal to keep those employees that we see as part of our future organization is extremely important and recognition incentives could go a long way toward achieving this goal.
Louise, I actually took your advice before I even read about it! Yesterday I told a staff member ‘thank you’ and passed on a compliment from a client. Was it appreciated? You bet it was. Of course, we all know that Administrative Professional’s Day was last week and of course, I did buy my admin a gift card to say ‘thanks’ but I also made sure to tell her in person that she is doing a good job. I absolutely believe in impromptu, on the spot recognition — people want to know they are doing a good job. It seems that in the hectic pace of work and business, sometimes we forget to do the simplest things — like saying thank you!
You’re dead-on, Louise! Thank you and your entire team of professionals for spreading the upbeat attitude that you do. When I was 13, I was “the fat kid” that everyone made fun of. I vowed to seek my revenge by making their day — every day. I set out to make someone’s day happier every day of my life. Sometimes I forget — and sometimes I don’t “wanna” do it, but I TRY. Your blog message goes hand-in-hand … I love it! As always, Louise, you’re a bright spot (and you’ve surrounded yourself with exceptional people who are bright spots, too).
Louise – I couldn’t agree with you more. I do not think we can remind ourselves enough to say “thank-you” more often. We strive to give employees the recognition they deserve, and are looking for, in our workplace. As owners we are constantly reminded that recognition on the job is one of the top keys to employee satisfaction. This is an easy and cost effective way to give the recognition people are looking for…thanks for the reminder!
Recognition, like communication, is most valuable when the outcome is a change in employee behavior. Otherwise,they’re just empty words adding to the daily clamor of our work and professional lives. When managers look into the eyes of their employees and utter those simple words, “Thank you,” it’s possible to move mountains.
This is a great reminder! It was actually one of my goals to implement this year along with little emails or notes telling someone “Good Job”. “Thank You” and “Good Job” can go a long way with your employees in times like these.