Bob Nelson, a leading US consultant in employee recognition, examined why certain managers gave recognition to their staff while others didn’t. He conducted a survey because he believed communication is vital for better employee recognition, and wanted to explore the topic further. He conducted a national survey of 34 organizations, exploring the motivation for the use of employee recognition, questioning the managers about their behavior and the communication it conveyed: whether it stemmed from past experience with the behavior, present reinforcement of the behavior, or future expectations of the behavior.
He found that managers who were high users of recognition tended to have initial positive experiences in using it. Their good results gave them the confidence to keep using it.
In contrast, managers who didn’t use employee recognition behavior seemed to be caught in a negative cycle. They didn’t have positive early experiences with it and therefore resisted applying it.
Dr Nelson’s findings also suggested that to trigger a positive cycle of recognition use, it may be more important for managers to have had a positive personal experience in receiving recognition than merely being given recognition tools and programs.
A 2019 survey by SurveyMonkey and Bonusly found:
Only one in three US workers strongly agreed they had received recognition or praise for doing good work in the previous seven days, according to Gallup analysis in 2016 – “Gallup’s data revealed that the most effective recognition is honest, authentic and individualized to how each employee wants to be recognized.”
In addition, a survey quoted in the Harvard Business Review in 2016 found 82% of employed Americans didn’t feel their supervisors recognized them enough for their contributions.
When you embark on an initiative to introduce employee recognition program, use these key organizational principles for effective employee recognition as a guide. One of the key issues is whether managers actually know how and why to recognize their employees. Of course, there are two elements to employee recognition. The first aspect is to actually see, identify or realize an opportunity to praise someone. If you are not in a receptive frame of mind you can easily pass over many such opportunities. This happens all too frequently.
The other aspect of employee recognition is, of course, the physical act of doing something to acknowledge and praise people for their good work.
You can measure how well managers identify good opportunities and then actually do something to recognize employees by testing through face-to-face questioning of the managers and their staff and by written questionnaires to staff.
Employee surveys should include questions about employee recognition. If not, such questions should be added. Recognition isn’t complicated, but it shows up on most employee surveys as being poorly handled. The results can then be used as tangible proof of the need to train managers in the required skills.
Managers need to be able to praise and recognize their peers in other branches and divisions. Peer pressure and recognition at all levels is a very strong motivator, so it should be actively encouraged. Employees at any level should praise and recognize their peers. Peer pressure and recognition is a very strong motivator, so it should be actively encouraged in the workplace.
Through your wide-ranging PR role as the eyes and ears of the organization, you become aware of work well done throughout the organization. You become aware of good work while gathering information for employee publications and other typical communication tasks. You can communicate about these good achievements and their long-term benefits in the realization that communication is vital for better employee recognition:
In addition, you can communicate about the long-term benefits that come to high achievers in the workplace:
You can play a valuable role by training or arranging training in presentation skills, specifically in how to conduct recognition activities, to assist supervisors and managers to improve the way they recognize their staff for work well done. Many managers have never had such training, and because good communication skills are expected as a ‘given’ in a job, some are reluctant to admit they need assistance in this area. This activity is important because research and workplace performance confirm that communication is vital for better employee recognition.
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