In these changing times, many leaders are getting anxious about how many of their people could be looking to greener pastures. According the Achievers Workforce Institute’s Engagement and Retention Report, an astounding 52% of employees are planning to look for a new job this year, in what NPR calls “the Great Resignation.” That’s a 43% increase from the previous two years. (Other estimates place the number at 1 in 4 employees.)
Why are employees jumping ship in such record numbers? Many realized during the introspective time mandated by the pandemic that they weren’t deriving enough satisfaction from their jobs. For others, the experience of working from home showed them that they wanted greater flexibility in things like working hours. And a full 74% want more recognition for their hard work, the Achievers report found.
Thus, every manager ought to be prioritizing rewards and recognition. Honoring employees’ efforts through gratitude and tangible rewards will do wonders to keep them motivated, engaged, and loyal.
When to Reward Employees
When Karl E. Wiegers was manager of the Kodak software group, he started handing out bags of M&Ms with a message of thanks or appreciation, he writes in Creating a Software Engineering Culture.
He said the candy disappeared quickly, but “that some people kept the message tags visible around their desks. To them, the important thing was not the bag of candy, but the words indicating that their manager noticed and valued the progress being made.”
When leaders give awards honoring individual excellence, it raises morale. It also lets your workers know the kinds of things you value. Achievement awards offer a motivation to do better.
Don’t delay.
“Praise for a job well done should be timely, direct, personal, and specific,” Wiegers says. As a leader, don’t put off your praise until the annual review. Give credit right away, he urges.
I couldn’t agree more. Look for praiseworthy milestones, goals, or events and honor them immediately. Be specific. Share exactly what the employee did well and why you appreciate it.
If you delay, you may reduce the impact of your praise, leading the employee to think, Oh, so he finally noticed.
Recognize exceptional team and group performance, too. Honor their achievements in front of the broader workplace.
Strike a balance.
Make sure you’re giving out awards in a balanced way, too. If workers see the same people recognized time and again, they may feel their efforts are not being appreciated. Make the reward commensurate with the achievement made, offering larger rewards for bigger accomplishments, but spread the wealth.
You might honor valuable employees in weekly team meetings—even if it’s for smaller achievements. Try to always have something to celebrate in these sessions.
Further, when an accomplishment takes place, verify who was actually responsible. Rewarding the wrong person for a job well done may create resentment and backlash.
Finally, don’t limit recognition to people you immediately supervise. Find ways to thank and recognize people outside of your group who have helped with your endeavors, too. This is an excellent way to build good relationships with other departments.
The following section is guest-authored by Anna McCarthy, an HR specialist. She shares invaluable tips for how to best reward and honor your hard-working employees.
Five Ways to Reward and Recognize Your Valuable Employees
Notice that the tips shared by Anna here provide suggestions for both tangible and intangible rewards—having a mix of both will make your recognition program more meaningful.
1 – Offer flexible hours
Recognize that some employees have circumstances that would be greatly improved with a little flexibility on your part. Do you have an employee that needs to get their children off to school in the morning? Allowing that person to come in a little later to accommodate their schedule builds loyalty. Similarly, you could accommodate the schedules of those that typically face a long commute because of rush hour traffic.
2 – Give public awards
Offering public awards for reaching specific goals is another way to keep your employees motivated and engaged in the workplace. Something as simple as a plaque or an acrylic award will be appreciated when accompanied with a sincere thank you. Make sure the awards are appropriate to the recipient. The more useful they are, the better they will be appreciated as well.
3 – Provide a meal
Recognize a well-done team effort with food. Everybody loves to eat and socialize, so this could be a useful way to say thanks and reap the benefits of a team building experience. If you want to keep it simple, have someone bring in a variety of sandwiches or desserts during a meeting or other event. Or go big and have a hot meal catered. If you want to get out of the office, take the team out to dinner.
4 – Give employees some time off
Show your appreciation for your employees by giving them some time off throughout the year aside from their sick and vacation days. Get creative. Give them time off to volunteer for their favorite charity. Or as a bonus, take an employee to lunch on Friday and then give them the rest of the afternoon off. Perhaps some would prefer to come in late on a Monday instead. These sorts of experiences will create loyalty and keep your employees less likely to jump ship when another opportunity comes along.
5 – Buy into your employees’ continued success
Invest in the future success of your employees by helping them better their careers. Make room for advancement from within the organization. Help them grow, even if doing so may lead them to opportunities outside your company. An employee that feels stagnated in his position is going to eventually move on.
Final Thoughts
Ask your people what kinds of recognition they prefer. Do they enjoy a social event or a one-on-one? Some may prefer a shout-out at a meeting followed by a lunch with their boss, while others may want to celebrate with the whole team, for instance. Most people do appreciate a public celebration of their excellence and value, whatever shape it takes.
Offering meaningful recognition and rewards will provide motivation to excel at a higher level, helping your star performers to thrive and your good performers to rise up to the next level. Make it part of your company’s retention plan now, and watch employee loyalty rise.
Anna McCarthy is an HR specialist who writes on topics ranging from business communication, productivity, employee satisfaction, and corporate awards.
Looking for more innovative ways to honor, engage, and retain your valuable employees? Contact Joel for effective methods of praise and motivation.
