We all want to be appreciated; from the youngest to the oldest… But when it comes to the business world and employees, recognition becomes more than an emotional need. Employee recognition returns to employers first as engagement, then as increased performance, productivity and ultimately profitability.
In short, you make an investment that costs almost nothing and you make money.
Two aspects of recognition
Programmes can be designed to make employees visible and recognition within the company. However, creating a culture of recognition and making every employee feel valued require a longer-term change. Recognition, one of the most important drivers of employee engagement of all time, has a twofold benefit. Firstly, as we often repeat, appreciating employees for what they do not only makes them feel good about themselves, but also makes them want to do better. Experts claim that the appreciator also feels good by ensuring the continuity of positive emotions in the workplace and the workplace atmosphere is filled with positive vibrations.
Who should appreciate whom?
Appreciation is not just a top-down process, and is not solely the responsibility of management teams. Management teams are very effective in establishing a culture of appreciation, but there are also different dimensions of appreciation. Colleagues appreciating each other, employees appreciating suppliers, customer appreciation and even employees appreciating management teams… As our current focus is on measuring and trying to increase employee engagement, we will prioritise the responsibilities of management teams.
Recognition also promotes well-being
Scientists argue that appreciation affects brain function. The hypothalamus, which controls basic bodily functions such as eating and sleeping, and the release of dopamine seem to be very much related to the feeling of gratitude. Triggering these emotions makes employees feel and be better both at work and in private life. In a way, employee well-being is supported by increasing positive emotions such as appreciation and gratitude. Good feelings positively affect people’s physical health, help them sleep better, balance the metabolic rate, and most importantly, reduce the stress level. All of these directly affect business results.
Well-being and appreciation, two important factors that increase employee engagement, have such a relationship with each other.
When building your employee well-being programmes, perhaps you should first question the culture of appreciation in your company.
Recognition is also effective on team performance
Recognition and appreciation of employees have positive effects on morale and motivation, while naturally improving team performance. And that’s where justice, another driver of employee engagement, comes in. At this point, a different problem arises in companies where the culture of appreciation is not embedded in their DNA: Certain people are always appreciated.
Leaders and managers need to be careful about the equal and correct distribution of appreciation. Because unbalanced constant appreciation makes other members of the team feel bad and disengaged.
Recognition as an economic investment
The losses, both tangible and intangible, of companies with a high employee turnover rate are greater than thought. The cost of spreading the culture of appreciation and consistent appreciation mechanisms for employees’ work is very low. On the other hand, a poorly designed and implemented appreciation programme can have serious consequences.
To summarise:
Employee morale and motivation is a very important element of company profitability. Higher morale brings productivity, creativity, improvement in processes and good results. Showing appreciation and expressing satisfaction with their work in different ways is one of the shortest and basic ways to increase employee morale.
By recognising and demonstrating great work, you can confidently move towards becoming a great company 🙂