In terms of motivating and energizing your staff, employee recognition can go a long way to this end. But you have to put some heart into it; in other words, it needs to be meaningful. Sending out a blanket email thanking the staff for their hard work just isn't going to cut it. More and more employees are expressing the need for thoughtful and detailed feedback. As a business owner, it's up to you to give it to them.
Surveys have shown that worldwide, owners are pouring millions into programs designed to reward employee performance. And again, while this can be a good thing, those employees also want to know that you're noticing the actual work they are doing for you. Generic thank you's or systemized rewards efforts need to be supplemented with a more comprehensive approach to employee recognition.
What did that employee accomplish? What value did a specific individual bring to your company this year? Really spend some time and effort thinking about these kinds of questions and then let that employee know that you truly do recognize what they did and how well they did it.
A recent survey showed some interesting results regarding employees and their needdesire for recognition.
- Just over 20% want to be recognized for a specific instance.
- 65% want managers to become more adept at in-the-moment praise.
- Over 70% believe morale would, in fact, be better if more praise were given at work.
- 40% claimed that managers gave out praise unfairly, meaning more often to some than to others.
It's great to invest in annual recognition and reward programs, but you need to be doing it the right way—taking into consideration both the company's and employee's overall goals.
At First Union Lending we can certainly get you the money needed to implement new and better ways of recognizing employees. We offer a variety of business financing solutions designed for today's small businesses. Call and see how we can help!