How Employee Recognition Affects Your Company
Paying your employees their regular salaries and giving away some bonuses will not guarantee that they will be highly motivated and loyal to your company. You should find ways to recognize their efforts and praise their accomplishments. Ideally, you should allot additional 3% on top of your payroll budget for employee awards and milestone celebrations.
While the impact of this effort is very hard to quantify, a pat on the back or simple thank-you notes are proven to increase motivation and commitment of your employees. In psychology, it is called positive reinforcement. Here are some simple ways to do this:
Award Your Star Performer
Recognizing top performers works both ways. It encourages the top performer to work harder at the same time inspires other employees to get that much-coveted title. To avoid any office politics, make sure you have a clear policy on choosing the top performer.
Reward the Team Not the Person
Depending on the nature of your business, you should reward the whole team instead of highlighting individual performers. This will further strengthen the concept of teamwork in your organization and minimize credit grabbing.
Celebrate Every Milestone
As the head of your business, find reasons to celebrate every small victory and big contributions of your employees. You can bring some pizza in the office or drink a couple of beers after office hours. The important thing is to make them feel you are grateful for a job well done.
An interesting twist on this management style is the public shame/praise model discussed at Service Untitled.
