Stats You Should Know About Employee Recognition

Posted in How To, Human Resource, Motivation, Strategy on Feb 9th, 2016 | 0 comments

Employee recognition is an increasingly important management requirement in the workplace, with a number of research studies showing the importance of staff engagement and appreciating employees for their daily positive contributions to the team.

“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” – Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup

Appreciation and Recognition are the two major factors that bring about employee job satisfaction and happiness.

According to the equity theory, based on the work of J. Stacy Adams, workers compare the reward potential to the effort they must expend. Equity exists when workers perceive that rewards equal efforts.

“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek

 But employees just don’t look at their potential rewards, they look at the rewards of others as well.

Inequities occur when people feel that their rewards are inferior to the rewards offered to other persons sharing the same workloads.

“Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.” –Anne M. Mulcahy

Fine! Let’s see some amazing statistics that clearly shows “What are and what aren’t making employees happy?”

Unhappy Employees’ Stats

• 88% of employees don’t have passion for their work.
• 75% of workers don’t quit their job, but quit their boss.
• 78% of people would work harder in their jobs if they were recognised.
• 60% of those who don’t feel they are appreciated are looking for a job.
• 65% of working Americans say they receive no praise or recognition on the job.
• Employee turnover was up by 46% in companies with ineffective employee recognition programs.

Did you know the 1 reason most American employees quit their jobs is they don’t feel appreciated?

Happy Employees’ Stats

• Organizations where recognition occurs have 14% better employee engagement, productivity and customer service than those without.
• 90% find a “fun” work environment extremely motivating.
• 76% said opportunities for growth were the top reason they stayed in an organization.
• 70% of workers are motivated by non-monetary rewards at work.
• 80% of those who feel they are being appreciated stay put.

The equity theory makes a good point: What a manager thinks is irrelevant to an employee because the real issue is the way an employee perceives his or her situation.

Rewards perceived as equitable should have positive results on job satisfaction and performance; those rewards perceived as inequitable may create job dissatisfaction and cause performance problems.

Every manager needs to make sure that any undesirable consequences from equity comparisons are avoided, or at least minimized, when rewards are allocated.

 To motivate workers, managers must strengthen workers’ perceptions of their efforts as both possible and worthwhile, clarify expectations of performances, tie rewards to performances, and make sure that rewards are desirable.

So Some Hard Hitting Facts

• Strategic recognition drives engagement
• Lack of recognition drives turnover
• High employee engagement leads to better business results or ROI
• Awards, recognition and praise might be the single most cost effective way to maintain a happy productive force.
• Respect employees, ask for their opinion and show genuine concern.