It’s fundamental to being human that we all want to feel valued and appreciated and receive feedback. It starts when we are born and does not stop throughout our life, and continues at work where we want to be recognised for doing a good job.
When we receive praise and positive feedback for our efforts, it reinforces the fact that other people care about us and our contribution to the team. This makes us feel good about ourselves, as well as those around us. When timely and sincere praise is exchanged consistently between employees
through peer to peer recognition it helps build a positive and enjoyable work environment, and can lead to improved engagement. This can motivate your employees to be more productive in the workplace, delivering what is called “discretionary effort,” which is work done above and beyond what they are paid to do, without expectation of reward.
Doing nothing is expensive
As a business leader you can choose to do nothing about employee engagement. This can seem like a great way to save costs, impacting the bottom line. However, choosing to avoid the implementation of an employee recognition and engagement program can trigger significant costs due to increased employee turnover, increased absenteeism, reduced productivity rates and reduced guest or customer experience.
The first six months in a new employee’s time is crucial, with 90% of newly recruited employees making the decision whether to stay in an organisation within this period.
According to a recent Gallup report, around 24% of employees in Australian workplaces are actively engaged, whilst 16% are actively disengaged (i.e. working against you). That means that around 60% are just going through the motions. Think what improving their engagement levels would do to your business.
The cost to the Australian economy is estimated at $54.8 billion annually. Based on Gallup’s figures that is costs up to 150% of salary to replace someone, high employee turnover rates can have a huge impact on your business and your brand.
Corporate culture is important
Your internal brand, and how you implement and promote it is key in recruiting and retaining effective employees. A report by Bersin found that companies with effective recognition programs had 31% lower employee turnover, and that engaged employees were 87% less likely to leave their jobs. They were also more likely to recommend the company to friends.
Conversely, 55% of employees stated they would leave their company to join a company with a strong culture of recognising their staff. Building recognition around Corporate Values is often a great place to start, if you clearly define what they mean, and more importantly, what they look like as a behaviour. Just sticking Honesty, Integrity, Team Work etc. on your reception wall is a waste of time unless employees understand what the behaviour are around these, and how they impact the business.
Not enough recognition is given
Many managers do not consistently recognise their employees when they do great work. And while 90% of business leaders think that a recognition strategy will improve business success, only 14% of organisations provide managers with the necessary tools for recognition. Additionally, up to 67% of employees rate recognition as the top motivator for performance, and yet lack of recognition and positive feedback is consistently high on employee engagement surveys.
In these uncertain times, as businesses around the world start to implement new strategies and post Covid protocols, stress from extra work and employee wellbeing in the workforce will become even more of a concern and addressing these issues is important.
While giving positive feedback and timely appreciation for effort will not fully address these issues, implementing a corporate recognition program can undoubtedly play a crucial role in your employee engagement strategy, helping reduce employee turnover, while making your company a great place to work.
Brownie Points is working with a growing number of thought leading organisations to ensure that the entire workforce is focused, appreciated, valued, and included, through the implementation of wellbeing and recognition programs.
To discuss how we can help you to maximise your employees engagement in your business, call us today on +61 (0)3 9909 7411 or email us at info@browniepoints.com.au
