Why Employee Recognition is So Important

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” ~ William James

According to Quantum Workplace, employees who feel they will be recognized are almost three times as likely to be engaged, yet 35% of employees say they receive recognition monthly or weekly. Further, half of employees say they would like more recognition for their work. The bottom line is that feeling appreciated is a basic human need. Employees simply will not stay with your organization and do their best work if they don’t feel appreciated. 

In the past, if I was summoned to my leader’s office, my first thought wasn’t “Here we go again. More appreciation and recognition.” It was, “Uh oh, what have I done now?” The fact is that most leaders just don’t show enough recognition and appreciation. So, why don’t we show it more? Some of the reasons include busyness, feeling like it’s not important, feeling overwhelmed with existing responsibilities and personal discomfort with showing appreciation.

Some managers worry that they may give too much recognition, and it won’t be meaningful, or think there has to be some monumental reason to recognize them. I haven’t seen too much recognition as being a problem anywhere I’ve worked! On the contrary, it usually shows up as an opportunity when gathering feedback or doing engagement surveys.

PATS for Appreciation and Recognition

I find that using the PATS acronym helps guide recognition and appreciation efforts. And, it spells PATS like pats on the back. Get it?

  • P – Take an employee’s personal Preferences into account.
  • A – Make it Authentic and sincere.
  • – Make it Timely.
  • S – Make it Specific.

Languages of Appreciation at Work

In the book, The 5 Languages of Appreciation at Work, Gary Chapman and Paul White outline five languages through which people like to receive appreciation. They are as follows:

  1. Words of Affirmation
  2. Quality Time
  3. Acts of Service
  4. Tangible Gifts
  5. Physical Touch – This one is a human resources no-no 🙂

Hardwiring Appreciation

Here are some tips to help you hardwire appreciation into your approach and your organization!

  • Ask employees questions about their likes/how they like to be recognized and keep a record of this to personalize recognition.
  • Verbally thank employees regularly.
  • Recognize employees on your website or in the newsletter.
  • Encourage peer-to-peer recognition by setting up a mechanism to facilitate. 
  • Have some gift cards or recognition items handy to give out.
  • Write thank you notes, texts or emails often.
  • Ask employees about others that have been particularly helpful to them and pay it forward!
  • Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and team accomplishments.
  • Discover employees’ languages of appreciation and incorporate them into your approach. Maybe even do a team session to discover them so members can understand how to recognize others in a meaningful way.
  • Put time on your schedule for recognition and appreciation!
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