Foreword

There is a famous saying by Bob Nelson: “People may take a job for more money, but they often leave it for more recognition.”
To be really effective in our job, we need to understand the psychology of praising others for their good work, to apply the principles of employee recognition yourself and to encourage others to initiate it in their working relationships.

Appreciation is a fundamental human need. Employees respond to appreciation expressed through recognition of their good work because it confirms their work is valued. When employees and their work are valued, their satisfaction and productivity rises, and they are motivated to maintain or improve their good work.

Praise and recognition are essential to an outstanding workplace. People want to be respected and valued for their contribution. Everyone feels the need to be recognized as an individual or member of a group and to feel a sense of achievement for work well done or even for a valiant effort. Everyone wants a ‘pat on the back’ to make them feel good.

Employee recognition has a huge communication component! Recognizing people for their good work sends an extremely powerful message to the recipient, their work team and other employees through the grapevine and formal communication channels. Employee recognition is therefore a potent communication technique.

Benefits

• Greater employee satisfaction and enjoyment of work – more time spent focusing on the job and less time complaining.
• Teamwork between employees is enhanced.
• Retention of quality employees increases – lower employee turnover.
• Better safety records and fewer accidents on the job.
• Lower negative effects such as absenteeism and stress.

You can spontaneously praise people – this is highly effective. To many employees, receiving sincere thanks is more important than receiving something tangible. Employees enjoy recognition through personal, written, electronic and public praise from those they respect at work, given in a timely, specific and sincere way.

This day-to-day recognition is the most important type of recognition. Day-to-day recognition brings the benefit of immediate and powerful reinforcement of desired behavior and sets an example to other employees of desired behavior that aligns with organizational objectives. It gives individuals and teams at all levels the opportunity to recognize good work by other employees and teams, and it also gives the opportunity for them to be recognized on the spot for their own good work.

There is no need here for me to describe further the importance of employee recognition in a work place. We all know that for any organization to succeed it must value the efforts of employees to retain the talent. So instead, I would like to bring forth some simple yet powerful ways by which an organization can recognize its key asset “employees”.

The best formula for recognizing an individual for their efforts is:

• Thank the person by name.
• Send a handwritten note.
• Make work fun. ENJOY YOUR WORK.
• Specifically state what they did that is being recognized. It is vital to be specific because it identifies and reinforces the desired behavior.
• Explain how the behavior made you feel (assuming you felt some pride or respect for their accomplishment!).
• Point out the value added to the team or organization by the behavior.

To conclude, I would like to say that “What’s absolutely critical…is that the organization celebrates success. Those who perform must be recognized.

Wishing you all a very happy and a prosperous new year!

Regards,
Tannya Chitre