Are you struggling to retain employees? You might even know they’re not that motivated from conducting engagement studies. As a business leader, you’re aware that employees who aren’t engaged are more likely to look for new jobs.
Poor employee engagement is one of the top challenges companies and HR departments face.
Poor employee engagement is one of the top challenges companies and HR departments face. In a Deloitte survey of 7,000 businesses and HR leaders across 130 countries, 85% of participants said employee engagement was important. Unfortunately, most (64%) only measured engagement annually.
Based on that, it’s fair to ask if they understand that employee retention is linked to engagement. When engagement is low, retention is likely to drop off too.
All Employees Are Essential
Businesses have an obligation to let their employees know that they’re pivotal in terms of contributing to the company’s growth and success, whether they’re front-line employees or not.
“In almost any company, employees who aren’t customer-facing play a quality and support role,” said John Fleming, Gallup chief scientist of marketplace management, according to Gallup. “One of the critical elements for every worker is a direct line of sight to the customers and how their work affects customers.”
Unfortunately, Amy Adkins, marketing communications specialist of Gallup, noted that few employees (around 33%) are engaged in their work. While Adkins specifically talked about front-line employees, we’ll safely assume similar numbers would turn up for those working behind the scenes.
What is the impact of indifferent and unengaged employees? Thousands upon thousands of dollars lost.
Recognition Helps Retain Employees
Actively recognize and reward employees and have a happier, more engaged team and to retain employees. Recognizing employees’ achievements increases employee happiness and engagement. In turn, employee are more likely to stay put.
If you’re not sure how to recognize employees, here are some simple ways to do so:
1. Reinforce Core Values
Core value recognition is too important to happen haphazardly. Create a regular weekly or monthly schedule or cadence for core values recognition. When a manager recognizes an employee relay that the person did a great job and in the accompanying note of praise call attention to the core value the employee demonstrated and how he or she accomplished their feat.
2. Emphasize Key Behaviors
Acknowledging someone’s performance can encourage repeat behavior. Employees want to know what’s expected of them – the key behaviors the company and their manager want reinforced. Share employee success stories as broadly within the organization as makes sense.
3. Give Spot Bonuses
Empower managers to reward employees in timely ways by keeping recognition goals that make sense for that business unit. Be sure to shout out “Great Job!” or “Congratulations!” while calling out the specific achievement when the person reaches their milestone.
4. Support Wellness Initiatives
Wellness initiatives are well-suited for recognition programs. Determine when individual wellness goals are hit and distribute recognition accordingly. Note, wellness initiatives require that managers pay close attention to health care privacy regulatory and statutory requirements.
When employees are invested in their work and their company’s overall vision, they’re more likely to be happy, engaged and driven to perform. To increase employee retention, companies need to find effective and meaningful ways to recognize employees for their hard work and positive behaviors. With that said, remember that when facing a problem of retention the solution may be recognition.
Want to learn more about the power of recognition? Download our free eBook The Insider’s Guide to Recognition – How to Create a Super Successful Program, or request a demo of our employee recognition platform!
