According to the 1999 Gallup Poll, the four elements that have proven to be effective in creating employee loyalty are praise and recognition, a sense of contribution to the company, learning and development and having a best friend at work.
Creating a fairy-tale work environment begins with
recognition. Your employees need it more than money, perks or titles. Here are
eight tips regarding recognition. Remember these, and your employees may just
start whistling while they work.
It is up to me. The
corporate culture or financial rewards will not make your team successful. It
is up to you. Recognition is one thing that is completely in your control.
Strong relationships are vital in today's economy. Strengthening employee relationships is even more
necessary as companies downsize and lay off. As your workforce shrinks and you
need to do more with less, keeping quality employees becomes even more
critical. As a manager, it is your job to bond your best people to your company
through recognition. And you also must help direct and motivate your
"core" performers.
Simple rewards earn big returns. There are some relatively simple things you can do
that will earn big returns. For example, remember your employees'
birthdays and work anniversaries; find out what inexpensive rewards they value
(for example, tickets to a ball game or a half day off to spend time with their
kids); make the most of your formal service awards with some preparation and a
group presentation; walk around your department every day and talk to your
people and thank them sincerely and often.
Make it specific.
Praise and recognition must be specific to have impact. General praise such as
"You do great work," actually can have the opposite effect and
leave your employees wondering, "Does he have any idea what I really do
around here?" Specific praise links individual accomplishments to company
goals. For example, "Cheryl, I noticed the way you handled that customer
complaint. Great work. As you know, we value quick resolutions of problems as
one of our core strategies."
Ask the best to stay.
Call your best people into your office one at a time. Let that bright young
college graduate know you value his fresh ideas and energy. Tell the 20-year
veteran how much your team relies on her expertise and organizational skills.
Remarkably, a significant percent of high-impact performers report that they
left their last job because, "No one ever asked me to stay."
Forget cash..
Remember the saying, "Money can't buy everything?" Well,
it's true. Don't wait until you can offer an employee a raise or
promotion. Real thanks is its own reward. In numerous surveys of work
satisfaction, top on employees' lists is "feeling
appreciated." In fact, when employees feel recognized and involved, they
are much less likely to keep asking about money.
Recognize.
Recognition means most to an employee when it is sincere and spontaneous.
According to the largest study ever conducted on workplace satisfaction
(Gallup, 1999), recognition should occur at least every seven days. If you wait
until a year-end party or an annual review, you are waiting much too long to
recognize and you probably are losing people you do not need to.
Recognition works.
Neglect can be a poisoned apple. Recognition is the elixir that will spark
better attitudes and performance. Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford University says,
"The returns from managing people in ways that build high commitment ...
typically are on the order of 30 to 50 percent."
Take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself how you can
recognize the fairest of them all. Learn to recognize your employees for their
efforts, thank them often and reward their achievements. You can awaken them
from their anger and apathy and they will fall in love with their jobs again.
Chances are, you will work together happily ever after.
