A company’s most valuable resource is its employees, and when these people are happy in the workplace, they will produce better results. That is why it is so important to provide them with employee recognition opportunities that will make them feel valued in their work.
HR departments struggle with the challenge of building employee trust. Recently, Cezanne HR conducted a survey of 1,000-employees across organizations that had more than 250 full-time employees to reveal the reasons why some employees do not still trust their HR departments.
When compared to companies with perceived fewer levels of trust, employees at companies with a higher perceived level of trust showed higher energy levels. There would be 106% more energy at work and 76% more engagement.
With 24% of employees still feeling disengaged, this isn’t something that any manager would be proud of. So, what can be done improve disengagement and employee recognition? Here are some great tips:
1. Keep track of employee recognition
The best way to start monitoring your team is by using software that will help you aggregate and visualize all the data. This type of software allows for collaboration between managers and employees, making sure everyone is on the same page.
2. Get Employee feedback
As soon as you have started implementing employee recognition programs in your company, you should ask for feedback from all of your employees. Their opinion matters the most in this process because they are the ones who will be using these systems daily.
Surveys are a great way to make sure you get accurate information and try out some free employee engagement software tools to conduct surveys and see for yourself how simple it is.
3. Training and recognition go hand in hand
One of the biggest reasons employees feel underappreciated is because they do not understand what is expected of them at work.
Make sure you take time to provide your team members with proper training, especially for new employees who might be confused about their roles and responsibilities.
You should also set clear objectives for your employees, so they have a better understanding of what is expected of them.
4. Don’t forget about managers
Managers also need to be recognized for their efforts so try giving them trophies or other symbolic rewards as a way to say thank you for all the hard work they do every day.
This will motivate them to continue providing the same level of commitment, and as a result, you will see bigger improvements in employee engagement.
5. Praise your employees when they’ve performed weel
It is important to praise your team members for the good work they have done. This can be especially motivating for new hires who might not be confident in their abilities just yet.
Make sure you communicate with your team members regularly, use some of the free employee recognition software tools to see how often they interact with their direct manager.
6. Turn big goals into small wins
One of the things that most employees crave is appreciation. You must acknowledge all the small steps taken by your team members every day.
These small wins will help to motivate your team members and keep them moving forward, so make sure you acknowledge them for their efforts.
7. Don’t assume employees understand
Even if most of your employees are native English speakers, there might still be misunderstandings that they might not know that certain phrases or words have negative connotations in the workplace.
Make sure you communicate with your team members every day to avoid any awkwardness and misunderstandings.
8. Formal recognition nominations
Informal employee recognition is the most commonly used type of reward in companies today, but it should always be complemented by formal recognition as well.
Try implementing a structured process for submitting nominations. This will make sure your employees get their recognition and you will also get an inside look at how they feel about working for you.
9. Be creative
The last tip we can give you is to be creative in your approach to employee recognition. Don’t limit yourself to the standard trophies and bonuses but try coming up with a unique way of rewarding your employees every day.
This might include encouraging them to take breaks, or sending thank you notes to your managers for all their hard work.
Conclusion
Imagine how much better it would be for your company if everyone was working at their best. People are more productive, creative, and satisfied when they feel valued in the workplace.
Whatever HR goals you have set out this year, make sure that one thing on your list is improving employee recognition so people can take pride in their work again.
The more your employees feel appreciated, the higher their engagement levels will be.
This is not a secret if they like working for you and feel like they are helping your company grow and improve every day, chances are that they will stick around and work even harder. If you follow all of our tips above you should see great results in no time.
