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Recognition is an Inexpensive But Effective Employee Retention Tool

By / February 26, 2015 / Business Leadership, HR Best Practices No Comments

Smart employers are constantly working to engage and retain their best employees. You may think the only way to do that is through salary bumps that you may not be able to afford. The truth is, though, many employees find other rewards more satisfying than money — especially recognition for a job well done. And they particularly like being recognized in a way others will notice.

I’ve been reading about the value of employee recognition programs and the power they have to boost employee retention. Here are a few articles and blog posts I found most useful.

4 Strategies for Employee Recognition that Work for the Millennial Generation.Ceridian: “Ceridian’s research found that small gifts can do a lot more than pay raises for making employees feel recognized. Offering up a free ticket to a movie or sporting event can be a really nice gesture that can make a millennial employee feel appreciated….Your longtime veteran employees are probably well versed in celebrating their ‘anniversaries’ at the office. If someone has spent 10, 20 or 30 years with the same employer, that’s an event worth celebrating. But why let millennials feel left out? Maybe a six-month or one-year anniversary is just as important to them. So celebrate it!”

Why Social Recognition Matters. SHRM: “[The Hershey Company]’s experience is among those detailed in a new book, The Power of Thanks: How Social Recognition Empowers Employees and Creates a Best Place to Work (McGraw-Hill, 2015), from co-authors Eric Mosley and Derek Irvine, senior executives at Globoforce, a recognition solutions provider in Southborough, Mass. With the workforce becoming more global, social, mobile and multigenerational, a new strategy for employee recognition is needed, the authors argue. Social recognition capitalizes on employees’ behavioral habits and new social technologies to give more people a voice in saying ‘thanks,’ adding an important tool to an organization’s rewards strategy.”

Millennials on the Market: Recognition & Retention in an Age of “What’s in It for Me?” Compensation Cafe: “Sure, promotions and corresponding pay raises are a form of recognition, but that is a finite resource. Bersin by Deloitte research tells us: ‘Organizations with recognition programs which are highly effective at enabling employee engagement had 31% lower voluntary turnover than organizations with ineffective recognition programs.’”

4 Benefits of Employee Recognition in Driving Productivity. Premium Staffing Inc.:“The Gallup Organization recently estimated that there were 22 million actively disengaged employees costing the economy up to $350 billion a year in lost productivity. One reported cost of low morale was unscheduled absenteeism, which cost an average of 9 percent of company payroll. If a worker is publicly recognized for their efforts, the rest of the employee population sees that an organization rewards hard work.”

16 Employee Recognition Ideas That Motivate Teamwork. Chart Your Course International: “RSM McGladrey has On The Spot Awards, given by upper level management to anyone in increments of $50. It goes directly to payroll, and is applied on their next paycheck. Management writes why they gave the employee this award for positive reinforcement….At Buffalo Wild Wings, each month they gather a person from each department, and collectively have a two-three hour roundtable with the president of the company. This includes sharing ideas, and changes they would like to see.”

Thinking of starting or altering an employee recognition program? Contact us to help you make sure it’s done fairly and effectively.

HR Solutions is a human resources outsourcing firm based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We eliminate human resources headaches for businesses with 10 to 1,000 employees by handling their payroll, employee benefits, regulatory compliance and other staffing needs. Contact us to learn how we can streamline your company’s human resources function to save money and reduce risk.




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