Recognizing Employees Can Go a Long Way
A recent study found that employers who are intentional about recognizing their employees actually help employees to be more productive, feel more appreciated, and find value in their work (Hussain et al., 2019). When employers recognize employees through public shout-outs, gifts, or awards, such as an employee-of-the-month award or a top-performer award, employees tend to work harder (e.g., be more productive) and work longer (e.g., put in more hours) (Ali & Anwar, 2021).
When employees don’t feel connected to their company or don’t feel appreciated, it can affect their job performance. For example, an employee who is never recognized for their job performance, can start to feel like they don’t matter and become lazy, miss deadlines, and avoid completing tasks (Andriotis, 2018).
To better illuminate how a lack of recognition in the workplace can hurt an employee’s motivation, along with a company’s ability to retain good people, I offer an example from my own professional experience, specifically from when I worked as a telemarketer.
My Personal Experience with Employee Recognition
In my early years, I worked as a telemarketer for a small company, selling products and services by phone. I would come to work on time every day. I was never late, and I never missed a day. After I would speak to certain customers, my supervisor would review the calls to see if I followed the script and operated within the rules. I never received any verbal or written warnings for misconduct, as I was intentional about following company protocol. At the end of my shift, my supervisor would count my sales and compare them to the sales made by other people on the team. I always made the most sales.
Whenever my supervisor came over to tell me that I made the most sales, it made me happy. However, I quickly came to find out that I was the only one who knew about my accomplishments and strong work ethic. My supervisor never gave me a public shout-out, gift, or an award. After a while, I felt like the amount of time, energy, and effort I was putting into my job was not being appreciated. I started to feel like I didn’t matter.
Because I felt like I didn’t matter, I started to be like other people on the team. I started coming to work late and missed days. I started slipping up during phone calls with customers, and my supervisor would point out my mistakes and give me warnings. I was no longer a top performer, so my supervisor stopped telling me about all the sales I made. I felt disconnected from both my supervisor and job, so I eventually quit.
Lessons Learned
My experience as a telemarketer played a large part in shaping my attitude and efforts in my current leadership role as a Program Director. At present, I have five employees working under me, and due to my previous experience, I have made it one of my top goals to be intentional about taking the time to recognize my employees. I’ve found that some of the best ways to recognize my employees are to:
1. Show an honest appreciation for a completed task. Being thankful and appreciative for completed tasks can make a world of difference to your employees. Simply saying “thank you” or “great job” can help to create a positive work environment full of happy, confident employees.
2. Offer rewards. Offering rewards such as gift cards or reserved parking spaces can help increase employee satisfaction. According to research, and in my personal experience, employees who are rewarded for their efforts are generally more motivated to complete tasks efficiently and effectively (Asaari et al., 2019).
3. Highlight employees (with their consent) on your company’s social media pages. Posting on social media (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) about why each individual employee in your company is important to you is a great way to show appreciation. Additionally, employees may choose to share the post on their personal socials, which will likely lead to a lot of additional praise from their loved ones.
My Advice to You
If my experience as a telemarketer sounds all too familiar to you, know that you are not alone. It can be difficult to feel overlooked at work, especially when you are giving 110% every day.
If you are an employer, my advice to you is to be intentional about recognizing the hard work of your employees. Set aside time to brainstorm different meaningful ways to reward your employees and shoutout employees who are performing at a high level. Not only is it encouraging, but it makes them feel connected to their work and appreciated. Remember! An employee’s performance is oftentimes a reflection of their employer’s performance.
About the Author
Dr. James McNeil has more than 10 years of experience as a professional counselor. He holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision and a M.S. degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Dr. McNeil is currently employed as a Program Director and Assistant Professor of Counseling at Carolina University.
Scholarly Sources
Ali, B. J., & Anwar, G. (2021). An empirical study of employees’ motivation and its influence on job satisfaction. International Journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 5(2), 21-30. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3822723
Andriotis, N. (2018). Employee recognition in the workplace: The why and how. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://tsebo.academy/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3.1.7.-Workplace-Employee-Recognition-Why-and-How.pdf
Asaari, M. H. A. H., Desa, N. M., & Subramaniam, L. (2019). Influence of salary, promotion, and recognition toward work motivation among government trade agency employees. International Journal of Business and Management, 14(4), 48-59. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v14n4p48
Hussain, S. D., Khaliq, A., Nisar, Q. A., Kamboh, A. Z., & Ali, S. (2019). The impact of employees’ recognition, rewards and job stress on job performance: Mediating role of perceived organization support. SEISENSE Journal of Management, 2(2), 69-82. http://doi.org/10.33215/sjom.v2i2.121
