Needless to say, there could be countless ways
in which organizations can approach employee engagement. However, sometimes,
boosting engagement can be as simple as offering thoughtful recognition to your
employees. As a business leader, you need to look at the massive scope for
higher engagement that employee recognition has to offer.
In this blog, we effectively highlight some exceptional ways in which employee
recognition can enhance engagement. So, let us get started without further ado.
How recognition adds to employee engagement
- It promotes a sense of workplace belonging
Recognition is a direct measure of value and
acceptance. When you recognize the effort and achievements of your employees,
you inspire the feeling of acceptance and allegiance in them. Simply put, even
the smallest acts of employee recognition promote a great sense of workplace
belonging among employees.
Having said that, when employees are confident that they belong in the
workplace, they respond with greater commitment and zeal. They then feel a
strong urge to raise the bar of their performance in an incremental way as they
feel empowered. To substantiate, as per Deloitte, a strong sense of workplace
belonging can enhance employees’ performance by 56 percent. Isn’t that amazing?
On the contrary, if there is no recognition
for employees’ efforts, they will soon disengage. They will never be able to
blend into the environment to be able to make positive differences.
- It fosters high optimism in the workplace
When leaders or managers recognize and appreciate their employees, there is high motivation and optimism in the workplace. Needless to say, all of us crave motivation to keep giving our best in a consistent manner. Besides, when we fail to find motivation, our productivity starts withering away.
No matter how much zeal we carry on the
inside, we often look for motivation beyond ourselves. Having said that,
employees often look up to their seniors for motivation and you can deliver
that the best through appreciation. Parallel to workplace motivation, optimism will also be
high as working relationships will also improve on the sidelines of
recognition.
This increased motivation along with greater optimism in the workplace will lay
a perfect foundation for high-performing work culture. It is an undeniable fact
that with a highly motivated team, you can even move mountains. However, for
sustaining that motivation you need a vibrant system of employee recognition.
- It boosts
employee satisfaction
Employee engagement and satisfaction go hand
in hand. In fact, it would not be incorrect to say that satisfaction is the
basis of employee engagement. People give their best when they are satisfied
with the idea of doing so. This is where business leaders need to realize that
employee appreciation and recognition are essential for satisfaction.
Unless employees find their satisfaction, they will often fall into the
category of disengaged employees. In fact, the lack of satisfaction can also be
the reason why an organization may have to face high turnover.
Now if you ask your employees what satisfies them the most, a large proportion
of them would say recognition. In fact, as per HubSpot, 70 percent of employees
say that they will work with greater commitment if they receive due recognition
from their superiors.
This clearly indicates that employees are more
than happy to go the extra mile for their organization if their efforts are
acknowledged. Having said that, with recognition, you can unlock extraordinary
levels of employee engagement and performance.
- It fosters trust in the workplace
As a leader, do you ever lay emphasis on the need for cultivating trust in the workplace? Did you know that employees in high-trust organizations are likely to be 76 percent more engaged? Harvard Business Review further states that in companies that thrive with trust, employee productivity levels are 50 percent higher.
As you can see, a small virtue of trust can make such an unthinkable difference. Cultivating trust can be far more advantageous than most employee engagement activities. The question is, how does workplace recognition help in trust-building? Well, when managers and supervisors extend recognition and appreciation it does add incredibly to the process of trust-building.
To explain, recognition empowers employees in the sense that they start to
believe that their commitment and achievements will not go unnoticed. Whenever
an employee receives recognition, others are also convinced that they can trust
the management when it comes to highlighting their accomplishments.
Having said that, this trust will push them to upscale their commitment and
contribute to the organization in a more wholesome way.
- It inspires effective goal setting
When recognition and appreciation become natural virtues in the workplace, it does create a substantial difference in terms of goal setting. In the bid to achieve more and win the appreciation from the management, employees will reassess their goals.
To explain, when they see their colleagues
receiving heartwarming recognition, they would want to be at the receiving end
of it as well. Hence, they will undertake effective goal setting and will show
greater dedication to accomplishing their goals.
All in all, with this optimized goal setting and execution in the workplace,
the engagement scenarios will witness a massive hike. As a leader, you can
inspire greater reliance, accountability, and excitement among your teams by
offering consistent recognition. After all, sharing credits and appreciation
with others are true trademarks of greater leadership.
To conclude, we do not always work for
recognition but recognition does inspire the best in us for sure. Employee
recognition has substantial benefits to offer to business organizations in
terms of higher engagement and productivity. As evident above, recognition can
amplify employee engagement in some incredible ways.
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