Taking the Path to Praise for High Productivity

August 11, 2014 | Staffing Blog

Everyone loves a pat on the back. It’s just human nature to want others to recognize our hard work and accomplishments. And yet too few companies truly embrace the benefits of praising their employees and maybe think a regular paycheck is reward enough. But falling into that line of thinking can come at a cost to your business.

This Workforce.com article points to Gallup Inc. research that found a lack of recognition for good work leads to a 10-20% difference in revenue and productivity. Plus, employees who say they aren’t adequately recognized at work are three times more likely to plan to quit in the coming year. 

Now this doesn’t mean you need to be handing out presents and thank-you notes every other day but take a minute to think about the last time you wrote a note to an employee or a co-worker. When was the last time the company hosted a Friday lunch after completing a big project or landing a large client? 

Celebrating good works and company successes are an incredible morale boost and will leave your employees energized and feeling more invested in the business – which leads to greater productivity and better results (and more celebrations!). 

Even if you have temporary employees on your team, you can include them in your path to praise. At Allegiance, we use a 3-Day Hiring Process, run everyone through a background check, and place an emphasis on training. So we feel confident our workers will be contributing to your company’s success. 

If those temporary employees helped you through a busy project or were expert customer service reps during the crush of the holiday season, make them part of a post-project party or celebration lunch. Those temporary employees could just be your next full-time hires, so get them started off on the right foot and invested in your business.

Don’t just save the champagne for a monumental success. Be familiar with your employees and the work they are doing on a day-to-day basis. Even seemingly small tasks like a well-written report turned in on time or finding a cost-saving error in the budget deserve a sincere “thanks.” 

An attitude of praise trickles down from management and will create a culture where employees are thanking each other as well as customers and clients, which ultimately makes your business more profitable and simply a better business.