Driving great work through due recognition of employees
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EARLIER this year, Cicero Group, commissioned by the OC Tanner Institute, published the findings of an extensive study about how organisations can drive employees to do great work.
For this study, “great work” was defined as work that is productive, innovative and makes a difference that people care about.
The research was conducted across all industries in the United States in companies with over 1,000 employees. The online survey was completed by 980 respondents.
The participants answered an open-ended question, giving them the chance to respond truthfully in their own words, unrestricted by preconceived options.
It included in the analysis the answers to the open-ended question, “What is the most important thing that your manager or company currently does (or could do) that would cause you to produce great work?” were distributed into nine categories:
Recognise me – 37 per cent
Nothing, I’m self-motivated – 13 per cent
Inspire me – 12 per cent
Give me autonomy – 12 per cent
Pay me more – 7 per cent
Other – 6 per cent
Train me – 6 per cent
Give me a promotion – 4 per cent
I don’t know – 3 per cent
The respondents didn’t state more money or extravagant perks and benefits like free access to gyms, free food or open work space, but identified performance recognition as the most important factor for great work.
“When someone recognises you for something you did or gives you appreciation, I feel that it hits the heart more than anything,” one respondent said.
“Sure you can get a financial gain or perk, but if someone actually comes to you and recognises you for what you do, that stands out more than anything. It is more personal.”
The good news is that you can provide recognition easily and almost at no cost, but the number one excuse why managers don’t recognise their people is always “time”.
That’s just a faulty assumption and excuse. It takes only a very short time to recognise someone or a team publicly.
You should make it a priority to recognise your people. After all, performance recognition is not only the key driver for great work, but also a strong driver of employee engagement, which in turn is a key objective of high performing companies around the world.
Performance recognition improves relationships between managers and employees. It is also highly effective at increasing employees’ confidence in their skills.
It is suggested that you follow the recommendation of motivational guru Brian Tracy: “Praise is a powerful people-builder. Catch individuals doing something right”.
And management consultant Marcus Buckingham said, “Great managers don’t need to be reminded of the power of praise.
They seem to know instinctively that praise isn’t merely a reaction to great performance, it is the cause of it”.
Knowing now that recognition is the number one thing a company or a manager could do to cause great work, let us make it a priority to praise our people.
Heinz Landau, a former chairman and managing director of Merck Thailand, can be reached at [email protected].
