Recognition: The "R" of RESPECT

Research consistently indicates that employees want and need recognition for their hard work. Being appreciated by an organization and its leaders is crucial to employees feeling good about their work, but it is also essential to forming loyalty to an organization and being productive. All employees want to be recognized. Employees often feel recognition is reserved for only the most productive employees. This turns out to be a fundamental oversight at many organizations. Recent research in the US reveals that only 72 percent of employees feel recognized by their managers for their good work, and only 64 percent feel they work for an organization that values their contribution. That leaves more than one-quarter and more than one-third of employees, respectively, having unmet recognition needs. Not only is recognition a low-cost technique to engage employees in their work, it also translates directly into stronger employee performance. The role of the manager is critical in doling out praise. In fact, how employees view their manager's overall performance is influenced by how managers use recognition. Those who are satisfied with the recognition they receive perceive their managers much more favorably than the under-recognized.