Here Are A Few of The Benefits from Recognizing People

Managers are smart and observant people. When recognized properly, they know exactly what happens to themselves as well as their staff.

They’ve witnessed it time and time again.  

See if you haven’t seen the same kinds of benefits listed below from recognizing people where you work. 

Recognition Elevates Work Performance 

No surprises, most employees are more motivated and more productive in their work. There is greater positivity in the workplace, which promotes better communication between one another. This environment of stronger relationships comes about from valuing people for who they are and recognizing them for what they do. And recognized people have a greater tendency to recognize others. That’s when you create a ripple effect, and it spreads throughout the organization.

Managers have noted that it is not just improved productivity that they see. Many of them speak of increased quality of work. Why is that? Because employees want to do the best work they can when they feel appreciated.  

Recognition Boosts Employee Engagement 

You’ll find that recognized employees are much more satisfied with their work than those who are not acknowledged for their contributions on the job. Recognition instills greater engagement from employees to do their very best. And they are more inclined to have an overall positive employee experience on the job.

Recognized employees have far less absenteeism that their opposite counterparts. Their positive engagement on the job also eliminates the act of presenteeism at work. Presenteeism, or working while sick or disengaged, is where employees continue to work at reduced capacity and productivity levels, or even working with a negative attitude. 

Recognition Even Improves Your Health 

According to Dr. Jean-Pierre Brun, from the University of Laval, Quebec, he found that workers who experience a lack of recognition at work are 1.4 times more likely to be absent and feel stressed, and 30% more likely to develop heart disease. 

The inverse of this is obviously less absenteeism and one could extrapolate better heart health. The HeartMath Institute in California has shown that people who reflected on anxious thoughts showed disharmonious and arrhythmic heart rates. Then, when they were told to reflect on appreciative experiences in their lives, this resulted in harmonious and rhythmic heart patterns. A daily dose of genuine recognition is good for you!

Recognition Helps Keep Employees 

In a survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, they found that 68 percent of HR professionals agreed that employee recognition has a positive impact on retention. Furthermore, 56 percent of HR professionals also said recognition programs help with their recruitment and in attracting new employees.  

Many studies have shown that a lack of recognition is always in the top four reasons people give for why they leave organizations. It makes sense that the presence of recognition is a great retention strategy. 

All these, and many other benefits, are accrued from authentic recognition practices and wise use of your online recognition programs.

Recognition Reflection: What benefits have you observed from recognizing your colleagues and employees?

Roy is no longer writing new content for this site (he has retired!), but you can subscribe to Engage2Excel’s blog as Engage2Excel will be taking Roy’s place writing about similar topics on employee recognition and retention, leadership and strategy.