Everybody, surely, loves a quick “Thanks, nice work!” comment from their boss, and few workers would balk at the promise of some kind of meaningful reward, like a bonus, for a job well done. But a new survey suggests that the vast majority of employers in the U.S. are failing to recognize their staff’s achievements properly, even though they know that it can be a big driver for success in the long term, as well as keeping employessvengaged and happy.
The data should, at the very least, prompt you to set aside that tedious financial report for five minutes, reach inside yourself to dredge up a bit of holiday season cheeriness, and go out and thank your staff.
The data, from Utah-based staffing company Express Employment Professionals, along with Harris Poll, is profound. Fully 99 percent of U.S. hiring managers surveyed said that they know that recognizing workers is important, and 53 percent admit it’s “absolutely essential.” But 45 percent say that there are no resources available for them to actually effectively show this recognition to their staff. In other words, nearly half of the 1,000 hiring managers surveyed feel they can’t properly thank their workers.
Employers think that a reputation for showing gratitude gives them a competitive advantage, as 93 percent say it boosts loyalty and 85 percent say it lowers staff turnover levels. And 82 percent of employers are willing to “invest in recognition for long-term success,” the report says. When they dole out gratitude and recognition, employers feel it makes workers feel valued, boosts morale, lifts productivity and engagement and strengthens loyalty. Many employers say that recognition is a frequent and ongoing situation (71 percent said this), with 70 percent saying they practice private praise, 65 percent praising workers in meetings, and 59 percent use company communications.
But among job seekers, only 54 percent say they’ve seen regular recognition by their employer, and 46 percent say praise and other rewards are often kept merely for “big wins.” Monthly recognition is very uncommon, the data show, with 27 percent experiencing private praise, 24 percent shoutouts, and 20 percent having been publicly praised.
From this you may conclude that many company leaders are paying lip service to the notion of expressing gratitude to their workers, but are coming up short on the actual delivery — either doling out infrequent or insubstantial rewards, only rewarding the highest achievers, or forgetting to thank their workforce altogether.
The report quotes a Forbes article that shows how meaningful rewards can boost worker morale, with recognition reportedly leading to a 366 percent increase in “fulfillment” among staff and a 208 percent increase in community. Though these big numbers imply that gratitude has positive benefits that extend beyond the holiday season, you might be wary of them: they quantify ephemeral feelings and emotions.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that U.S. employers could do better at expressing gratitude, from simple praise in private or public, to non-monetary perks and maybe even bonuses.
In several discussions on Reddit that touch on this topic, workers revealed many different ways companies either did or did not show praise properly. One commenter, with a particularly bad example of employer gratitude failure, noted that “The company I work for sent out a memo saying ‘it is a privilege to come to work’. Who the f*** do they think they are? Its my privilege to make them 1000’s of dollars every week? Okay, sure thing boss man.” Another user in the same thread pointed out that when it comes to showing gratitude “good employers do. Wish there were more of those, tho.”
A much more positive experience was related in a different thread by a user who noted “I’ve got birthday gifts from my current job, too. Boss and his sister give big hugs, kisses and even sing. This year I had mentioned needing new prescription glasses so they got me a ~ $200 voucher for the local optician.” This last quote has “family feeling,” and “small business employer” written all over it.
The final word for your company and your staff? Say thanks, and say it more often — not just at this time of year.
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Kit Eaton
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