Strategic HR: Make Employee Recognition a Priority

Strategic HR is doing work that supports your company’s long-term business goals and outcomes. People are a huge part in the success of your company. People are your HR’s main business, and they’re also a company’s biggest determinant of success. HR will always, always be in the mix. Here are three main reasons why employee recognition is a huge way you can be strategic and impact your company’s goals:

1. Engagement. Recognition is a proven engagement tool. When people feel like they’re an integral part of your company and that their work has meaning, they’ll do whatever it takes to do their best work. Give them that boost by showing they are valuable to the company by recognizing them for it or rewarding them when you see them doing great work. In a Global Workforce study, companies with more engaged employees had a 19 percent and 28 percent increase in operating income and earnings per share (respectively) over a year. One simple way to get your people engaged is by giving them the recognition they crave. Sixty-nine percent of employees would work harder if they were better recognized. —Globoforce

2. Retention. You need your top talent to stick around, yet 60 percent of companies consider retention our biggest problem. Would you stick around at a job where your contributions weren’t appreciated? We all want to feel valued. Reward and recognition can help employees feel that way. Nearly half of all employees said they would leave their employer for a company that recognized employees for the contributions. —Globoforce

3. Measurable business results. In this day, you’ve got to have numbers that back up where you focus your efforts. When you spend time and money on a particular program—like reward and recognition programs—you have to prove it’s working. How? For one, you can track and report on retention since you’ve implemented a program. That higher retention and engagement will boost other numbers. Do the reports. Confirm a reward & recognition program is a valuable place to focus. Show others when needed. “Organizations that give regular thanks to their employees far outperform those that don’t.” —Josh Bersin

The best part of having a hand in this area of strategic HR? We’re brightening our employees’ days! People LOVE being recognized for doing great work. We’re helping them feel valued and appreciated, which is a hugely positive experience we crave. It’s just fun to make a real difference in our employees’ job satisfaction. We want to help our people grow and love their jobs. Recognition is one of the best, tried-and-true ways to do it. If you want to have a real impact on the long-term success of your company—and have fun while doing it—it’s time to deliberately and thoughtfully plan your strategy around employee recognition.