Thought Leadership in Action

What are workers’ current attitudes concerning recognition and appreciation from their employers? And how important are these perspectives as driving factors behind employee engagement, job satisfaction and the motivation levels of the U.S. workforce?

To answer these questions and compile benchmarks for successful employee recognition strategies, Globoforce® , an international provider of employee recognition solutions, conducts a semi-annual Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker survey. The survey delves into how often and in what ways employees are being recognized and how they feel about their jobs, the recognition they receive and their company’s culture.

Survey data found a significant uptick in the importance of recognition over the previous year with an increasing number of organizations treating recognition as a critical way of engaging and unifying their global workforce as well as managing and growing their culture.

Overall, more companies have recognition programs than a year ago (65% compared to 51% in late 2011). In addition, the survey found that more employees had been recognized in the past three months (50% vs. 44% in fall of 2011). What’s more, recognition has become increasingly important to the workforce with many employees opting to remain with companies where they feel they are recognized rather than seeking out new jobs. In all 81% of employees said recognition made them more satisfied with their work and/or position in the company, an almost 10% increase from the year before.

Bottom line: recognition at work has emerged as an important way organizations can keep employees happy and engaged – and, conversely, companies without specific employee recognition programs are likely to be missing a significant opportunity to impact key HR and business metrics.

How Recognition Impacts Employees

Key findings from the Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker survey, compiled from 742 survey respondents:

1. Job satisfaction is linked to satisfaction with recognition. Workers' satisfaction with their levels of recognition rose 22% (from 49% in fall of 2011 to 60% a year later). 82% of employees polled said recognition makes them more satisfied with their work.

2. Employees are jumping ship when there’s a lack of recognition. The survey revealed that 42% of workers planned to look for another job during the next year. While the top reason for job-hunting elsewhere was compensation (62.7%), lack of recognition/appreciation was the second most important reason for wanting a job change (48.3%).

3. Strategic recognition reinforces core values and organizational objectives. When Globoforce asked employees if they were able to name their corporate values, those workers with recognition programs tied to values were 26% more likely to remember all or some of their company values. When asked whether recognition gave them a stronger sense of company goals and objectives, 79% of employees answered “yes.” Of surveyed workers who claimed to know all of their organization’s core values, 88% said they are engaged in their work, compared to 54% of respondents who said they didn't know any of their company values.

4. Frequent, ongoing recognition engages and motivates employees. The survey findings show that the more frequently employees are recognized, the more engaged and satisfied they become. For example, 78% of workers who were recognized within six months reported they loved their jobs. On the other hand, only 49% of employees who had not been recognized in six months shared that sentiment. Moreover, frequently recognized employees were 26% more likely to see their culture as positive (48% percent vs. 38%), and 70% more likely to be highly engaged (56% compared to 33%).

5. Employees with values-based recognition are far more satisfied with their levels of recognition and feel more appreciated. The survey found that 87% of employees of organizations that have formal, values-based recognition programs report feeling appreciated, versus 78% percent of those without values-based recognition and 57% of those with no recognition programs at all. In addition, workers with values-based recognition programs were found to be far less frustrated with getting things accomplished at their workplace and also described themselves as more engaged than employees whose recognition was not tied to values.

6. Recognition with an emailed “thank you” card has significantly less impact than recognition that includes a tangible reward. Almost three quarters of employees polled see “eThankyou” cards as less fulfilling and meaningful than receiving a thank you that includes some sort of gift or reward. In fact, emailed “thank you” cards were often considered disappointing.