Recognition for employees has always been an important part of good business practices. Today, as the competition for talented workers has escalated, the ways companies demonstrate that they value their employees have become even more important than ever before.

In fact, according to Gallup, 85 percent of workers aren’t feeling engaged at their jobs. Employee recognition programs provide an easy way for employees to show their appreciation for each other’s hard work. Employees who recognize each other for making progress toward and reaching their goals earn recognition from one another.

Organizations with recognition programs in place experience 28.6% lower frustration levels than those without. Source: quantumworkplace.com

It’s easy to give shoutouts or celebrate successes even if they’re small. Performance and engagement software helps companies improve their team’s productivity by promoting collaboration, encouraging employees to engage one another, and rewarding them for doing so. 

According to Gallup research, people who aren’t feeling appreciated by their employers are two times more likely to leave their jobs than others. Leaders must be mindful of retaining their employees when trying to drive increased productivity. It would take some effort to find an organization that doesn’t care about keeping its best employees. Top performers will always look for better options if their current employer makes them feel undervalued.

In order for employees to feel appreciated by their manager, they need to be able to recognize when their boss likes them and wants to show his/her appreciation. Frequent and timely feedback helps employees know whether they’re doing well at their jobs and reinforces company culture by showing them how important their contributions are.

Make sure you’ve got some kind of recognition program set up if you haven’t already.

Continual conversations are better and more effective than annual reviews.

Annual performance appraisals are often used as a tool for motivating employees. But they’re not very effective at getting people to change their behavior. Instead, you should focus on providing ongoing feedback throughout the year.