Employee appreciation: 2 ways managers get it wrong
04 Jul 2014
When was the last time you thanked your employees for a job well done? If you don’t say it now, you may soon see your workers heading toward the door.
Acknowledgement and recognition can be two of your most effective performance management tools when addressing employee engagement. Unfortunately, many managers are struggling to integrate these simple factors into their productivity policies.
While this may be unbelievable – it can’t be that difficult to say thank you, can it? – a recent survey conducted by recruitment researcher Glassdoor revealed that almost a third (32 per cent) of employees believe their manager does not show them enough appreciation.
This is a troubling figure, particularly as more than half (53 per cent) of the respondents agreed that they would want to stay longer at their company if only they felt more appreciation from management. This shows that worker recognition is not just important for engagement, but also for improving retention and minimising business recruitment costs.
If your employees are started to feel unappreciated, here are two things you might be doing wrong.
Waiting for official appraisals to give feedback
Appraisals are designed as an opportunity to give your employees extensive feedback on their performance. However, if a manager saves every piece of feedback for the annual appraisal period, the employee can be left wondering whether they are on track eleven months out of the year.
Giving feedback should not be limited to official channels. Saying thank you or providing constructive criticism should occur on a regular basis. If you have something to say about an employee’s performance, don’t just make a note in the individual’s personnel file, talk to the worker.
Publicly criticising, privately praising
When an employee makes a mistake, it can be tempting to call them out in front of the team in order to make an example of their error. This way, everyone learns the lesson at the same time. However, this can cause significant resentment and embarrassment. Praise can be offered publicly, but criticism should always occur in private.