The POWER of Awards and Recognition

BY JILL ALBERS

Corporations across the globe ask the question, “How can we retain our most valuable employees?” With turnover rates skyrocketing across the United States, it’s no wonder companies are searching for ways to secure talent. We live in a world where only 30 percent of employees feel an obligation to stay with their current employer. With the baby boomers retiring and executive mobility doubling each decade, the major challenge for CEOs throughout the next 20 years will be the deployment of human needs.

Award and recognition programs have the ability to reverse the dramatic drop in employee loyalty. A Gallup Poll revealed that recognition programs can produce 50 percent lower turnover and increase employee loyalty by 38 percent.

Recognition programs have a large impact on the most basic of human needs. Abraham Maslow’s theory, commonly known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, contends that as people meet their basic desires, they seek to satisfy higher ones. Using this theory of psychology, one can see how recognition and award programs can affect workers on several levels. Included in the theoretical structure are many basic needs that can be addressed in the workplace.

The Hierarchy of Needs pyramid shows us that these programs can affect people on several levels: self-actualization, self-esteem, affiliation and safety. Employees want to be recognized for their achievements and motivated to do better. Recognition taps directly into these human needs.

According to the pyramid, the most basic level is physical needs, satisfied indirectly through a paycheck. The next level up is safety, requiring a safe environment and job security. Next is affiliation and acceptance, followed by self-esteem, all of which are easily bolstered by awards. The top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which includes needs met by a person feeling satisfied with his or her performance and contribution in the workplace. Through recognizing an employee’s value to a company and encouraging him or her to further accomplishments, an employer can satisfy all levels on Maslow’s pyramid, thus fostering a long working relationship.

According to a Gallup Poll, however, managers tend to be misguided about what their employees really value in terms of career satisfaction. The top three things managers said they thought their employees wanted, in order, were good pay, job security, and promotion and growth. Conversely, the top three things employees said contributed to their career satisfaction, in order, were interesting work, which managers thought would be fifth for their employees;

full appreciation for work done, which managers thought would be eighth; and inclusion, which managers ranked 10th. It is amazing how different these views are! But if employers and managers can tap into recognition to secure and empower their workforce, they will gain employee loyalty — and ultimately, reduce turnover.

When it comes to cash, human capital is in the top three company expenditures. Why do companies continue to waste money training and hiring new employees when they could be rewarding current talent and reducing wasted capital? It would be much more profitable to invest in recognition as an accelerant. Organizations that do recognize excellence experience financial performance three times higher than companies that do not, according to the market research firm, The Jackson Organization. Recognition increases a return on asset, equity and margin.

So how should Corporate America go about investing in human capital? They can do so by implementing recognition solutions through various avenues and levels of recognition such as “years of service” awards, “levels of achievement” programs and “job well done” awards. Also, a company can recognize each and every employee with a nameplate and date of hire program; this will make the employee feel valued as part of a team. Every awards and recognition program promotes self-esteem and value, which is a common aspiration — to be acknowledged for a job well done. This, in return, develops and enhances corporate culture. It also promotes effective organizational leadership and becomes a return on any company’s most valuable asset: its people.

Recognition and awards programs are the glue that can bond an employee to a company. They are better than money, gift cards or processions because they stand for more than monetary value. They stand for achievement and are a constant reminder of success that drives an employee to do better.

Jill Albers has been in the industry almost three years. As a brand manager for Celina, Ohio-based Visions Awards and Awardcraft, she is responsible for the company’s media presence and positioning it within the industry to brand its identity. She also works closely with sales to develop 8th Floor Promotions’ catalogs, programs and presentations, and advertising collateral, as well as helping with trade shows and new product development. For more information, visit www.awardcraft.com, www.visionswards.com or e-mail her at jalbers@efpmail.com.