Sure, receiving an award at the annual holiday party for “most helpful employee” is cool, but have you ever felt the validation of receiving a thank-you email from your manager right after beating a tough deadline? When it comes to employee recognition, the verdict is simple: Workers just want to hear “thanks” a little more often. It’s the preferred way workers want to receive positive feedback, according to a survey of 1,500 workers conducted by Reward Gateway, an employee engagement platform. In fact, 75% of U.S. employees surveyed agreed that motivation and company morale would improve if managers simply thanked workers in real-time for a job well done. However, delivery of said consistent feedback is something two in three workers say their manager could be better at it. On the flip side, just 20% of workers said they liked receiving praise at a single event or function. Positive recognition is crucial to employee performance and retention. According to one survey, 60% of people say they value recognition as much as money, and 40% say they would put in more energy at work if they got more recognition. The desire for more real-time feedback (and praise) is one of the major reasons annual performance reviews have been on the decline, replaced by more frequent check-ins, like weekly one-on-ones between managers and reports. By some accounts, 60% of millennials want to hear from their managers at least once a day. Here’s how people-managers can easily make more real-time feedback the norm: Share the spotlight. Maybe it’s a Slack room dedicated to shouting out wins across the team, or a weekly email that runs down what projects were accomplished and by whom. Share information about where team members are succeeding, and encourage peer-to-peer recognition in the process. Get clear on expectations. It’s possible that the positive feedback isn’t there because there’s a disconnect between what you think your report is working on and what they actually are. Set an agenda for your routine check-ins that covers to-dos on ongoing projects and targets of completion by your next meeting. Ask how they want to receive recognition. Where some workers may feel validated by a quick thank-you email, another might feel the gesture is over-the-top. Get clear on how an employee feels about receiving feedback and in what form is most conducive to their working style. Post navigation What is employee resilience training? Are Travel Incentives Beyond Sales The Future?
