Employee recognition programs are often implemented in order to increase individual employee satisfaction, but one of the ‘bonus’ benefits is to create a more cohesive staff with more emphasis on teamwork.
Data from The Aberdeen Group (2012) revealed that companies with a formal recognition program with online tools reported that 46% of their employees are highly engaged. Engaged employees are more committed to achieving the overall business goals.
Collaboration
“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” (Vince Lombardi, USA football coach and executive).
True collaboration comes once you have put in place the right team. By celebrating and acknowledging the diverse individual talents within your business, you will be better positioned to identify teams that work best together. You can easily track individual commitment to a group effort through utilising employee recognition software. When managers and team members are able to recognise each other's contributions and talents, an invaluable trust is built up.
Furthermore, individuals are able to recognise the positive attributes in each other. If you're looking for reward and recognition ideas, click here.
Discretionary Effort
Discretionary effort, put simply, is when an employee will go above and beyond on a task, or throughout their work. Employee recognition shows an individual that their contribution counts. By demonstrably noting an employee’s efforts, you are showing their value to them and the rest of the team. And when someone feels valued, they are more likely to give more. The more given by the team as individuals, the more the team contributes and the more the company is brought together to achieve common goals.
What could be better as a manager than knowing the individual strengths of individuals and teams? This enables you to build better teams and increase efficiency.
Impact on Company
Understand and communicate your pride and gratitude for the contribution that your employees make, and you will reap the benefits. Satisfied employees are loyal and engaged and are more likely to pass on that enthusiasm to your clients, with whom they’ll often have daily conversations. The efficient and effective teamwork that you are fostering with a good recognition program will manifest itself in better results. And with all these happy employees and great results you’ll find yourself enjoying improved employee retention and a marked difference in top talent acquisition.