Importance of Motivation in Employee Recognition Programs

All business entities, big or small, have human resource. Commonly known as employees, these people are an organization’s most valuable asset. These are individuals within the firm who serve as the organization’s human capital and work toward achieving the goals of the company. Without human workforce, establishments will not be able to perform its day-to-day operations. Even if an organization is not labor intensive, it is incontestable that a firm still needs human resource to manage and look over its undertakings, and continuously thrust the company towards proper administration, profitability and success.

The improvements and changes in the industry and economy besides increased awareness of employees as a valuable resource has changed the focus from controlling to managing this resource” (Purdy, 2007). As more and more organizations rely on human workforce, there is now the need to manage the most dynamic resource of a company, who are its employees. Recruiting the right kind of employees and training them to become productive are not only the seeming obligation of a company.

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But more importantly, keeping these employees motivated will not only enhance them personally but will encourage high performance, which will benefit the organization as well. “Employee morale within an organization has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of its customers and the company’s ultimate success” (Fretwell, 2002, p. 1). For that reason, companies perform different kinds of employee recognition programs that will significantly improve employee morale.

One very important detail to remember is that the leader of the organization must have the ability to identify and recognize decline in employee morale, factors causing such, and acceptance of this condition.

After which, there are many feasible areas to work on to be able to work out and tidy up the problem. It is very crucial to start with the management. One of the most important steps is to correspond. Communication is always important in maintaining a smooth professional relationship between employees and the management. Encourage the employees to come forward with issues, suggestions, conflicts, complaints, and feedbacks.

Listen carefully; do not leave the employees hanging. This way, management will be able to know clearly what factors are causing the employees to perform in such a way that disintegrates their work. Also, they will be able to know the multiple viewpoints of the employees, which if properly attended to, may have the effect of high morale. This method has always been simple and costs nothing at all! Plus it provides a powerful solution to morale problems. Once the leaders know the problem, it is easier to find probable solutions and ways of improving the esteem of the employees.

Make sure the employees have a clear understanding of their professional goals within the organization. Keep them up to date about the business, making them feel more involved. Encourage creativity and be consistent in the administration of rules and policies. This way, the employees will not feel they are being treated with prejudice once they get penalized for mistakes. Make them understand what they are going through. However, sometimes, letting the employees do they own work is what they need. They want to feel they are trusted to get their work done.

Teambuilding can also help eliminate negative feelings and actions by fostering respect among employees. The power to make decisions help employees realize their importance to the company, and this increases the esteem of the employees. Also, in order to get work done, and done right, the leaders of the organization need to give the employees the skills and tools for them to complete their tasks. This includes giving them support and the training that they need in order to improve or hone their abilities. Management must also identify and nurture those people who perform well and must groom them for leadership roles.

At the same time, it has to identify and help the average performers to improve themselves and their productivity. Acknowledging the work of the employees always gives them a reason to work harder and become recognized, making them even more enhanced and productive. Simple awards may do, like what establishments often offer, like “Employee of the Month” awards may be a step towards recognizing the employees’ hard work. Moreover, giving promotions to excellent and highly improved workers enable them to boost their confidence in terms of their work and push them to work even harder.

Provide a better working environment by assuring the safety of the employees while at the workplace. This gives them the guarantee that they are well taken care of by the management. Higher financial remunerations, bonuses and benefits promote the value of loyalty from the employees to the organization. With better compensation, employees are able to give high regard for their work and tend to become satisfied of what they are doing and whom they are working for. Develop incentive programs that improve both employee attitude and attendance rates. Most often, lack of incentive is the reason why employees do not get motivated to work.

Examples of this programs include “the ability to cash-in unused sick days at the end of a specific period, allowing employees to leave early one Friday per month of perfect attendance, bonus pay for periods of perfect attendance, and gifts such as savings bonds or gift cards for periods of perfect attendance” (Bushman, 2007, p. 4). Most importantly, beyond putting into primary importance the achievement of success and profitability is the need to take care of the organization’s people. If the employees believe that their bosses do not care either about the task or them, then they will not care either.

And naturally, the company and its operations will suffer. Building morale in an organization may not be as hard as one thinks The key to motivating employees is having them feel valued and appreciated by their superiors and within the company that they working hard for. It requires for each and every employee to feel a sense of achievement in career, a sense of belonging at the workplace, a sense of contribution to the organization, and a sense of appreciation for their involvement in the pursuance of the organization’s goals to achieve high employee morale, and eventually higher productivity and overall success.