Employees were asked to rank order what they want at work from most to least important (Nelson, 1996). Of ten items, employees rated appreciation of their work as number one. Despite being of great importance to employees, managers predicted that appreciation would be the least important factor to employees. This suggests that recognition is often overlooked as a support tool by managers. Should it be? The short answer is ‘No,’ recognition is a critical engagement factor that should be incorporated into every organization’s talent management strategy. Employees want recognition but, more importantly, recognition is associated with job satisfaction and retention (Khowaja, Merchant, & Hirani, 2005), higher performance and engagement (Achor, 2016). According to a Gallup Poll, those recognized were less likely to think about leaving their organization. Yet, only 30% of workers polled had been recognized in the last week (McDonald, 2018).
A Case For Recognition: Employees Want It, And Organizations Need To Prioritize It
