The quality of an employee’s work experience not only influences their productivity, their engagement and their loyalty; it has a material impact on a company’s ability to attract future talent, drive innovation and satisfy customers.
Organizations that focus on the experience of their employees stand out. They are included more often in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work, they are more likely to be cited in LinkedIn’s list of Most In-Demand Employers, they are more likely to be listed among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and they are prominent within the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
It’s no wonder that C-level executives say that nurturing, managing and sustaining the employee experience is a top priority. Eighty percent of them rate that as either “important” or “very important.” Yet only 22% feel that their companies do an excellent job in that regard. The question is why? Where’s the discrepancy? They feel that their organizations lack the tools; they claim their teams are not ready, not prepared or not sure how to address the employee experience challenge.
Many factors go into the employee’s overall experience. But the amount of recognition an employee receives (along with the sources from which it comes) is one of the biggest. Here are 2 ways that social recognition can help companies build a better employee experience.
1/ By providing more feedback
Workers worldwide have one thing in common: they would like more feedback than they are currently getting. Sixty five percent of them say they don’t get enough praise and that dampens their enthusiasm.
Common sense dictates that the more feedback an employee receives, the better they will feel about their work. Conversely, when employees feel that the sacrifices they make, the extra efforts they put in and the great work they do are all taken for granted, they begin to feel that what they do just doesn’t matter.
Whether you are a Millennial or a Baby Boomer, everyone craves positive feedback. And when it’s absent we tend to categorize our experiences at work as negative.
Social recognition changes that. It broadens the likelihood that employees will get the recognition they crave. It ramps up the amount of appreciation an employee receives because it can come from multiple sources including coworkers as well as managers.
2/ By getting managers to recognize employees more
It’s virtually impossible to measure the full weight of an employee’s overall experience without considering the interactions they have with their boss.
Managers who can't, won't, or don't recognize their people put a definite damper on the employee experience. And believe it or not, there are still managers out there who ignore the good efforts of their employees. These managers see people who work for them as mere cogs on a wheel. They don’t just diminish the entire working experience; they drain the motivation out of each and every employee they come into contact with.
Madison can help your managers do all of that and more. With Maestro, our SaaS based social recognition solution; managers can easily set, communicate and reinforce the goals and objects that matter most. Whether it’s on an ongoing basis or when an employee exceeds expectations, the system helps managers applaud their contributions to the company or anyone else they work with. That type of consistent recognition from a manager elevates every employees’ experience.