Earlier on this year, the Cicero Group commissioned by the O.C. Tanner Institute published the findings of a recent study about how organizations can drive employees to do great work. For this study, “great work” was defined as work that is productive, innovative, and makes a difference that people care about. The research was conducted across all industries in the United States in companies with over 1,000 employees. 980 respondents completed the online survey and were included in the analysis.
In order to find out what organizations can do to cause employees to produce great work, an open-ended question was asked: “What is the most important thing that your manager or company currently does (or could do) that would cause you to produce great work?” The answers were distributed into nine categories as follows:
Most important drivers of great work:
37% “Recognize me”
13% “Nothing, I’m self-motivated”
12% “Inspire me”
12% “Give me autonomy”
7% “Pay me more”
6% “Other”
6% “Train me”
4% “Give me a promotion”
3% “I don’t know”
37% of respondents identified recognition as the by far most important driver of great work. Please note that the participants answered an open-ended question giving them the chance to respond truthfully in their own words, unrestricted by preconceived options. The respondents didn’t state more money or extravagant perks and benefits like e.g. free access to gyms, free food, or open work space, but they rather identified performance recognition as the most important factor for great work.
As one survey participant put it: “When someone recognizes you for something you did or gives you appreciation, I feel that it hits the heart more than anything. Sure you can get a financial gain or perk, but if someone actually comes to you and recognizes you for what you do, that stands out more than anything. It is more personal.”
The good news is that you can provide recognition easily and almost at no cost (except the factor “time”). Nevertheless, the number one excuse why managers don’t recognize their people, it’s always time. But that’s just a faulty assumption and excuse. It takes only a very short time to recognize someone or a team publicly.
I recommend you make it a priority to recognize your people. After all, performance recognition is not only the key driver for great work, but also a strong driver of employee engagement which in turn is a key objective of high performing companies around the world.
Performance recognition improves relationships between managers and employees. It is also highly effective at increasing employees’ confidence in their skills. Therefore, I suggest you follow the recommendation of motivational guru Brian Tracy who states: “Praise is a powerful people-builder. Catch individuals doing something right.”
And management consultant Marcus Buckingham said: “Great managers don’t need to be reminded of the power of praise. They seem to know instinctively that praise isn’t merely a reaction to great performance; it is the cause of it.”
Knowing now that recognition is the number one thing a company or a manager could do to cause great work, let us make it a priority to praise our people.
