Employee recognition

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Employee recognition is the timely, informal or formal acknowledgement of a person's behavior, effort, or business result that supports the organization's goals and values, and exceeds their superior's normal expectations. [1] Recognition has been held to be a constructive response and a judgment made about a person's contribution, reflecting not just work performance but also personal dedication and engagement on a regular or ad hoc basis, and expressed formally or informally, individually or collectively, privately or publicly, and monetarily or non-monetarily (Brun & Dugas, 2008). [2]

Contents

Theoretical foundation

The track of scientific research around employee recognition and motivation was constructed on the foundation of early theories of behavioral science and psychology. [3] The earliest scientific papers on employee recognition have tended to draw upon a combination of needs-based motivation (for example, Hertzberg 1966; Maslow 1943) theories and reinforcement theory (Mainly Pavlov 1902; B.F. Skinner 1938) as a foundation for the effects of employee recognition. [4]

Needs-based motivation

Needs-based motivation theories are based on the argument that humans have basic drives that motivate them to behave in ways that help them fulfill those needs.

Reinforcement theory

Reinforcement theory has its roots in the work of behavioral psychologists John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, E.L. Thorndike and B.F. Skinner. It argues that people can be conditioned through rewards, which can be intangible in nature, and punishments to repeat rewarded behaviors and cease unrewarded behaviors. [9] Through this process of conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and the consequence for that behavior, either an incentive or a deterrent. The theory is based on Thorndike's (1911) law of effect , which states that people are likely to repeat behavior that produces a pleasurable outcome. [10]

Types of employee recognition programs

According to Punke (2013), recognition programs should be balanced between performance-based and value-based initiatives, but the programs should be composed by of three methods: formal, informal and day-to-day recognition. [11]

Formal recognition

A ceremony is being held to recognize employees for their work. They are giving out certificates. CFO Employee Recognition Ceremony - 47818263392.jpg
A ceremony is being held to recognize employees for their work. They are giving out certificates.

Formal recognition is the concept of reinforcing employee accomplishments through formal company programs, such as an employee of the month program (Stajkovic, 2009). It consists of structured recognition programs with clearly defined objectives, processes, and criteria linked to rewarding and recognizing individuals, teams, or departments on a company-wide level for achieving specific business targets, exemplifying specific organizational values, or performing actions that go above and beyond normal work expectations. When determining recognition criteria, it is worth following the method of forming SMART goals. [12] According to Punke (2013), this approach is extremely organized recognition involving recognizing employees who have done so many years of service at the organization.

Informal recognition

Informal recognition is the idea of an individual or group providing contingently informal genuine acknowledgement, approval, and appreciation for work well done in a group (Stajkovic, 2009). [13] It focuses primarily on performance achievements, goal accomplishments, and other milestones by individuals or teams that may occur monthly or quarterly. It may include low-cost awards, refreshments, point-value incentives, gift cards, and certificates. Informal recognition programs have been identified to point out employee value and contribution at the right moment as a result of its instantaneous nature and the continuous changing work environment. For example, "Good job" isn't enough, but "I noticed that you helped out Joe while your equipment was being serviced by the maintenance crew" is short, to the point, and shows appreciation. [14]

Day-to-day recognition

It is a type of recognition practices that are frequent (daily or weekly), low or no cost, often intangible and often reliant on interpersonal skills for positive feedback that can be given to all employees. According to Harrison (2005), the day-to-day recognition brings the benefit of immediate and powerful reinforcement of desired behavior and sets an example to other employees of desired behavior that aligns with organizational objectives. To him, it gives individuals and teams at all levels the opportunity to recognize good work by other employees and teams, and it also gives the opportunity for them to be recognized on the spot for their own good work.

Types of employee recognition practices

In relation to employee recognition programs, there are four recognition practices: existential recognition, recognition of work practice, recognition of job dedication, and recognition of results. These four recognition practices recognize employees as full fledged individuals as well as workers capable of being committed to their jobs by investing time and energy to perform duties competently and deliver concrete results (Amoatemaa & Kyeremeh, 2016). [15] These practices use direct compensation to show acknowledgement and appreciation for employees.

Existential recognition

This recognition is focused on the individual and/or group. Through existential recognition, individuals are granted the right to voice their opinions about and influence decision-making, as well as the course of their own and the organization’s actions (Brun & Dugas, 2008). [16] A vertical interaction level example of this is authorizing flexible work schedules.

Recognition of work practice

This shows employee recognition by granting awards. Sonoma County Winegrowers 2020 Employee Recognition Luncheon 02.jpg
This shows employee recognition by granting awards.

This recognition focuses on the performance of employees job procedures, including their competencies and proficiencies. An organizational interaction level example of this is rewarding innovation by granting awards.

Recognition of job dedication

This recognition also involves the work process but focuses more on the involvement of employees either independently or within a team. This includes aspects such as contribution, commitment, and engagement. A horizontal interaction level example of this is a letter of thanks and/or acknowledgement from a manager to an employee for their dedication to a project.

Recognition of results

This recognition focuses on the end result/product of employee work in relation to the corporation's objectives/goals. As an expression of judgment, appreciation and gratitude toward an individual or team, recognition of results is concerned primarily with the effectiveness, benefit and value of the work performed (Brun & Dugas, 2008). [16] An organizational interaction level example of this is awarding bonuses as incentives to accomplish goals.

Importance in countries

Countries value employee recognition to have importance in the organization, but how important it is will differ in the area. A survey in the Public Sector [17] identified employee recognition in Canada values the ideal of having greater importance than in the United States. Statistics shown that 87% of Canadians believe that it is important, while only 78% of Americans believe that statement. However, the knowledge and communication of formal and informal recognition in the United States has higher percentage than Canadians. Formal recognition in the United States by managers has been communicated by 50% and informal recognition by 34%, while Canadian managers communicated 34% of formal recognition and 17% of informal recognition. The recognition is different, as different policies and legislation are being established, while some are already formed .

Correlation between employee recognition and productivity

A case study from M-Nic Consultancy and Research Centre (M-Nic CRC) observed that the correlation between employee recognition and employee productivity are highly related. [18] The results from the data presented showed that saying "thank you" can improve productivity by 82.9%. Praises of work can improve productivity by 88.8%. Offering simple gifts would improve productivity by 90.9%. Appreciation of work done improves the productivity by 86.4%, making the workplace exceptional would improve by 90% and providing flexible holiday schedules by 95.7%. The data of the relationship provided gives insight of how the two are connected in a business setting. Depending on the individual, the different kinds of recognition would be preferred over another.

Benefits

Employee recognition has been identified to be a highly effective motivational instrument that can have significant positive impact on employee job satisfaction and performance as well as overall organisational performance (Rahim & Duad, 2013). [19] When effective recognition is provided in the workplace, this contributes towards a favorable working environment, which can motivate employees to become committed to their work and excel in their performance. Highly motivated employees serve as the competitive advantage for an organisation because their performance leads an organization to well accomplishment of its goals and business strategy. By consistently and frequently applying formal, informal and everyday recognition programs, organisations are provided with a powerful tool for influencing employees to live the organisation's values and implement its focus (Herzberg, 1996 as cited in Luthans, 2000). It also affords the organisation opportunity to highlight desired actions and behavior thereby creating role models for other employees (Silverman, 2004). [20] By specifically reinforcing expected behavior, organisations not only indicate to employees that their efforts are noticed and appreciated but also inculcate in them the organisational values, goals, objectives, priorities and their role in achieving them. As a motivational tool, employee recognition programs assist employees to see how they contribute to bottom-line results and how their contributions will be recognized and rewarded immediately. In any case formal, informal and every day recognition programs are able to satisfy both employees' and employers' needs as well as bring the maximum result and function for organizations.

Consequences

Employee recognition is mainly perceived as having a positive impacts towards the business. However, there are some negative impacts like unfairness, favoritism, and bias. [21] These effects can lead to poor performance can lead to a poor performance and decrease employee productivity. Employees who receive the recognition may react differently, as they may be working too hard in comparison to the other workers. [21] Other employees who do not receive recognition may feel neglected. Both of these scenarios may decrease the productivity in the workplace. These can damage the relationships from within the business. Another consequence that could arise is gender inequality in the workplace in regards to promotion. In Universities women are less likely to be promoted . . . as much as their male colleagues, or even get jobs in the first place (Savigny, 2014). [22] This is an example of women being less recognized than men which may create feelings of mistreatment and lead to reduced productivity in female employees, ultimately resulting in lower job satisfaction and therefore lower job performance.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maslow's hierarchy of needs</span> Theory of developmental psychology

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an idea in psychology proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in the journal Psychological Review. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans. The theory is a classification system intended to reflect the universal needs of society as its base, then proceeding to more acquired emotions. The hierarchy of needs is split between deficiency needs and growth needs, with two key themes involved within the theory being individualism and the prioritization of needs. While the theory is usually shown as a pyramid in illustrations, Maslow himself never created a pyramid to represent the hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs is a psychological idea and also an assessment tool, particularly in education, healthcare and social work. The hierarchy remains a popular framework, for example in sociology research, management training, and higher education.

Frederick Irving Herzberg was an American psychologist who became one of the most influential names in business management. He is most famous for introducing job enrichment and the Motivator-Hygiene theory. His 1968 publication "One More Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?" had sold 1.2 million reprints by 1987 and was the most requested article from the Harvard Business Review.

Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often held that different mental states compete with each other and that only the strongest state determines behavior. This means that we can be motivated to do something without actually doing it. The paradigmatic mental state providing motivation is desire. But various other states, such as beliefs about what one ought to do or intentions, may also provide motivation. Motivation is derived from the word 'motive', which denotes a person's needs, desires, wants, or urges. It is the process of motivating individuals to take action in order to achieve a goal. The psychological elements fueling people's behavior in the context of job goals might include a desire for money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Job satisfaction</span> Attitude of a person towards work

Job satisfaction, employee satisfaction or work satisfaction is a measure of workers' contentedness with their job, whether they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision. Job satisfaction can be measured in cognitive (evaluative), affective, and behavioral components. Researchers have also noted that job satisfaction measures vary in the extent to which they measure feelings about the job. or cognitions about the job.

Expectancy theory proposes that an individual will behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over others due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be. In essence, the motivation of the behavior selection is determined by the desirability of the outcome. However, at the core of the theory is the cognitive process of how an individual processes the different motivational elements. This is done before making the ultimate choice. The outcome is not the sole determining factor in making the decision of how to behave.

The two-factor theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other. It was developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theory X and Theory Y</span> Theories of human motivation

Theory X and Theory Y are theories of human work motivation and management. They were created by Douglas McGregor while he was working at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the 1950s, and developed further in the 1960s. McGregor's work was rooted in motivation theory alongside the works of Abraham Maslow, who created the hierarchy of needs. The two theories proposed by McGregor describe contrasting models of workforce motivation applied by managers in human resource management, organizational behavior, organizational communication and organizational development. Theory X explains the importance of heightened supervision, external rewards, and penalties, while Theory Y highlights the motivating role of job satisfaction and encourages workers to approach tasks without direct supervision. Management use of Theory X and Theory Y can affect employee motivation and productivity in different ways, and managers may choose to implement strategies from both theories into their practices.

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Theory Z is a name for various theories of human motivation built on Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. Theories X, Y and various versions of Z have been used in human resource management, organizational behavior, organizational communication and organizational development.


Managerial psychology is a sub-discipline of industrial and organizational psychology that focuses on the effectiveness of individuals and groups in the workplace, using behavioral science.

Organizational ethics is the ethics of an organization, and it is how an organization responds to an internal or external stimulus. Organizational ethics is interdependent with the organizational culture. Although it is to both organizational behavior and industrial and organizational psychology as well as business ethics on the micro and macro levels, organizational ethics is neither organizational behavior nor industrial and organizational psychology, nor is it solely business ethics. Organizational ethics express the values of an organization to its employees and/or other entities irrespective of governmental and/or regulatory laws.

Job performance assesses whether a person performs a job well. Job performance, studied academically as part of industrial and organizational psychology, also forms a part of human resources management. Performance is an important criterion for organizational outcomes and success. John P. Campbell describes job performance as an individual-level variable, or something a single person does. This differentiates it from more encompassing constructs such as organizational performance or national performance, which are higher-level variables.

Participative decision-making (PDM) is the extent to which employers allow or encourage employees to share or participate in organizational decision-making. According to Cotton et al., the format of PDM could be formal or informal. In addition, the degree of participation could range from zero to 100% in different participative management (PM) stages.

Employee retention is the ability of an organization to retain its employees and ensure sustainability. Employee retention can be represented by a simple statistic. Employee retention is also the strategies employers use to try to retain the employees in their workforce.

Work motivation is a person's internal disposition toward work. To further this, an incentive is the anticipated reward or aversive event available in the environment. While motivation can often be used as a tool to help predict behavior, it varies greatly among individuals and must often be combined with ability and environmental factors to actually influence behavior and performance. Results from a 2012 study, which examined age-related differences in work motivation, suggest a "shift in people's motives" rather than a general decline in motivation with age. That is, it seemed that older employees were less motivated by extrinsically related features of a job, but more by intrinsically rewarding job features. Work motivation is strongly influenced by certain cultural characteristics. Between countries with comparable levels of economic development, collectivist countries tend to have higher levels of work motivation than do countries that tend toward individualism. Similarly measured, higher levels of work motivation can be found in countries that exhibit a long versus a short-term orientation. Also, while national income is not itself a strong predictor of work motivation, indicators that describe a nation's economic strength and stability, such as life expectancy, are. Work motivation decreases as a nation's long-term economic strength increases. Currently work motivation research has explored motivation that may not be consciously driven. This method goal setting is referred to as goal priming. Effects of primed subconscious goals in addition to goals that are consciously set related to job performance have been studied by Stajkovic, Latham, Sergent, and Peterson, who conducted research on a CEO of a for-profit business organization using goal priming to motivate job performance. Goal priming refers to the achievement of a goal by external cues given. These cues can affect information processing and behaviour the pursuit of this goal. In this study, the goal was primed by the CEO using achievement related words strategy placed in emails to employees. This seemingly small gesture alone not only cost the CEO very little money, but it increased objectively measured performance efficiency by 35% and effectiveness by 15% over the course of a 5-day work week. There has been controversy about the true efficacy of this work as to date, only four goal priming experiments have been conducted. However, the results of these studies found support for the hypothesis that primed goals do enhance performance in a for-profit business organization setting.

Employee motivation is an intrinsic and internal drive to put forth the necessary effort and action towards work-related activities. It has been broadly defined as the "psychological forces that determine the direction of a person's behavior in an organisation, a person's level of effort and a person's level of persistence". Also, "Motivation can be thought of as the willingness to expend energy to achieve a goal or a reward. Motivation at work has been defined as 'the sum of the processes that influence the arousal, direction, and maintenance of behaviors relevant to work settings'." Motivated employees are essential to the success of an organization as motivated employees are generally more productive at the work place.

Reward management is concerned with the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies that aim to reward people fairly, equitably and consistently in accordance with their value to the organization.

Job characteristics theory is a theory of work design. It provides “a set of implementing principles for enriching jobs in organizational settings”. The original version of job characteristics theory proposed a model of five “core” job characteristics that affect five work-related outcomes through three psychological states.

Employee motivation, also known as work motivation, is a feature of employees that refers to how motivated they are to work. It has a significant impact on employee productivity and efficiency." While motivation is defined as why individuals do or participate in certain behaviors.

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