The holidays are time to reflect and give thanks for the important people in your life. Family and friends gather together to spend time, honor traditions, and make new memories.

This season of gratitude is the perfect time to also reflect on whether your employees and direct reports are also aware of the importance they hold both in your professional life and your company.

According to studies by Gallup, Deloitte and Aberdeen, “65% of Americans report receiving no recognition during the past year at their work.” That’s an incredible majority of our workforce that feels undervalued and underappreciated in their daily jobs.

As you take time to evaluate whether your employees are consistently recognized for their performance, consider the wide-ranging benefits associated with employee recognition.

Higher Employee Motivation

Professionals who are highly motivated, and engaged in their job tend to have better workplace performance. SnackNation has compiled a plethora of infographics on employee recognition, and they’ve found that “managers who recognize their employees’ performance, increase employee engagement by nearly 60%.”

Simple employee recognition can have an immense ripple-effect on your company as motivated employees can increase productivity, drive greater innovation, and propel your business forward to lead the competition.

Long-Term Employee Satisfaction

When employees are happy, they tend to stick around longer. Companies with “recognition-rich culture” can experience up to 31% lower turnover rates.

In the long-term, employee satisfaction has the potential to save businesses a large chunk of money. Less turnover translates to lower hiring and training costs, with greater continued momentum to growing your company’s bottom-line. While happy employees drive cultural benefits, they also hold revenue-impacting power.

Sets the Tone for Corporate Culture

By systematically recognizing employee performance, companies are setting the bar for how the company expects its employees to be treated. This sets an invaluable precedent that trickles down to managers and leaders, setting the expectation that all employees should be recognized for strong performance.

Millennials in particular value recognition highly. As millennials continue to shape a greater share of our workforce, companies with strong recognition cultures will have an advantage in the recruitment process. The ability to gain top talent will continually fuel your organization.

These cultural precedents can only succeed when supported top-down in the organization, with the c-suite as the driving force behind a recognition-rich culture.

One thing to note: Not all recognition is the same. Immediate monetary rewards are most desired by employees. While non-monetary rewards like praise and long-term monetary rewards like bonuses are indeed powerful, employees are most motivated by the tangible rewards that immediately follow their performance. While it may not be possible to hand out checks for every good deed, this preference is critical to note when reflecting on your company’s recognition practices.

Happy Holidays!

Burchard & Associates is an executive search firm specialized in accounting and finance recruiting across all business sectors, including manufacturing, retail, wholesale/distribution, healthcare, financial services, and more.

If you’re searching for executive positions in the accounting or finance industries, be sure to check out the latest job postings on our website and LinkedIn!