It’s human nature to want praise for a job well done. This is especially true in the challenging hospitality field, where workers are tasked with pleasing their customers in a variety of settings, from restaurants to hotels and more. But sometimes managers are hard-pressed to remember to praise employees, especially when they are busy or stressed. This article will share some of the benefits of praising workers and giving recognition to our hospitality workers.
What Are the Benefits of Employee Recognition?
Praising staff, from a simple, “thank you” to more elaborate rewards, is an important way to keep your employees motivated and engaged. Engaged employees are an important part of a high-performing culture where more business gets done. Recent Gallup polling suggests that just over 10% of our employees feel like they have skin in the game engagement-wise. In the U.S., the numbers are higher, but still abysmal, at 33%. Could something as simple as praise make our workers improve? The answer, most studies suggest, is yes.
The benefits of employee recognition include:
- Higher productivity and efficiency as well as higher output. Employee recognition motivates employees to be nicer to customers and happier at work.
- Higher job satisfaction and happiness. These employees feel like what they do on the job matters to the business, so they care about doing their best. People naturally want to feel like what they do matters, so praising them makes them realize they’re doing something to benefit others affected by their work.
- Happier employees just naturally lend themselves to higher productivity. These employees are motivated and feel good about their work. They are grateful to help the team and want to take good care of their customers and those around them.
- Higher employee retention is another benefit of an employee recognition program. Poor morale leads to turnover; the opposite is true when employees are happier and engaged. Rewarding employees for their effort gives them a more tangible reason to work harder and stay longer.
- Increased customer loyalty is a side benefit of employer recognition, certainly, but this characteristic means the worker will stay true to your mission and goals. They will also work as a kind of brand ambassador, which may attract more talent to your team.
- Improves team culture by creating a feeling of “we’re all in this together.” You can promote this type of vibe by creating a peer review process as part of your recognition or formal evaluation process. Try creating an employee of the month program where the team members themselves pick the best of the best in your organization. Or, allow employees to nominate peers for a recognition program you create. Either way, this is important for the overall culture of the organization.
Creating Employee Recognition
While verbal praise should be an important part of any manager’s repertoire, creating a more formal employee recognition program is important to the overall organizational structure. When creating these programs, always include:
- A peer-to-peer recognition structure.
- Rewards for long-tenured employees.
- Instant recognition of a job well done.
- Good rewards beyond just praise so team members will work to achieve them.
You’ll be shocked at how employee recognition will change the tone at work every day. For more tips on how to improve your employee workforce, talk to the team at Gecko Hospitality.
