Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008 - (Page 27)

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AND RETENTION By Adecco How about a little something for the effort? Implementing a simple (yet successful) employee recognition and retention program. Do you know how many people who leave their job do so because they feel they aren’t receiving enough recognition? 79 percent – that’s nearly 8 out of 10! Now, here’s another statistic for you: 90 percent of employees say that feeling appreciated actually motivates them to do an even better job. Just imagine how quickly and dramatically businesses could reduce turnover and increase productivity if they only acknowledged their employees’ contributions. It really is that simple. In fact, you can implement an effective, cost-conscious employee recognition program almost overnight. Here are a few tips: • Ask your boss or someone even higher up to call and thank the employee. • Send hand-written thank you notes to your employees’ homes. Make sure you also thank their family for their support. Sometimes, it’s all about the money. They don’t call it “the almighty dollar” for nothing. Money is still a very powerful way to keep your employees satisﬁed and motivated. And, while you can’t run around handing out $100 bills to anyone who put in a little extra effort recently, it is important to make sure that your employees are being compensated fairly – both in comparison to their co-workers and by industry standards. However, fair pay is only a small part of a good employee recognition program. What’s most important is creating a dynamic and enjoyable culture that your best people want to be a part of for a long time to come. One reward doesn’t fit all. Every employee is an individual and every accomplishment is unique. A standard form of recognition for every achievement doesn’t do much to inspire your employees to continue doing their best – in fact it only makes your acknowledgement monotonous. Part of what makes a successful recognition program is maintaining the element of surprise, so try a little variety! You know your employees pretty well, so you should have a good idea of what each one will appreciate. Are they the type who prefers to be recognized ofﬁcially or personally; formally or informally; publicly or privately? Would they like a gift, a note, or just some simple verbal praise? Also, take into account what they did to deserve your recognition. Someone who just completed a rigorous two-month project should be rewarded more substantially than an employee who stayed late for a night or two. No matter what you do, make sure you take the time to customize your reward – when you put some thought into how you say “thanks,” your people will value it even more. Just say “thanks.” When it comes to keeping your best people satisﬁed, a sincere word of thanks from the right person at the right time can often mean much more than a formal award. So, take some time out of your busy day to seek out the person responsible and personally thank them as soon as possible. They made a signiﬁcant effort to do something great, so you can afford to make a small effort to acknowledge them. Here are a few simple ways for you to just say “thanks”: • Call employees into your ofﬁce just to thank them. Don’t discuss anything else. Article submitted by Adecco. For more information, or to get your complimentary copy of Retaining Key Employees, contact your local Adecco representative today or visit www.adeccousa.com Call employees into your office just to thank them. 27 http://www.adeccousa.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008

Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008 Contents 2008 State Council Officers and Directors President’s Message: Treasure Hunt Hire the Best, Keep the Best Legalislative Update: Legislative Roundup 2008 Conference and Expo Preview Virginia Universities Score Big at the Southerst Regional HR Games! Retention: A Strategic Approach The Top Ten Best Practices for Retention Employee Recognition and Retention Tactics for Winning the Talent War Your SHRM Southeast Regional Team Index to Advertisers Advertisers.com

Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008

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