Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson
once said, “Lash praise on people and people will flourish; criticize
and they shrivel up.” Branson may have discovered the secret to
successful relationships in both business and in life.
Asked why they quit their jobs and many employees – up to 79 percent
in one study—cite a lack of appreciation. The same reason is often given
when a spouse decides to end a marriage. A recent Wall Street Journal article
featured marriage and family experts who said, “A common cause of
divorce is the feeling of being unappreciated by one’s spouse…it is
essential to show appreciation to your spouse regularly, as in every
day.”
Appreciation, praise, and recognition hold relationships together.
The business compact is a relationship and most employees want the same
feeling they get from a supportive spouse—they want to be shown
appreciation. They want to be “celebrated every day.” I’m constantly
amazed at how many bosses fail to utilize one of the most powerful
retention and engagement tools at their disposal and that’s praise. I’ve
yet to meet an employee who says they get up
Monday morning because
their company offers free snacks in the vending machine or a discount on
gym memberships. However, I do get an earful from employees who are
thinking about leaving or actively looking for a new job because they
fail to receive simple recognition.
For example, a friend recently attended her company’s “President’s
club” trip as a reward for the company’s top salespeople. My friend has
been the number one salesperson at this particular company for several
years in a row. She loves her work. She loves the product. She takes
pride in her accomplishments. She’s also actively talking to recruiters
despite the fact that salary and bonuses add up to the mid six-figures.
She’s willing to take a pay cut to leave. Why? She feels as though she’s
never recognized publicly for her accomplishments. Her boss has never
sent out a company-wide email nor has he ever said anything to praise
her either in a private conversation or at a sales event. Some might
suggest that her salary is recognition enough. I’d argue that’s an
old-school philosophy. The fact is that regardless of how much people
make, most of us want to be singled out and recognized for our
accomplishments.
In another recent example my wife and I were having dinner with
friends. One of the people in our group works in the health insurance
field and, since I was preparing to deliver a keynote to insurance
executives, I asked her what she was missing—if anything—from the
relationship she has with her superiors. “I’d appreciate more
recognition for the role I play,” she immediately answered. “The
salespeople bring new accounts through the door, but I retain them. I
don’t feel as though my contributions are recognized.”
“In what way would you like to be recognized?” I asked. “Do you want more money?”
“Of course more money would be nice, but even public praise would be huge!”
In both of the examples I’ve cited, the word “public” has come up.
Praise is good. Making it public is even better. The Ritz-Carlton hotel
chain has institutionalized public praise. Every day at every
Ritz-Carlton hotel each department meets for a “line-up,” a 15-minute
staff meeting where managers share stories of employees exceeding the
expectations of the hotel’s guests. A former president of the
Ritz-Carlton chain once told me that the stories serve two purposes.
First, the stories are learning opportunities, providing employees
specific examples of exceptional customer service. Second, the stories
provide a means of publicly praising those employees who provided the
service. The Ritz-Carlton has invited me to attend some of these
meetings as an observer. In my experience I’ve rarely seen a more
enthusiastic, committed, and engaged group of employees. To a person
they enjoy the stories and they especially love being recognized in
front of their peers.
A study conducted by Wichita State University
found that of sixty-five motivating factors in the workplace the top
five were “praise related,” yet 81 percent of employees “seldom or never
received public praise.” As the economy improves many of your best
employees might start looking for new opportunities.
Praise might just
be the perk your company or department is missing.
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