Are you working for a dinosaur?

The results from a new survey involving 3,053 employees have put managers in the spotlight after 62% of employees have rated them as “Very Poor”, “Poor” or just “Satisfactory” at delivering specific and timely praise.

The basic premise from the survey was that ‘managers are driving employees away’ and that recognition is a powerful driver. As leaders we need to be empowered to say thanks, and given the tools to do it now, because a substantial number of employees will leave if they don’t receive recognition.

Fifty-two percent of employees say not receiving any recognition would be a contributing factor in their decision to leave their organisation, and 28% would leave if they were not receiving any recognition at all.

Many managers are taking a head in the sand approach to leading people, and it is simply not enough. The problem will go away – people will simply leave.

Moment by moment by moment, managers must recognise their people, it’s a business imperative. When the market delivers such a challenging time, it is essential for an organisation to know its people are behind them and truly engaged in what it is trying to achieve.

Other key findings from the survey continued to point the finger at managers, these include:

• Managers don’t know their people – two thirds of employees, across all generations are convinced their managers don’t know what motivates them to be more productive, proving managers need to take the time to get to know what inspires and drives their people.
  
• Employees lose out when recognition is up to the Manager – 70% of employees say the level of praise they receive from their manager depends on the priorities of the manager and the manager’s style, and only 30 percent receive praise because it is company policy. Organisations cannot afford to put lip service to this – any acknowledgement needs to be authentic, personal and relevant to a specific activity. Saying thanks and you’re a ‘good bloke’ is not enough. People need to know what they did specifically that contributed to a business result.
  
• Praise is not frequent enough – One in five employees does not receive any praise at all or at best, it only happens once per year.
  
• Recognition means the most from the manager – Close to half of employees surveyed want to be recognised directly by their manager on a one on one basis.
  
• This was followed by 37% who want a combination of recognition in front of their team, the entire company, one to one with the manager, and privately over email or a hand written note.

The way that someone is acknowledged is as important as the acknowledgement itself. The more relevant and personal the greater the impact the recognition will have.

The survey also demonstrated that having a formal recognition program means there is a structured business approach to recognition and it doesn’t get forgotten. Only 34% of companies were rated as being “Excellent” and “Good” at rewarding and recognising their employees. Companies that had a formal reward and recognition program have double the positive ratings for recognising their people.

Now is the best time to make an impression on employees because 70% of Australian employees are not expecting a card or any kind of gift from their managers at the end of the year. This represents a great opportunity for managers to reinforce their relationships with their teams, strengthen the bonds and surprise employees with an unexpected gift or authentic recognition. It has been a big year and it is time to say thanks.

Engagement is a journey that many organisations are just starting – and have a long rocky road ahead of them. We need to support managers with the tools, training and strategic imperative to make recognition as important as commercial rigor.

To read more Naomi Simson blogs, click here .

Naomi Simson is the 2008 National Telstra Women’s Business Award winner for Innovation. Naomi was also a finalist for the Australian HR Awards and a finalist for the BRW Most Admired Business Owner Award in 2008. Also in 2008 RedBalloon achieved a 97% Hewitt employee engagement score. One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a professional speaker inspiring middle to high-level leaders on employer branding, engagement and reward and recognition. Naomi writes a blog and has written a book sharing the lessons from her first five years.