How Is Employee Recognition A Fast Way To Boost Team Motivation?

You can create a major motivating influence when you show individual employee recognition. Check this against your own experience - how motivating is it for you when someone acknowledges and appreciates your efforts?

Most people welcome attention that is drawn to their skills or achievements. The opposite is also true: it's a common complaint from employees that their contributions are taken for granted. This means you have plenty of room to use recognition to boost motivation. And the good news is that the results can come quickly this way.

So why does recognition boost employee motivation? There are 3 main reasons:

1. People feel good when they get the approval of their leader. They will aim to get that good feeling again in the future. There's a warning though - you need to be consistent with the way you give recognition; if it's arbitrary or patchy its value will nosedive.

2. Recognition raises the status of the recipient. It raises their profile with you and perhaps with their colleagues too. Increasing status is a basic human drive, so you set in motion another desire for the future.

3. There is a deeper link between recognition and motivation. Robert Cialdini in his classic book 'Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion' explains the principle of consistency. Every person tends to behave in a way that is consistent with the way they see themselves.

This has been demonstrated in many experiments. In one such case, a survey was conducted of a number of house owners. Each was asked to predict what answer they would give if asked to volunteer three hours of their time to collect for a charity. Because they did not wish to seem mean, most said they would agree.

A few days afterwards, the same residents were called and asked to volunteer as collectors. There was a 700 percent increase over the normal volunteer rate! The residents responded in a way to be consistent with how they had answered the original survey.

So what are the implications for you and your team?

The principle of consistency means that when you show recognition of particular behaviours, you are encouraging more of the same in the future. So be sure to recognise what you want to encourage. An added bonus of focusing this way is that, due to the Law of Attraction, you are likely to find more behaviour worthy of recognition.

One other benefit stems from the fact that you are a role model for your team. So by showing employee recognition, you are effectively modelling the practice. Your team members are likely to copy your example and offer their appreciation to colleagues, making their own contribution to a positive working environment.

As soon as you make a start, you can expect some quick results.