Many employers believe it’s unnecessary to reward employees for a job they are getting paid to do, but what employers need to understand is that materialistic reward systems are not at all the same as recognizing employees …

This is exactly what I talk about in my speaker program on You’re The Person I WANT To Keep: Employee Motivation and Engagement. You must praise people when they do an exceptional job – when they knock the ball out of the ballpark. Yet, praise – recognition for doing an exception job above and beyond the call of duty – is frequently not mentioned, paraded in front of peers, or given an appropriate round of applause.

And that’s a complete turn-off to your best performers. They’ll start leaving over time when required praise is not given.

When was the last time you gave your employees praise for an exceptional job well done?

Do you keep a list of every major accomplishment for the entire organization day by day – whether the accomplishment was by a team or an individual? If you don’t know who is making great impact in your organization, how can you praise? If you don’t praise, how can you expect your employees to be satisfied, motivated, turned on, and engaged?

Starting tomorrow, begin making a list everytime someone in your organization EXCEEDS expectations (I guess this means you need to start defining expectations). Within minutes of hearing of this extraordinary achievement, some executive should be patting that individual on the back and giving sincere and heart-felt praise. This tiny, almost trivial activity will generate a cultural revolution within your organization. Try it for a few months and see if it doesn’t dramatically improve employee satisfaction, performance, and engagement.

Barry Deutsch

Read the full article on www.presentaplaque.com for the details for giving praise as a key component of a non-monetary reward and recognition system.