Many firms are unable to financially reward their top talent right now, making it important for managers to leverage non-monetary means like employee recognition to motivate their workforce.

Most employees today want their managers to realize that they’re working hard and making a difference. That makes it vital for business leaders to understand they should be placing much greater emphasis on their people, who are at the heart of their organizations.

According to findings published in the Society for Human Resource Management and Globoforce’s new Employee Recognition Programs 2012 winter survey, nearly two-thirds of HR professionals said that employee engagement is a “very important” challenge that their organization is currently facing. Organizations that have employee recognition programs in place are more likely to report that employees are rewarded according to their job performance (64 percent) and that managers effectively acknowledge and appreciate employees (55 percent).

Moreover, results from a recent OfficeTeam survey of administrative professionals indicate that receiving on-the-job recognition factors heavily in their decision to remain at a company. In the staffing services firm’s survey of 431 employees working in an office environment, nearly half (49 percent) of workers said they would be at least “somewhat likely” to leave their current position if they didn’t feel appreciated by their boss.

“No business can stand to lose talented, resourceful people at any time, but retention is particularly important in a difficult economy, when resources are already lean,” according to OfficeTeam. “There are serious bottom-line implications if employee morale and productivity diminish.”

When asked what type of recognition they value most, 38 percent of respondents said they prefer tangible rewards, such as financial compensation or gift cards; 21 percent favor opportunities to learn and grow; and 19 percent prefer receiving verbal or written praise.

“Professionals want to know their contributions make a difference and will be rewarded…”  Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, said in an announcement of the findings. “Because individuals like to be acknowledged in different ways, managers should find out what their workers value most and customize recognition accordingly.”

Based on OfficeTeam’s findings, these six tips can go a long way in ensuring companies’ recognition efforts have a positive effect on workers:

• Don’t take workers for granted. Although many employees may feel fortunate to simply have a stable job, this doesn’t mean employers can safely ignore workers’ needs for positive recognition and career support. Managers should remember that their best performers need to be on board when a firm begins to grow again.
• Be specific in praise. Workers want managers to be specific when providing recognition. Managers should clearly tie their praise to employees’ accomplishments. Individual acceptance and appreciation are essential to employees feeling a sense of worth in the workplace. Individual signs of appreciation for a job particularly well done can make a world of difference in terms of workers’ job satisfaction.
• Challenge employees. Professionals want to be recognized for their work, but not just any work. Challenging assignments and a feeling of accomplishment are among the top motivators to do a good job. Managers should offer their team members attainable career paths and work with them to develop professional goals that stretch their abilities.
• Don’t under- or overdo it. Never acknowledging employees’ efforts is a mistake, and doing so once or twice a year is nearly as harmful. At the same time, we’re not talking about giving employees a ribbon each time they do their job successfully; it’s what they were hired to do, after all. Even though employees don’t expect to be showered with constant praise, they do expect to receive meaningful recognition when warranted – that is, occasional recognition gestures when an employee accomplishes something that exceeds expectations.
• Inform up the chain. Although it is inevitable that some of the appreciation for successful projects will be misdirected over the course of a professional’s career, a prolonged pattern of lack of recognition (or hijacked ideas) can lead to employee disengagement. It’s important that managers let their own boss know when a worker has performed especially well.
• Customize rewards. Supervisors should actively learn what forms of acknowledgement their employees value. Then, they should offer it in a way that is truly meaningful. They can find out by asking staff directly with regularly scheduled touch-base meetings, performance reviews or anonymous informal surveys.

Management must improve their staff’s work experience now if they are to attain and retain top talent. As a non-monetary reward for employees who do their job well, recognition can go a long way toward achieving that goal.