Increasing Employee Performance through Recognition

A proven method that increases employee performance is timely reward and recognition.

In a 2019 Employee Preferences Survey by Gartner, an intentional reward and recognition program increased performance by 11 percent. 

Based on this survey, Gartner has identified three components to effective recognition:

Thank Them: Ensure you say “thank you” for a specific action or behavior displayed by the employee. These specific actions or behaviors should show how employees overcome organization or work-design barriers to achieve an outcome.

Share Reason for Recognition: Describe the specific actions the employee took or the behaviors they demonstrated. 

• Not Specific: “Thank you for being such a resourceful person!”
• Specific: “Thank you for collaborating across functions to overcome the challenge of limited information and completing the project on time.”

Explain Value-Add: Explain the impact that the employee’s action or behavior had on the team, business unit or organization.

With these components there are also recognition pitfalls to avoid including recognition that is not timely, recognition that is insincere or mechanical, public recognition for people who prefer being recognized in private, and criticism that undermines praise.

Specific ideas to recognize team members include sending thank you notes, posting an “Employee Honor Roll” in the reception area, or taking team members to lunch as a thank you.

Baylor specific ways to recognize faculty, staff, and student workers can be found on the HR website at https://hr.web.baylor.edu/benefits-advantages/employee-recognition.

For more information, regarding Baylor employee recognition, please reach out to the HR Service Center at askHR@baylor.edu.