Melbourne: A few simple words work more than a modest pay raise when it comes to retaining staff, says the new survey.
According to a survey of 1000 workers by UK consulting firm White Water Strategies, saying ‘thank you’ often has the same impact on job satisfaction as a salary hike.
In the survey, a third of employees reported that they were not thanked at all when they did well, while a further third said they were not thanked enough.
The research showed that praising staff had the same motivational kick as a 1 per cent pay rise.
It also revealed that those in blue-collar jobs were less likely to be given any recognition for a job well done.
The results were not a surprise for David Brown, Managing Director of Human resources consultancy Hewitt Associates.
He said that Hewitt Associates 2007 Best Employers survey of 221 Australian businesses also shows that level of employee recognition is directly correlated to productivity.
The research showed that in the businesses considered best employers, 65 per cent of staff reported receiving adequate recognition for their contribution, against only 42 per cent in other organisations.
Best employers also showed higher productivity, which eventually affected their bottom line.
Brown said that employees are more likely to speak positively about their employers, work harder and stick with the company of given frequent recognition for their contribution.
He has suggested companies, who often offer bigger pay cheques as a reward for work well done, that raising salaries isn't always the best way to engage staff.
"Our experience is that when we look at all of the drivers of engagement, pay is usually fairly low on the list of drivers,'' News.com.au quoted Brown, as saying.
"People will be more engaged by a great leader or by career opportunities than they will be by the level of pay,'' he added.
Comments
0 comment