Imagine there was a simple way to make your staff feel happier, be more productive and perform at their best, all while improving retention rates and providing better service for your customers. The good news is that there is—and all it takes is a little recognition for a job well done.
How do you recognise good performance in your dealership? If you’re not already harnessing the value of employee recognition in your workplace, it’s time to get started.
The true value of employee recognition
You’d be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t appreciate being told they did a great job at something, but what many of us don’t realise is the wider value of providing that recognition.
Evidence suggests there is a strong correlation between recognition and employee engagement. In fact, research conducted by leadership development consultancy Zenger/Folkman considered the 360-degree feedback assessments from tens of thousands of workers. What they found was that employees who worked for leaders rated in the bottom 10% for providing recognition sat at the 27th percentile on the engagement scale. This was in stark contrast to employees whose leaders ranked in the top 10%, who were at the 69th percentile for engagement.
This suggests that the simple act of recognising employees for their contributions will go a long way to building a more engaged workforce—and the benefits of employee engagement are extensive. From a stronger connection and commitment to the business to increased productivity, better customer service, more collaboration, a reduction in stress, less burnout, lower absenteeism and better employee health, the list goes on!
How can you better recognise employees in your dealership?
While providing recognition may come naturally for some managers, others may need a few tips to help them ‘up their recognition game’. If you’re in the latter category, here are some words of wisdom to help you get started:
- Keep it regular – For recognition to be most impactful, it needs to be timely. Rather than waiting for the next performance review cycle to give your staff a pat on the back, a better strategy is to offer some quick recognition regularly. This gives employees confidence that they’re on the right track and encourages them to keep doing what they’re doing. Having said that, it is still important to keep recognition genuine. Only provide recognition where recognition is genuinely due to ensure it is impactful and keeps employees striving to perform at their best.
- Adopt a tailored approach – It’s important to recognise that every employee is different. While some will revel in receiving a grand public gesture such as being singled out in a room full of people and awarded a certificate or trophy, others detest the idea of a big public display. Pay attention to how each staff member most likes to receive recognition. For those who tend to shy away from the spotlight, find a more private way to provide recognition such as sending them an email, writing a thank you card, quietly rewarding them with a gift voucher, or saying a few words when no one else is within earshot.
- Be specific – Rather than simply telling a worker “you’re doing a great job”, try to be a little more specific. Refer to a particular task they handled really well or completed to an excellent standard and elaborate on the positive impact or flow-on effects that resulted from their efforts.
- Don’t ignore the rest of the team – In most scenarios there will be one ‘hero’ that receives all the glory for achieving a great outcome. However, it’s important to note that great things are rarely achieved without the support and input of others. Most great results require a solid team effort, so ensure you recognise and pay credit to others who also provided an important contribution.
While you may feel a little uncomfortable providing recognition at first, it shouldn’t take too long to discover what works best for you, your team, and the dealership as a whole so you too can start enjoying the benefits.
Teamrecruit is Australia’s most established recruitment agency specialising in truck, earthmoving and agricultural machinery dealerships in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Find out more about Teamrecruit and how we support employers and candidates in the dealership industry.
