Recognize This! – We need to know that what we do every day is making a valuable difference.

It seems I’ve unintentionally created a new series of posts on the Rules of Employee Engagement. The first post in the series appeared last Friday. A few more will appear this week.

Today’s post was inspired by an article in Talent Management magazine on the importance of effective communication to employee engagement, as it is now one of the top 5 drivers of engagement. Yet, only 42% of employees say their organizations communicate effectively (down from 52% two years ago).

But this line is what really caught my attention:

Quotation

“Employees really need to see the line of sight between what they’re doing day by day and how that impacts what the organization is doing and how that’s serving the organization’s customers and markets. Employees really need to feel like they’re in the game, rather than just a cog in the wheel.”

That line of sight is critical. Employees are clearly saying, “Tell me what I do is important. Tell me I make a difference around here. Tell me – specifically – how I’m doing that.” This sense of providing a valuable contribution is what engages employees. A sense of “What I do around here really matters.” That’s the role of strategic, social recognition – empowering anyone in the organization to tell their colleagues and peers how their contributions are making a difference.

Or, as TribeHR put it in a recent blog post:

Quotation

“Employees who contribute are valuable. But employees who feel compelled to contribute, and believe that they make a significant difference in corporate outcomes, are priceless.”

Are your employees priceless? Are you?