Promotional Products for Employee Recognition

Did you know that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they do not feel appreciated? Beyond simply employee retention, research and numerous polls and studies have continuously shown that being recognized and rewarded for hard work are more powerful motivators in the workplace than even pay and benefits. In Thomas J. Peters' and Robert H. Waterman, Jr's book In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies they write, based on an analysis of forty three successful American businesses, "The systems in the excellent companies are not only designed to produce lots of winners; they are constructed to celebrate the winning once it occurs.  Their systems make extraordinary use of non-monetary incentives.  They are full of hoopla." Their particular analysis may have taken place in the late 1970s, but their findings - essentially the constructive role of positive reinforcement and rewarding jobs well done in the workplace - are still applicable today.  Even something as simple as custom promotional products as means of employee regcognition can be well received and act as physical representations of deserved appreciation.

While Peters and Waterman did not cite promotional products specifically as the non-monetary incentives, you may be surprised at how far-reaching the beneficial effects of employee recognition can truly be. First of all, by rewarding certain outcomes, you are reinforcing the actions that you value, thereby allowing employees to recognize themselves the type of work that merits such praise. This, in turn, acts as a force of motivation for employees to demonstrate the same levels of performance in hopes that they too can receive such a reward. Rewards can also make one feel that they and their work truly has an impact on the business as a whole - an important factor when it comes to motivation and personal value as a significant part of a company. In the end you will have hard-working employees, striving for success, and also happy employees, for being recognized for those successes.

Often times companies develop employee award programs and will give custom engraved awards each month to the highest earning salesperson, for example, or the company-elected employee of the month. Items like timepieces are also often given to recognize employee anniversaries with a company. But recognition efforts could even be as simple as giving things like imprinted pens or items of drinkware as simple assurance to employees that their hard work is being noticed and is appreciated.