Find the 7 critical employee behaviours that deserve recognition and appreciation at work- Step up your employee recognition initiatives.
Businesses have come a long way since good pay was the primary symbol of employee recognition and appreciation. Nowadays, companies have to compete to attract and retain good talent from the industry. In the highly competitive world, if your employees do not feel appreciated and valued in the organisation, they leave for another job, regardless of how good the pay package is. Discover the employee behaviours that contribute to a positive work environment and promote success, from going above and beyond to displaying outstanding teamwork.
Recognition is essential to retaining and engaging employees. And to get the most out of an employee recognition program, it is imperative to recognise key employee behaviours. But before the company can implement an impactful recognition program, it must define what behaviours it wants to recognise for positive reinforcement.
Gone are the days when productivity was the only factor that mattered. What counts most nowadays is the employee’s attitudes, feelings, experience, and expectations. It is about creating a positive company culture where employees get acknowledgement for their efforts and contributions. Experts believe that employees conduct in the workplace directly impacts the business and its success. Recognition connects employees to the organisation. When they feel they belong to the company, they will stay longer and do their best, increasing their retention rate.
Employee behaviours at the Workplace
Employee behaviour is the employee’s reaction to a particular situation in the workplace. Their actions can directly or indirectly influence the organisation’s effectiveness and can be either desirable or undesirable.
Some behaviours, such as performance behaviour, have a direct positive impact on productivity and performance, and others may affect the organisation but in a more indirect way. In contrast, counterproductive behaviours undermine performance and cost the organisation money.
Forms of Employee behaviours
Performance behaviour
Performance behaviours are work-related behaviours that the organisation expects employees to exhibit. These behaviours have a direct impact on job performance. The extent to which an employee successfully meets the job requirements is referred to as job performance.
Employees’ effectiveness at work, their work quality and quantity, and the accuracy and speed with which they accomplish the job are some parameters of performance behaviour. Managers, supervisors, coworkers, customers, and subordinates can evaluate the behaviour.
Organisational
Certain employee behaviours, such as a helpful attitude, positively impact the workplace, although they may not directly contribute to the organisation’s earnings. These types of behaviours are known as organisational behaviour.
Some people may be more helpful than others owing to their personalities, attitudes, and needs. Workplace culture may also encourage or discourage such behaviours. Thus, individual, social, and corporate culture all influence whether organisational behaviour is encouraged or discouraged.
Counterproductive
Counterproductive behaviours impede rather than aid organisational performance. Absenteeism, turnover, embezzlement, and harassment are all examples of counterproductive behaviour. These actions turn out to be expensive for the company.
When employees are absent, their work is left unfinished; replacements must be hired to complete it. Similarly, when a good employee leaves, the organisation must find replacements, train the new hire, and so on. An organisation suffers a direct financial loss due to embezzlement, whereas harassment incurs both direct and indirect costs.
Recognition worthy Employee Behaviours
Here are some key employee behaviours that must be recognized in order to get the most out of an employee.
Responsiveness
The ability to respond quickly to requests for assistance or information is called responsiveness. This proactive behaviour can help to avoid project delays and errors. Better team collaboration and performance result from responsiveness. Responsiveness helps develop trust among colleagues, build rapport with the team, and improve overall work connections.
Integrity
In the workplace, integrity means having upright character traits and work ethics such as prudence, sincerity, trustworthiness, and commitment. Integrity promotes an open and encouraging work environment and a responsible decision-making approach. A person’s honesty and reliability earn respect and trust from their peers and managers.
Adaptability
The ability of an employee to adjust to a changing work environment is referred to as adaptability. Adaptable employees can quickly modify themselves per new concepts, roles, expectations, market dynamics, approaches, and other workflows. Being adaptable or flexible also implies that the employee can take on challenges and work efficiently on projects that may face changes in plans or schedules.
Reliability
Another crucial employee behaviour to recognise is reliability. It is a personality trait that elevates job performance. A dependable employee is punctual and consistently produces good work in all tasks and assignments. Employers can have confidence in reliable employees to deliver consistent results. The employee does not need supervision and, when given important or crucial tasks, follows through on them.
Confidence
For any individual, confidence is an excellent personality trait to possess. Employees with a confident attitude are sure about their skills and abilities and are at ease in their roles. They are positive, honest, and have sincerity and conviction in their interactions with co-workers, clients, and leaders. Self-assured employees are prepared to face the challenges that their jobs present. Their positive influence adds value to the company culture by making it more productive, supportive, and cohesive.
Collaboration
Employees with collaboration abilities are able to communicate clearly, actively listen, take responsibility, respect their co-workers’ diverse backgrounds, and collaborate effectively with others toward a common goal. This trait is necessary for employees to work in most office settings. Accepting different viewpoints, managing priorities, and meeting expectations are all measures of these abilities.
Gratefulness
Grateful behaviour toward the company generates positive sentiments, and the employee feels a higher sense of belonging to the entire organisation. The grateful attitude encourages essential factors such as job satisfaction, loyalty, and interpersonal and community relationships, all of which improve citizenship or organisational behaviour. These Positive emotions result in lower employee turnover as well as higher organisational productivity and efficiency.
Meaningful Employee Recognition
Companies with a good employee recognition strategy have higher employee engagement and morale, which results in better customer service and lower turnover. However, you must develop a meaningful and effective employee recognition program for your organisation on priority.
Suggested Read: Employee Recognition Programs: A Complete Guide
ER Best Practices
A recognition program should be more than just awarding and rewarding people. It should also be an engaging and enjoyable employee experience that brings out the best in people while improving your company’s productivity and performance. To accomplish purpose and meaning, you must first understand the best practices for designing an employee recognition program.
- Regular : Don't wait for quarterly or annual ceremonies to appreciate someone for their hard work. Employees should get recognition regularly as part of their work routine.
- Immediate : The key is immediate recognition. Recognise actions as they occur, and your employees will be eager to replicate them.
- Specific : Be precise when it comes to the program. Avoid actions and behaviours that are too broad or ambiguous. Connect recognition to specific actions that you'd like to see more of in the workplace.
- Encouraging : The recognition must be motivating and inclusive of all employees. A recognition culture also requires all team members to express gratitude. Recognition from only managers or leaders is insufficient to create a meaningful program.
Recommended Read: Emerging Ways to Enhance Employee Engagement In 2023
Recognition employee behaviour in an organisation is no longer a challenging task. After all, with a mobile-first experience, you can easily create a winning recognition program for your team. Choose a program with an intuitive user interface, excellent customer support, and integrations with tools you already use every day.
