A new study from professional networking site LinkedIn shows that a significant number of employees care a lot about being recognised for their contributions, with kind words from the boss. Were are not talking about the big projects, or big reward. In fact we are not talking reward at all. They want their everyday achievements to be noticed and recognised. An online survey of 450 adult full-time employees in late September and early October found that if the boss appreciates their everyday successes:

• 58% said they were more likely to have a better attitude at work
• 45% said they would be motivated to do a better job
• 32% said they would be motivated to stay with the company longer

Managers who don’t appreciate their employees run the risk of losing workers. Younger workers care about this the most.

• 33% of workers across the board said they have resigned from a job because they didn’t feel their everyday contributions were appreciated
• 37% of workers under 40 said they’ve quit because they were under-appreciated

The growth in employee recognition programs and specifically social recognition, is only turning up the heat on managers. As an employee’s voice and the expression of all things positive becomes an integral part an open, transparent and rewarding workplace, the expectation on managers to connect our work to the goals and values of the company, is greater than ever.

So what are the best doing to maximise recognition from a managers perspective? How do they manage to tell authentic recognition stories that make employees and teams feel appreciated, when so many other managers cannot, or do not? The answer is simple. They are First Class “Noticers”.