Ask the Experts: The Economy and Recognition, Safety Programs

Each month, Peter Hart, CEO of Rideau Recognition Solutions; Kevin Cronin, vice president of client strategy, solutions, and implementation for Rideau Recognition Solutions; and Michelle Smith, vice president of business development for O.C. Tanner, answer your questions about incentives, recognition, and motivation in Ask the Experts. 

A. (Ed note: This is part two of the response to the above question, addressing generational similarities. Last month, the part one of the response explored generational differences.)

The more things change, the more different generations of workers become the same, suggests a new study from Robert Half. The research shows that workers of all ages have a new appreciation for company stability when making career decisions. Following are six similarities among the generations revealed in the research:

1. For all generations surveyed, working for a stable company and having job security were two of the most important aspects of the work environment, beating out having a short commute or working for a socially responsible company. 

2. When evaluating employment offers, salary, company stability, and benefits were the most important factors for all three generations, according to those polled. 

3. Health care coverage, dental coverage, vacation time, and 401(k) matching contributions were the highest valued benefits for all generations surveyed. 

4. Thirty-seven percent of all employees felt they were not being fairly compensated for assuming a greater workload during the recession.

5. Among professionals who plan to work past the traditional retirement age, strong majorities in all generations cited the past recession as an important factor in their decisions. 

6. The most commonly cited benefit of being part of multigenerational work teams was bringing together various experience levels to provide knowledge in specific areas. 

The research demonstrates that compensation and benefits are more important than ever to all generations. Employers would be wise to proactively review compensation and benefit plans to ensure that they are competitive and produce compelling reasons for employees to stay.

A.  Job satisfaction must be addressed especially in a weak economy. The reason for concern is that when the economy heals and becomes strong again, organizations that turned a blind eye on employee job satisfaction may see a mass exodus of their top performers.  



Given that 82 percent of employees voice that the recognition or praise they receive at work motivates them to improve their performance, and companies that recognize their people outperform companies that don’t by 30 to 40 percent, losing your top performers because of low job satisfaction just as the economy rebounds would be a great blow.
 


If your employee job satisfaction scores are currently low, it appears you may have a little time to fix the situation. According to the Society of Human Resource Management’s “2010 Employee Job Satisfaction Report,” only 30 percent of employees said that they were likely to look for work outside of their organization this year. 
 


When jobs are hard to find, people hold on. The study cited the most important aspect of employee job satisfaction for employees is job security and, for the third consecutive year, job security has remained the top determinant of job satisfaction. The Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers all agree job security is the number one priority to them. Married men preferred opportunities that let them use their skills and abilities as their number one job satisfaction choice. Opportunities to use skills and abilities ranked as the third choice overall among employees.
 


So the question you must ask now is, “Am I recognizing my top performing employees by offering them opportunities to use their skills and abilities, or will I leave that up to their next employers?”

A. Safety awareness needs to be part of your company’s culture, not just a program. Everyone needs to know and understand your company’s safety goals and be able to understand the financial impact of not meeting those goals.  The financial impact is not only in the form of negative PR, it can be from fines for safety violations, payments for accident liability, and, worse, liability for fatalities.

Employees should first learn about your company’s mission and focus on safety during the recruitment process. After all, you want to hire employees who understand the need to follow guidelines and protocols to help you achieve your safety goals.  

Safety programs often suffer from “flavor of the month” suyndrome. I encourage you to look at safety “from A to Z” and how you can let your employees really drive and provide input into a safety culture. Your workforce comes to work to support their families and their livelihoods. It is in their best interests to be safe at work so they can return home safely to their families. 

I encourage you to focus on conditions that can lead to accidents. If you get your workforce to adopt the mentality that they are “hunters” for unsafe conditions, then you will cultivate a safety culture that will sustain itself.

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