Top 10 Quotes about Rewards and Recognition

--Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People 

Employees who are passionate about working for their organization spread this excitement to customers. When you visit a business and can sense the employees are treated well, it makes your shopping experience more comfortable and sometimes even more expensive. a Bersin & Associates study from 2012 revealed that customer satisfaction was an average of 14% higher in organizations with high employee engagement.

Quote 2: “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace." 
--Doug Conant, Fmr. President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company

Along the same lines of Covey's quote, Doug Contant firmly believes that in order to be successful, you must start internally with employees. Recognition and rewards programs give managers a formal channel to recognize their outstanding performers. Top employees can be recognized in private and in public via online recognition walls or company wide events.

Quote 3: "Recognition is not a scarce resource. You can't use it up or run out of it."
--Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Human Resources Expert

Susan Heathfield has a great point: although you may not give out monetary rewards each time recognition is given, the point is that you are consistently giving recognition. It doesn't cost a manager anything but time to stop and say thank you for a job well done. The impact on an employee can be quite profound, especially if this wasn't being done at all in the past.

Quote 4: "People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards." --Dale Carnegie, Leadership Training Guru

Not to go all Maslow on you this morning, but Carnegie's view of the hierarchy of needs can help managers tap into employee's self actualization. That's the power of recognition and rewards programs, you can actually have employees performing at the top of their game just because you are recognizing, praising and rewarding them.

Quote 5: "Brains, like hearts, go where they are appreciated."
--Robert McNamara, Fmr. American Secretary of Defense

Entrepreneur.com recently released an infographic all about why employees quit their jobs. 82% of employees polled report they don't receive enough recognition. There is nothing like pouring your time and heart into a project just to have it go unnoticed and unrecognized by management. It can make employees question why they worked so hard in the first place, and convince them the grass would be greener somewhere else.

Quote 6: "There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
--Mother Teresa, Roman Catholic Religious Sister and Missionary

According to Forbes in 2013, 43% of employees cite a lack of recognition as their reason for quitting. Sometimes it seems that we need to put the human back in HR and realize how much appreciation can impact employee morale and engagement.

Quote 7: "There are two things people want more than sex and money: recognition and praise."
--Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Recognition and rewards are so desirable by employees, who spend roughly 1/3 of their life in the office Monday-Friday. For companies who don't have a formal recognition program in place, employees will end up leaving and going to an organization that does have one. It is vital that companies realize this and get more than just a tenure program in place to increase employee engagement.

Quote 8: "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Philosopher

We chose this quote as a firm believer that if your employees aren't excited about a project, your customers won't be either. A great example of this is all of the technological advances coming out of silicon valley. These tech employees drink the company kool aid; they test the products and take them everywhere. This helps to create hype of course, but it also allows employees to convey how these products have become essential parts of their everyday lives, and how it should be a part of consumers' lives too.

Quote 9: "An employee's motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager."
--Dr. Bob Nelson, Best Selling Author and Motivational Speaker

Going back to the Forbes list of why employees quit, a large majority of people who leave their job cite poor interactions with their manager. It is difficult to focus on the positives of ones job when only the negatives are addressed. That's why an employee recognition program is essential to increase employee engagement and put the focus on what the employee is doing well instead of what they are doing not so well.

Quote 10: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
--Aristotle, Greek Philosopher

This quote reminds me of the 2009 David Banner song, Get Like Me. What we do repeatedly becomes a habit, and if you are a participant of a recognition and rewards program, other people will want to get like you. Star performers will also inspire new employees to get like them.

We hope you enjoyed these top ten quotes all about recognition and rewards. As we head into the New Year, and many HR pros work on their recognition programs, keep these in mind. The possibilities of what a great recognition program can do for your workplace are endless!