Employers not showing appreciation

06/10/2008

Employers find it difficult to show their gratitude, a new report has revealed, with nearly 40% of workers saying employers are worse at saying ‘thank you’ than they were 10 years ago.

The survey, by performance improvement company Maritz, found while more than half of workers say they receive a thank you once a month or more, 44% said their employers show their appreciation just once every few months, and one in six said they ‘never’ receive a thank you.

The report found appreciation has a direct effect on employee retention, with more than 40% of workers admitting it was the main reason they left their previous job.

Workers in the financial sector were most motivated by gratitude, with almost nine in 10 admitting a thank you has a positive effect, compared with just over a third of those working in IT.

Moira Clark, professor of strategic marketing and director of the Henley Centre for Customer Management, said appreciation is essential for small businesses.

“Great staff are the only competitive advantage any organisation has that cannot be copied, so it’s vital employees are made to feel appreciated and valued,” she said.

“My own research substantiates this, revealing in companies with high customer retention levels, staff are frequently rewarded. However, in low performing companies, employees are punished, ignored or reprimanded more frequently than they are rewarded.”