Between facilities, land, and equipment, funeral homes possess a wealth of valuable assets; however, the most valuable asset of any business will always be its people. Much like any other component of your funeral home, your staff requires continual investments.
Financial incentives and career growth opportunities can both help engage your employees, but leadership should never overlook the power of positive acknowledgment. Here’s why you should incorporate employee recognition into your performance review meetings.
1. Greater Employee Satisfaction
As you might expect, employees appreciate when leadership recognizes their work and achievements; however, many managers underestimate just how much this type of affirmation can mean to their team members.
According to a survey from Achievers, a majority of employees (69%) value recognition among the top factors they look for in an employer. This surpasses company culture and even opportunities for advancement.
Because of this, leadership should make it a point to continually use performance review meetings as a chance to congratulate and praise the triumphs of their employees. This small action can make a world of difference.
2. Improve Team Culture
The leadership of your funeral home sets the tone for your workplace culture. When employees see their leaders conduct themselves in a certain manner, they’ll most often emulate these behaviors.
As such, when leaders make an effort to recognize the achievements of their team, employees will follow suit. The result will be a workplace culture that supports, nurtures, and motivates employees. Rather than compete with one another, team members will honor each other’s achievements and collectively reach for success.
3. Increase Productivity and Engagement
From a logical perspective, employee recognition functions as a form of positive reinforcement. When leadership praises certain behaviors and actions, employees are more likely to continue these behavioral patterns, resulting in increased productivity.
According to research from Deloitte, team member engagement, productivity, and performance are 14% higher in organizations that regularly recognize their employees. This same study also found that a 15% increase in engagement can result in a 2% increase in profit margins.
4. Increase Survey Response Rates
For leadership teams, it’s essential to solicit feedback from employees, most often as part of the performance review process. However, it can often be difficult for staff members to provide critical feedback to or about their leaders, even if this insight could help improve the workplace.
When team members receive positive feedback, allowing them to see how valued they are in their roles, then they’re more likely to feel emboldened. By empowering employees in this way, leadership can increase the likelihood of receiving positive feedback from employees.
5. Higher Loyalty and Satisfaction Scores from Families
According to the Harvard Business Review, 40% of workers say they’d put more effort into their work if they received more recognition from their managers. And when team members feel compelled to excel in their roles, they’ll provide improved service.
The logic is simple: happy, productive employees translate to satisfied families.
6. Increased Retention of Quality Employees
Recognition of employees can also increase retention. According to a survey conducted by Achievers, recognition and rewards were ranked among the most important motivating factors for staying with a company.
This same survey found that, of those looking to switch jobs, 44% of them noted that a lack of recognition and engagement were contributing factors.
Attain a New Level of Employee Success with JCG Consulting
While the importance of recognizing employees is clear, it’s not always obvious if your employees currently feel valued. To cut through this lack of certainty, your leadership should administer internal surveys that inquire about job satisfaction. The expertise of consultants can help.
At Johnson Consulting Group, our team of funeral home business consultants can help you create a strategy for regularly recognizing the work of your employees. By leveraging internal surveys as well as day-to-day tactics, your team can recognize staff members in a way that spurs their productivity and increases retention. For example, we can help you introduce an incentive compensation plan that acknowledges your team’s efforts and ensures they feel valued.
That said, recognition is only one key to the puzzle of engaging your teams. By partnering with JCG consultants, we’ll help you develop a holistic approach to engagement, one that also includes incentive compensation and career development, helping to reach your teams at every touchpoint.
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