M M Bagali , HRD, HRM, PhD in HR, Management...NHRD paper......Demystifying Power of Empowerment @Work: Building the 21st Century Workforce

CASIRJ Volume 5 Issue 7 [Year - 2014] ISSN 2319 – 9202
International Research Journal of Commerce Arts and Science
http://www.casirj.com Page 81
EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION IN LIGHT OF CHANGING PERSPECTIVES
*Mrs. Rajini. K.S Research Scholar in Management Jain University, Bengaluru
**Dr.M.M Bagali, Ph.D Professor in HR & Research Guide Co-ordinating Research in Management Jain University, Bengaluru ABSTRACT Recognition program initiatives are mainly organizational issues and many organizations may or may not have it. It all depends on the organizational policy as to whether it has to be implemented or not. Corporates have a different policy compared to other lesser aggressive organizations. However, there is no proven record that organizational success depends on recognition programs alone. A host of other related factors of retention tactics like Morale, Motivation, Job satisfaction, Engagement, are equally important for the success of an organization. Organizations that have neglected any one of the retention methods may fail to realize their goals. This paper identifies the need for employee recognition program from the organizational point of view as well as the employee perception also thus, bringing out the importance of ERP for better workplace, per se. KEY WORDS: Motivation, Retention , Engagement, Job satisfaction.

INTRODUCTION Recognition is the tangible and intangible variables associated with the performance and aftermath. It is highly debated and discussed. Employees like to be recognized, rewarded and appreciated for their work.(1) It is in human nature and as such cannot be changed. The human thoughts are all the same whether you are an American employee or an Indian. However the degree of work ethics may vary from country to country. Some employees are very contented and some are never. But employees all over like to be appreciated and rewarded for their work. In this context organizations need to look at employees as not only achieving machines but also their well being. Bombarding employees with cash / cars and holiday’s may not alone guarantee the success needed .Employees may end up mentally drained and saturated. Organization’s needs to chip in various methods of retention where in recognition and reward programs may seem insignificant .The cost involved for reward programs are very huge and may not guarantee the required results. The present fast paced life has made employees needs very demanding and the social pressure has added to the woes of an emotionally drained employee. ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Today organizations across the globe adopt different strategies to grow and achieve it’s goals. American companies are known for it’s aggressive strategies. The top fortune 500 companies are all dominated by US based companies. Organizations decide whether to adopt ERP or not. In the race to beat competition organizations adopt different recognition programs and motivate the employees to do the extra mile. 1. http://humanresources.about.com/od/rewardrecognition/a/recognition_tip.htm There are many organizations that necessarily do not have recognition programs but still have done a great job. Adoption of Employee recognition programs are related to competition and growth. Organizations need to understand or the managers should have the expertise and experience in handling the employees effectively. They need to have a thorough understanding of the employee behavior patterns and treat them with utmost care.(2)

HR managers should even don the role of a psychologist or if necessary wear many hats to get to the root of employee issues. Large manufacturing organizations encounter major union issues as the managers are unaware of the ground realities and they do fire fighting all through their career. They keep the management in dark about the core issues. Some do not even make any attempt to hear the pending issues of the employees. Many a times trivial issues could snowball into major confrontations and both the union and the management continue the blame game resulting in court deadlocks, the result effect being crucial man-days lost and a big dent on the company as well as the future of the employees. Large organizations in the race to grow fast make many costly mistakes which may threaten the very structure and edifice of the organization resulting in expensive and cumbersome arbitration procedures thereby deterioration of the health of the organization. Organizations should have very clear policy regarding their objectives/goals/growth/HR, etc. They need to make their path very clear for employees and rest will fall in place. Every employee wants to put in his/her best efforts. Employees set out with great expectations and when they are not heard/recognized/appreciated simmering discontent sets in. The onus is always on HR and that is why they are employed. The success or failure of an organization lies largely on HR(3). They need to be held accountable for not only employee turnover but on every issue concerned with the employee. Lackluster organizations are only to be blamed for incompetent HR managers who neither have proper training nor do they understand human nature. EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE Employees all over the world have the same attributes of the human mind and hence may vary slightly according to the race. An American does not value family life very highly as an Indian or Chinese employee and his requirements may be less comparatively. However the thoughts of appreciation and recognition are the same.
(2) new.edu BA331: Organizational Behavior https://new.edu/resources/theories-of-motivation- -

In this world of cannibalized competition, employees at big organizations may have to go through high pressure where as employees working for a smaller organization may not have such pressure. Also we may contend that employees in different divisions like Sales and Customer service may not have to go through the grind as an operations or production executive . Hence, in order to achieve more sales people have higher employee reward and recognition programs than any other department. Employees who work under pressure to achieve target or time deadlines will always be taken into consideration and organizations normally chart out various programs to motivate them. WORK AND RECOGNITION It is scientifically proved by psychologists that human behavior and needs are connected to rewards.(4) Employees are generally motivated if there is reward and they display exceptional talent to realize the goal. Recognition and reward programs may help employees to put that extra effort as the human mind constantly moves towards slackness and very few work with the same enthusiasm as with an achiever. It is also equally important for organizations to recruit quality employees and if not, they will have to resort to recognition tactics to get their goal achieved. Some organizations without spending much may achieve it’s objectives. HR will have to go through the grind to motivate employees with less cost. Engagement costs are very huge and not every organization can indulge in it. RECOGNITION INITIATIVES WHICH REFLECT ON MORALE AND MOTIVATION
Motivation through Promotion, rewarding an employee with higher levels of responsibility or an exciting job assignment are very effective ways to recognize, and motivate employees. Employees who are given prevalent compensation and good benefits are a satisfied lot. (3) www.performancexpress.org/wp-content/.../10/Vol45_04_18.pdf (4) Herzberg, Frederick (January–February 1964). "The Motivation-Hygiene Concept and Problems of Manpower".

Achievers encouraged to pursue higher studies-- is a way of recognizing and motivating employees. Time off-- for performing above and beyond the call of duty is not only appropriate, but has a great bearing on employee thinking. (5) Training/conferences/seminars – Rewarding employees through higher training, selecting for conferences, encouraging to attend seminars are all recognizing and rewarding techniques where in employee morale is on a high. SUMMARY Organizations may achieve it’s objectives by not spending more on Recognition and Rewards. Employees have to be constantly monitored for their performance, behavior and satisfaction. It has to ensure that employees are happy and their grievances are addressed. Organizational ethics are also very crucial for employee retention. PRESENT SCENARIO The recent mass exodus of Infosys senior level mangers has a lot to do with the management ethos. Inspite of the Pay and perks on par with the MNC companies, Infosys could not stop the mass resignation of it’s senior employees. Ultimately the company lost it’s cream of employees There are many big organizations like Intel , Google , Apple which have alway’s been the best place to work and employees work their heart out either to join such organizations or to be retained. Well ! such big organizations also have big budgets and they spend lavishly on employee benefits and reward programs. Organizations are stretching their benefits basket in an attempt to improve employee engagement and retention. (5) http://www.ehow.com/ (6) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reward_management

Citibank India has gone a step further so that their employees can utilize their time effectively. It has outsourced daily chores of employees as a retention strategy. Strong performing IT Companies like Hcl in 2013 have showered Benz cars worth 22 lakh to high performing employees and Cognizant has given stock units valued 2 – 3.5 crores (5) Nearly 70% of the Indian companies in 2012 and 60% in 2013 increased their benefits to it’s employees. 8% of the Indian companies have given life style benefits like GYM membership, child care, holiday’s, club memberships. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Organizations spell out it’s policies in order to achieve it’s objectives and HR play’s a dominant role in incorporating the same. Management may not go into the details of the chartered course of action but finally it will hold the CEO / senior managers accountable for it’s effective utilization of company policy. Hence a balanced approach towards the utilization of available resources (People & Money) for the achievement of organizational goals are needed. CONCLUSION Employee recognition program as a tool could go a long way in achieving organizational objectives but it cannot be generalized that such programs are a recipe for success. Organizations can do well without it also and a rush of such programs may also backfire if unfavorable conditions prevail in an organization. Dissatisfaction results from unfavorable assessments of such job-related factors as company policies, supervision, technical problems, salary, interpersonal relations on the job, and working conditions. REFERENCES:
 Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370– 96. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm

 Allen, D.G. (2008). Retaining Talent. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/research/documents/retaining%20talent- %20final.pdf.
 www.hrzone.com/blogs/hr.../employee-appreciation-letter.../142310
 www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=39032
 www.modernsurvey.com/.../The-State-of-Engagement-Report-Fall-2013.pdf -
 investorplace.com/.../fortune-500-top-10-companies-2014/
 www.globoforce.com/.../shrmgloboforce-survey-/
 Economic Times .dt. 6/12/ 2013 – P-3
 Times of India October .dt. 20/12/2013 – P-9  Economic Times .dt. 13/6/2014 – P-4

M M Bagali , HRD, HRM, PhD in HR, Management...NHRD paper......Demystifying Power of Empowerment @Work: Building the 21st Century Workforce

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M M Bagali , HRD, HRM, PhD in HR, Management...NHRD paper......Demystifying Power of Empowerment @Work: Building the 21st Century Workforce