Gold Under Foot

In February 2013, a California couple headed out with their dog for their daily hike. Walking through their Sierra Nevada backyard, they noticed a rusty can lid in the moss. They pulled the can out of the dirt and examined it. Inside were $20 gold coins – real, mint, uncirculated gold coins from the late 1800’s.

In all the couple found over 1400 gold coins buried in five cans on their property. The appraised value of those coins is over $10 Million US dollars.

The coins are offered for sale on Amazon, if you’d like to own a piece of history.

Theirs was a remarkable find – solid gold, buried under foot, ignored for more than a century.

Leaders have solid gold, buried under foot, in their organizations, too. That gold is ignored too often. The solid gold in organizations? Talented, committed employees.

The research on employee recognition is consistent: most employees say they are not thanked for their contributions. In my Great Boss Assessment, only 51% of 345 global respondents agree that their leader regularly honors their efforts as well as their accomplishments. That means that 49% of respondents do not receive such recognition.

In response to another Great Boss Assessment item, “This leader regularly gives credit, thanking team members for ideas, efforts, recovery, and delivery,” nearly 55% agreed. That means that 45% do not receive frequent credit or thanks for such contributions.

Josh Bersin’s 2012 research found that 87% of recognition programs in organizations today focus on tenure, not contribution (!). In digging deeper, Bersin’s researchers discovered that tenure-based rewards systems have virtually no impact on organizational performance.

His researchers did find that companies that scored in the top 20% in what he calls a “recognition-rich culture” had 31% lower voluntary turnover rates. These companies’ talented, engaged employees did not leave on their own – they stayed, contributed more, and felt more appreciated.

Bersin’s research shows that the number one reason why people leave organizations is because of a lack of recognition at work.

How can you address this issue in your team? Good things happen in your team and company all the time, every day. Notice these good things and express gratitude for them. Celebrate them!

Create a culture where leaders thank their people, often – for their skills, their contributions, their teamwork, their attempts and their results.

Create a culture where peers thank their peers, often. Create a culture where cooperative interaction is more frequent than competition.

Have fun with recognition. Sometimes a pizza lunch (have a salad available, too!) is more appreciated than a certificate.

Your talented, engaged employees will stay, contribute, and enjoy an inspiring work environment.

What do you think? How do your leaders express gratitude to the “solid gold” team members in your organization? Is effort and contribution noted? Add your comments, insights, or questions below.

Subscribe to my free weekly blog & podcast updates and enjoy two fabulous gifts: my Be a GREAT Boss ebook plus an excerpt from my #GREAT Bosses tweet book.

Add your experiences to two fast & free research projects I have underway: the Great Boss Assessment and the Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are available on my research page.

My new book from Wiley, The Culture Engine, guides leaders to create workplace inspiration with an organizational constitution. Get your free sample chapter here.

Photo © istockphoto.com/vbice. All rights reserved.

Podcast – Listen to this post now with the player below. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

The music heard on these podcasts is from one of my songs, “Heartfelt,” copyright © Chris Edmonds Music (ASCAP). I play all instruments on these recordings.