2009 SHRM Annual Conference Blog

Barabara Glanz  will be speaking at SHRM’s Annual Conference on Monday, June 29 from 10:45 a.m to 12:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, June 30 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Her books - Simple Truths of Appreciation, Simple Truths of Service, 180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm, Handle with Care, and Care Packages for the Workplace are currently available at the SHRMStore and will be available at Annual Conference in the SHRMStore. Read Barbara Glanz’s blog entry below.

NEW RESEARCH ON APPRECIATION

by Barbara A. Glanz, CSP

I recently received a copy of a global study that reveals “Appreciating great work accelerates engagement significantly across cultures, across industries, across the world.”

Engagement is a measure of human potential. QUESTION: How much of a person’s effort, energy, and imagination are you getting for your money?

Opportunity and well-being are critical to a person plugging into their job. A 2008 Global Recognition Study conducted for O.C. Tanner by professional services firm Towers Perrin interviewed 10,333 people from thousands of companies in 13 different countries. The study confirmed that when opportunity and well-being rank high, engagement ranks high as well (even with low appreciation) at an impressive 77%. But as impressive as that is, the study shows that appreciating great work can take an already good engagement score and make it great:

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


Low opportunity companies 35%


Low opportunity companies with appreciation 56%


High opportunity companies 77%


High opportunity companies with appreciation 92%

Trust is another major factor in engagement–so much so that the study showed a 35% to 65% difference in engagement between low trust and high trust companies without appreciation. The real surprise is that adding appreciation boosts engagement in low trust companies up to 63% — nearly the same as companies where trust is high, indicating that before a company spends money developing other management skills, it might just pay to turn on appreciation!

TEAM ENGAGEMENT


Low trust companies 35%


Low trust companies with appreciation 63%


High trust companies 65%


High trust companies with appreciation 91%

Communication is a known path to engaging people’s hearts and minds. But as important as communication is, the study revealed that people are just as engaged at low communication companies that appreciate as at high communication companies that don’t. If your company is good at communication, it can still capture 24% more of people’s drive, energy, and potential by adding appreciation.

TALENT ENGAGEMENT


Low communication companies 39%


Low communication companies with appreciation 69%


High communication companies 68%


High communication companies with appreciation 92%

This study sheds new light on employee engagement. From country to country, scores were always consistently higher with appreciation than without, proving the power of this skill. AND it does not have to cost any money!

To learn more about Barbara’s powerful presentation on “The Simple Truths of Appreciation and Recognition,” go to www.barbaraglanz.com/programs.