When it comes to feeling appreciated at work, what matters most to employees? If you answered “pay,” think again. Research reveals that pay is low on the list. Studies have shown that what matters to employees — what truly motivates them — is feeling appreciated and being socially recognized.

Across various industries, appreciation & social recognition rank as the most important workplace culture drivers.

Given that human beings are naturally incentivized by the promise of a reward, encouraging words and specific prizes for successful job performance will encourage many employees to work harder and be more satisfied with the results of their labour.

Study has also shown that approximately 80% of organization’s value depends on the human aspect of resources within the organization. This implies that the organization faces a serious chance of falling apart if people are not motivated enough and is likely to progress if motivated.

This is why the need to appreciate and recognize employees who work hard in ensuring the growth of the business is paramount and certain organizations are keying into this initiative. An example is iSON BPO, a leading customer experience management firm’s continued cause for employee satisfaction since it started operations.

Recently, the company held its Top Talent Apex Awards to acknowledge and reward its top 5% performers from Africa.

The ceremony was held in recognition of the efforts of these employees’ achievements and their extraordinary commitment to performance in achieving overall excellent customer experience for its clients in Africa.

The employees whose hard work was unwavering were celebrated with an exclusive trip to Dubai and treated to an exclusive tour of the city and visit to the desert safari. Not only would such bold initiatives, help in encouraging the employees, it will also encourage healthy competition amongst staff.

In addition, best performing team was awarded to Ghana OPCO and the runner up was Burkina Faso OPCO.  Also, Ms. Rhoda Anandam from South Africa Opco was awarded for her significant contribution to business.

The Top Talent Awards are organized annually and are part of iSON BPO’s aim to focus on complete employee satisfaction, ensuring customers and clients a rewarding experience.

Commenting on the award, Pravin Kumar – Global CEO – iSON BPO said,

“There is no single definition of how employees should feel appreciated and there is no single way for organizations to express it. However, iSON decided to appreciate its top talents by naming them as ‘Celebrities’ and confer them with the top talent award to celebrate all their hard work and encourage them and their peers that hard work is not taken for granted as their continued success of excellence is vital to the success of the company”.

Appreciation and recognition matter because these go a long way with employees to improve motivation, job satisfaction, self-esteem, and retention. And the act of showing appreciation has benefits for the giver, too.

Cultivating a culture of appreciation helps employees feel good about the work they do and it’s the glue that holds teams together. Finally, it pays to be generous with recognition – literally.

Appreciation has a positive impact on performance. And that’s something that every organization can be excited about.