Peer recognition offers many benefits, but don't just take our word for it. Many prominent figures have spoken well about the importance of recognition from one's peers, and in this post, we'll be sharing eleven different peer recognition quotes, and discussing how they pertain to the workplace.
Quote 1
"Employees who report receiving peer recognition within the last seven days show increased productivity, get higher scores from customers, and have better safety records. They're just more engaged at work." - Tom Rath
This first quote by Tom Rath is great, as he points out the fact that employee recognition has clear results. He states the fact that both employee appreciation and customer satisfaction directly correlate with a rise in peer recognition, which is an important statistic to keep in mind when creating a company's peer recognition program.
Quote 2
"Don't worry about when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition." - Abraham Lincoln
This motivational quote from former American President Abraham Lincoln is fantastic because it essentially states that one should do great work not for the recognition, but for the sake of doing great. If you do well, then the reward of praise from one's peers will inevitably come later; after great work and dedication, you are bound to receive gratitude in the form of appreciation words in the future.
Quote 3
"Recognition is a reward in itself. Any form of appreciation, even a small word, is important." - Vikrant Massey
This quote emphasizes peer recognition as being extremely rewarding all by itself, and this is an excellent way to think about employee recognition; if receiving recognition makes employees happy without any specific reason or goal at work, then it's certainly worth doing on its own!
Quote 4
"People may take a job for more money, but they often leave it for more recognition." - Bob Nelson
The next quote provides some great advice about peer recognition; not only can an employee recognition program make workers happier, but it also can potentially make them stay at your company longer, thus improving employee retention at a business. Between money and happiness, it's clear that employee happiness is the more important of the two.
Peer recognition has many great benefits, including improving employee morale as well as employee happiness in the workplace.
Quote 5
"To me, it's about peer recognition, community recognition, simple as that. We've got kids here putting in hours year-round, giving up things because they want to pursue a much higher level, and they see their peers getting all the attention." - Ed Gibson
This quote from former Head Coach of the St. Louis Blues, Ed Gibson, is great because it emphasizes peer recognition as being a way to feel like you are part of something special. By having peer recognition be an important part of your program, employees will feel more involved with what's going on in the company and become great employees and hard workers.
Quote 6
"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in recognition." - Alexander Smith
This motivational quote by Alexander Smith emphasizes peer recognition as the result of recognizing greatness in a fellow peer. It's great advice to think about peer recognition in this way because it focuses peer recognition on the person who is receiving peer recognition rather than among the group participating in an employee recognition program. Love for a worker can be expressed both through peer engagement and proper employee appreciation.
Quote 7
"It's always an honor to receive recognition, but I always consider them more important when they come from your colleagues." - Michael McGarry
This peer recognition quote from Michael McGarry, a director at PPG Industries, is great because it emphasizes peer appreciation as being the most important thing when it comes to peer recognition. It's clear that peer respect is very important among people, and this peer recognition quote demonstrates this fact in a great way!
Quote 8
"Don't do work for recognition, but do work worthy of recognition." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
This next peer recognition quote from H. Jackson Brown Jr. emphasizes peer respect as being the more important part of peer recognition, and this is a great way to think about peer appreciation! If you focus on doing good work in whatever ways your job requires, then recognition from your peers should follow naturally.
Quote 9
"To have a little recognition, that is very nice, you dig. It is good for the ego, for the psyche." - Dexter Gordon
This quote from Dexter Gordon is a great example of how peer recognition can serve as a small boost to one's ego or sense of self. By having respect from one's peers, a worker is more likely to keep doing good work and offer dedication to their company.
Quote 10
"Research indicates that employees have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company." - Zig Ziglar
This peer recognition quote from Zig Ziglar is great because it emphasizes peer appreciation as an important motivator for employees. Beyond the benefits of peer appreciation in peer-to-peer recognition, peer appreciation can also help to inspire employees to work harder and provide their best efforts in the workplace.
Quote 11
"Recognition from peers, along with objective, numerical measurements of performance, is one factor that compels people to perform better." - Rita Gunther McGrath
This final quote shows peer recognition in contrast with traditional incentive-based pay: peer recognition and salary do not need to be seen as contradictory concepts at all! Instead, they can both play an important role in helping motivate people into doing their best work when implemented together. Since peer recognition gets such high praise from various figures, it's no wonder why peer recognition programs are so effective when done right!
If you found these quotes interesting or inspirational at all, then you might want to also take a look at our comprehensive guide to peer recognition. Additionally, feel free to try out Matter, a free Slack app that promotes giving and receiving peer recognition and Kudos as well as offering constructive feedback to peers.
