When lab managers want to improve performance, they often look first at instrumentation, staffing models, and workflow changes. Research from Gallup and Workhuman points to another management tool: consistent, high-quality employee recognition. In practice, high-quality recognition is specific, sincere, timely, and connected to what an employee contributed. It goes beyond a generic “good job” by showing employees that their work was noticed and explaining why it mattered. Although the research spans workplaces beyond laboratories, its findings offer useful guidance for reinforcing the behaviors that support safety, quality, collaboration, and reliable performance.
The business case for recognition
In its report, From Praise to Profits: The Business Case for Recognition at Work, Gallup and Workhuman examined the potential effects of increasing the frequency of employee recognition. Only one in four employees surveyed strongly agreed that they had received recognition or praise for doing good work during the previous seven days. Gallup estimated what might happen if a typical company increased that share of employees—from 25 percent to 50 percent—who feel they are regularly recognized for their work.
The analysis associated that increase with:
- A nine percent improvement in productivity
- A 22 percent decrease in safety incidents
- A 22 percent decrease in absenteeism
Using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Gallup estimated that a US organization with 10,000 employees could gain approximately $92 million in employee output from the modeled productivity improvement. These figures represent modeled outcomes across organizations rather than results from a laboratory-specific study. Still, the areas measured—productivity, safety, and attendance—closely align with operational priorities in laboratories.
A subsequent report, Recognition and Retention: New Evidence of Recognition’s Long-Term Impact, examined the relationship between recognition and employee retention by tracking nearly 3,500 employees over a two-year period. Gallup and Workhuman reported that well-recognized employees were 45 percent less likely to have changed organizations two years later. For lab managers, the finding suggests a reason to make recognition part of the employee experience rather than treating it as an occasional gesture. The five pillars of effective recognition
A third Gallup and Workhuman report, How Does Recognition Boost Productivity?, brought the earlier findings together and examined how high-quality recognition relates to engagement, organizational culture, and performance. The report uses five established characteristics of strategic recognition:
- Fulfilling: Employees receive recognition often enough to feel adequately appreciated
- Authentic: Recognition conveys sincere appreciation rather than feeling like a procedural exercise
- Personalized: Recognition reflects how an individual prefers to be acknowledged
- Equitable: Employees perceive that recognition is distributed fairly and without favoritism
- Embedded in culture: Recognition forms part of everyday workplace interactions rather than occurring only during formal reviews or annual events
Employees whose recognition experiences satisfied at least four of the five pillars were nine times as likely to be engaged and 12 times as likely to strongly agree that they were connected to their organization’s culture compared to employees whose recognition experiences did not satisfy any of the pillars. These findings suggest that recognition holds less value when it feels generic, inconsistent, or disconnected from an employee’s actual contribution. A standardized message sent to every employee, for example, is unlikely to carry the same weight as specific acknowledgment from a manager who understands the work involved.
Applying strategic recognition in laboratory operations
Applied to laboratory operations, the research suggests that recognition should highlight the specific behaviors a laboratory wants to encourage. A manager might recognize a technician for identifying a potential quality issue before it affected results, acknowledge an analyst for maintaining thorough documentation, or praise an employee who supported a new colleague. Recognition tied to specific behavior helps employees understand what strong performance looks like in practice.
Managers can also use recognition to bring visibility to work that often goes unnoticed, such as maintaining inventories, updating procedures, troubleshooting instruments, training colleagues, preparing for inspections, reporting near misses, or speaking up when a process appears unreliable. At the same time, managers should be careful about what they praise. Recognizing only fast results, high output, or short turnaround times could send the wrong message if employees achieved those outcomes by rushing, skipping steps, or taking on an unsustainable workload. Effective recognition should reflect both what employees accomplished and how they achieved it, including their attention to quality, safety, collaboration, and sound laboratory practices.
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Personalizing recognition
Employees differ in how they prefer to receive recognition. Some appreciate public acknowledgment during a team meeting, while others prefer a private conversation or written note. Lab managers can ask employees what works best for them and make recognition part of routine interactions rather than assuming one method will suit everyone.
Recognition should also be timely, specific, and connected to the employee’s contribution. Instead of saying, “Good job on the audit,” a manager might say, “Thank you for organizing the training records before the audit. It made it much easier for us to answer the auditor’s questions and kept the review moving.” Managers should also pay attention to whether the same highly visible employees receive most of the recognition while employees in less visible roles, on different shifts, or whose work happens behind the scenes go unnoticed. Looking across roles, shifts, and types of work can help make recognition more equitable.
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Recognition and feedback should work together
Recognition should complement, not replace, performance management. Employees still need clear expectations, constructive guidance, and accountability when performance does not meet laboratory standards. Recognition can help clarify which contributions and behaviors an organization values, while feedback addresses areas for improvement.
Recognition also gives managers an opportunity to identify strengths. For example, employees who consistently produce clear documentation, train colleagues effectively, or detect equipment issues may have skills that can be developed through additional responsibilities or professional growth opportunities.
Final takeaway
Recognition cannot replace adequate staffing, effective processes, appropriate compensation, or reliable equipment. It can, however, help lab managers reinforce behaviors that support safety, quality, collaboration, and productivity. The Gallup and Workhuman findings suggest that recognition works best when it is authentic, personalized, equitable, fulfilling, and embedded in workplace culture.
