Earlier this year, we started doing something simple at Wise. We began publicly celebrating our team members. We celebrate, not just their work milestones, but who they are as people. Twenty-five years with the company. Starting a nonprofit ministry serving families in need. Genealogy that traces all the way back to the Mayflower. We called them shout-outs, and what started as a way to say thank you has become one of the things we’re most proud of at Wise.
The Numbers Are Hard to Ignore
Research consistently points to one thing that keeps employees engaged and loyal: feeling valued. Not just compensated, but valued.
- A Gallup study tracking nearly 3,500 employees found that well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to turn over within two years.
- Eighty-seven percent of employees say meaningful recognition impacts their job satisfaction.
- According to SHRM, 79% of employees who quit cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving.
Perhaps most striking: 72% of employees say they’d rather work somewhere they feel supported and valued than take a 30% pay increase. Recognition isn’t just a nice gesture. It’s a retention strategy, and in the print industry, where skilled people are genuinely hard to replace, that matters.
Shout-Outs at Wise
Our shout-outs are simple by design. We profile a team member, share their career journey, and let people know who they are outside of work. We celebrated Christie Reynolds, 25-year customer service manager at our Anderson, SC plant, who spends weekends on a jet ski or helping her husband burn designs into furniture with a blow torch. We profiled Tish Van Auken, a 26-year Fort Wayne veteran, who is helping to restore a ’68 Nova SS with her husband and who lives for FaceTime with her grandkids. We introduced Angie Daniel, who has served customers as a customer service representative at our Alpharetta, GA plant since high school, and who goes completely off the grid on fall Friday nights for Georgia Bulldogs football. We spotlighted Tom Bowser, our 31-year production manager in Butler, PA, who founded Fishbone Ministries with his wife in 2002 and has grown it into a full nonprofit serving families in need. And we celebrated Diane Matthews, a 12-year customer service veteran in Portland, ME, whose genealogy passion has traced her roots all the way back to the Mayflower and who has developed such a sixth sense for her customers that when one called asking for “that blue form,” she knew exactly what he meant.
Customers tell us they feel like they know our people. Team members tell us the recognition means more than they expected.
The Business Case
Gallup estimates replacing a frontline worker costs 40% of their salary, and replacing a manager runs as high as 200%. At Wise, voluntary turnover is nearly zero for team members who have been part of Wise for three years or more, with most departures retirement-related. We don’t think that’s an accident.
Feeling inspired to do the same? You don’t need a formal program to get started. A LinkedIn post, a newsletter feature, a note on your website. The key is making it genuine, specific and regular. Start with your longest-tenured people and ask them what they love about their work. You’ll learn things that surprise you, and they’ll feel something they may not have felt in a while: seen.
Read examples of our employee shout-outs here.
That’s what the shout-outs have given us. A team that knows they matter. And a culture that makes people want to stay.
Bill Prettyman is CEO of Wise in Alpharetta, GA. Wise manufacturers industrial/prime labels and tags, traditional forms, and digitally printed products and services for resale only. For more information, visit www.wbf.com or email Bill at [email protected].
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