by Dr. Bob Nelson
Recognition Pro: Coaching Managers to Recognize & Reward
Regardless of what forms of incentive, recognition or rewards you are
using in your organization, you will achieve higher value if you are
mindful of how such items are delivered.
Take, for example, a five-year service award. I contend the activity
of personally recognizing that employee milestone is many times more
meaningful than the specific token gift that may be received. Instead
of receiving a five-year pin, logo'd jewelry or a choice of gift
delivered to your desk with a form letter several months after your
anniversary, most employees would be far more touched to get a personal
call or visit from their manager on the day of their anniversary. Their
manager could say something like: "I noticed it was your five-year anniversary today. Can you believe
how fast the time has gone? I can still remember your first day of
work! I was excited about having you on the team then and I'm excited
about having you with us today. Thanks for confirming my good judgment
in hiring you!"
Of course, the manager would have to take some initiative to mark his
calendar in advance and take a few minutes to connect with the employee
on that day, but it's exactly those personal actions that give the
interaction so much meaning for the typical employee. The thoughtful,
personal touch tells the employee that although you are busy, you are
not too busy when it comes to taking time for an employee.
In another example, I know someone who had been a part of a project
team that lasted for quite some time. The team members worked hard and
they achieved significant results. Many weeks after their last meeting,
coffee mugs with an imprinted name of the project mysteriously appeared
on each member's desk. My friend's reaction was "I guess this is for
all the overtime I worked on that project. Some thanks!"
Needless to say, the lack of context given to this recognition item
undermined what otherwise might have been a very thoughtful gesture of
thanks and teamwork. Whoever went through the effort and expense to
provide the coffee mugs could have pulled the group together--perhaps
for a celebrations lunch--and distributed the mugs at that time as a
memento of the team project with individual words of thanks for each
team member. In that instance the coffee mugs would have been more
likely to serve as a symbolic reminder of that shared team effort for
years to come.
Besides making recognition more meaningful, providing a context adds a
practical element to the activity as well. It gives you a chance to:
- Specifically identify the desired performance thus eliminating any
guessing on the part of the employee and creating a strong link Between
the desired performance and the reward.
- Generalize the specific
performance to a larger category of desired behavior such as teamwork, a
company value or organizational initiative.
- Set a public example
for other employees as to what things get noticed and rewarded in your
work environment.
Thus a manager can obtain a benefit on several levels by verbally
recognizing an employee as follows: "John, thanks for working late last
night to help us wrap up that proposal. I appreciate that you did it
without being asked. It's that type of initiative that tells me you're
really committed to our group and it's exactly what we need to reach the
goals we've all been aiming for this year."
Taking the time to personalize the delivery of any achievement award
adds to its values for all of us. It creates an emotional impact that
seems rarely felt today in the workplace.
By providing a context for an award or recognition item, you have a
chance to tie the item and event to a larger context for the employee,
thus potentially connecting one's job responsibilities to a larger
framework, a deeper sense of commitment and group purpose, and
ultimately to the overall mission of the organization.
Posted by Curt Denevan:
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