Top Ten Rewards & Recognition Questions
By Ph.D. Bob Nelson
1) If you recognize one person, aren't you NOT
recognizing everyone else? That is, what do you do about the
employees who feel left out?
Whenever someone in your organization is upset about someone else
being recognized (and not him- or herself), this should be a red
flag that you are not doing enough recognition. When recognition is
a scarce commodity, people have a tendency to want to cling to it
and, for that matter, keep in the spotlight as long as possible
because they are never sure when it will come around again. Leaving
employees out does not tend to be a problem in organizations that
have developed a strong recognition culture, that have a variety of
formal and informal programs and tools, and where managers place an
emphasis on daily recognition practices and behaviors.
As a start toward moving toward such an “abundance”
mentality, revamp your recognition activities and programs to avoid
a single “winner” or quota. Instead, create
opportunities for everyone to be potential winners, such as having
an honor roll for those employees who have all practiced a key
value or set of behaviors of the organization within a given time
period, instead of an employee-of-the-month program, which honors a
single recipient. Also, remember, if some of the best forms of
recognition tend to have little if any cost (e.g., verbal and
written praise, public praise, symbolic gestures by managers, pass
around awards, etc.), there is absolutely no reason not to do more
of these activities in a timely, sincere, and personal way!"
2) Our managers know they should recognize their
employees, but they feel they’re too busy to do so. What can
we do?
I’ve found that making recognition happen is iterative, so
try to build on and expand from your successes. Discuss with the
managers the increasing problem of attracting and retaining
employees, the hidden costs, the loss of productivity and
competitiveness. Show the demographics and what your competition is
doing. Relate the issue to the bottom line. You can’t force
managers to recognize their employees, but you can make a
persuasive case for why they should want to do so. Remember too
that “time” can be an excuse. In my doctoral research,
I found that high-use recognition managers actually valued
recognition in part because it can be well done with very little
time.
3) If you praise employees, won't it be more
difficult to discipline them when necessary?
If you are specific about what you are praising the person for,
this is less of a problem. Generic praise such as
“You’re one of my best employees” can be
misleading to the employee because it seems to indicate little, if
any, need for improvement. You can leverage those things the
individual is good at as evidence that he or she can improve in
other areas of the job, for example, “Gary, I know you can
make these new changes we’ve discussed, because I’ve
seen how well you handle assignments that you put your mind
to.” As the person makes improvements, be sure to notice and
acknowledge those improvements. This will be one of the best ways
to assure that the improved performance continues. When you
discipline someone, you have to make sure that the person feels you
are on his or her side. If someone is on a performance improvement
plan, it is essential that you notice when the person has made
improvement of any type to start to build the positive momentum
toward enhanced performance. Typically, doing so will make the
employee’s progress easier and show that you are in it
together.
4) My company does a lot to recognize their
employees, but employees report they don't receive much
recognition. What's going on?
Many organizations confuse lots of employee activities with
equating to lots of recognition – it’s not. The type of
activities you referenced falls into a narrow band on the
recognition spectrum. Such activities may help morale and social
interaction among employees, but tend not to make any individual
employee feel special. The best recognition singles individuals or
groups out for extraordinary performance. It is contingency based
upon those things that make the biggest difference to the
group’s mutual success. If people don’t appreciate
those things you are doing, you need to consider doing things they
do value more.
5) How can we get top management to support
recognition activities?
Different people are persuaded differently. The best advice I have
is to think of other times when your manager has been persuaded (to
purchase equipment, approve a policy exception, hire a person,
etc.) and what served to convince her (data, cost/benefit, urgency
of the problem, competitor doing it, personal appeal). Now mimic
what worked!
6) Our recognition programs are feeling stale. How can we
reenergize them?
Any recognition program or activity can get old and lose energy,
especially over a number of years. Do a focus group or find a way
to collect information about why people do not use the existing
program. Include the biggest cynics on the review team to gain
their feedback. It may be that the program just needs to be
relaunched to remind people of its existence and new incentives
need to be established. Or, you may discover that the program has
run its course and it would be better to do something new and
exciting.
7) We hold some recognition events that a lot of
employees—even ones receiving the awards—do not attend.
How can we get employees to come to these events?
If you throw a party and no one comes, was it really a party? I
don't want to seem flip about it, but my guess is the events you
are referring to have lost their pizzazz and don't do much for
those who are invited to attend. You need to host recognition
events that create a buzz with employees, where fun things happen!
Build anticipation: announce that upper management will be serving
the refreshments, list door prizes that will be given for
attendance, hire a standup comedian -- that type of thing. Another
possibility is your choice of time and venue. I worked with a
hospital recently that held all recognition events during off hours
so that employees had to stay an extra hour or two after what was
usually already a long shift or even forced overtime. Talk about
excitement! For employees who feel overworked and stressed, their
preference for being thanked is to allow them to go home to their
families. The last thing on their minds is "How can I spend more of
my limited free time at work
8) Can too much recognition lead to constantly
escalating forms of recognition or unfulfilled expectations on the
part of employees?
Hey, no one promised you a rose garden! Employee motivation today
is a moving target. You've got to be in constant contact with your
employees to determine what they most value and then find ways to
systematically act on those desired forms of recognition and
rewards as they perform well. Yes, you need to vary your forms of
recognition, adding new things, experimenting, and so forth, but
you can also stop doing other things that have run their course and
are no longer very motivating to employees. The alternative is that
if you keep doing the same things year after year, you'll likely
end up with a very boring place to work. Variety is the spice of
life and as you try new things---especially things your employees
are interested in---your rewards will be higher morale,
productivity, performance, and retention. Certainly that should
provide some motivation for you to stay the course! p.s.: The one
form of recognition that never seems to get old is effective
praise. If you are timely, sincere, and specific in thanking
employees when they have done good work, this form of recognition
tends to never get old.
9)What’s the best way to really get employees
involved in the decision-making process and get them invested in
the process, that is, motivated to perform for the good of
all?
Without a doubt, the best decision making involves those people who
are expected to implement the decisions being made! Ask their
opinions, involve them in a discussion, or give them the authority
to handle the situation as best they can. This is highly motivating
for most people, and of course reaching goals they’ve set
helps keep people going. As you give people responsibility, they
are bound to act more responsibly!”
10)How is the best way to make recognition become
part of an organization’s culture?
One step at a time. Create a motivation baseline and move in the
desired direction a step at a time. Start small and build on your
success. Ask, “Who wants to help?” and run with those
individuals who see the need and are positive about the change.
Build momentum, which can become a critical mass and lead to a
quantum leap in which every manager in your operation one day knows
the value of recognition and acts on it as a matter of course in
his or her daily behavioral repertoire with employees.
Creating a recognition culture is a messy, nonlinear process that
involves taking time to assess what employees feel could most make
a difference and then taking that feedback seriously in making
change happen in the organization. Start with those employees who
have the most energy for improving the level of recognition and
build on your successes, learning along the way. Training is an
important part of raising awareness about the need to recognize
employees systematically in meaningful ways, helping managers
develop the skills they need to recognize others well, and setting
the expectation of all managers that they need to make recognition
a priority in their jobs. Regarding managers’ performance
evaluations, their ability to manage and motivate staff should be
an integral part of how they are evaluated in their jobs;
otherwise, the activity is not likely to be taken
seriously.”
