Revitalize Your Recognition Program
By Bob Nelson

Most organizations set up formal recognition programs, but never reevaluate their effectiveness and relevance to the organization's purpose and objectives. This is a vital step in keeping recognition efforts fresh. (read more...)

What Makes Recognition Work
By Cindy Ventrice

The kind of recognition that inspires someone to say "You made my day" is both memorable and meaningful. It stands out in employees' minds, sometimes because it's clever and unique, sometimes because of the consistency and regularity with which it is offered, and sometimes simply because it was heartfelt. (read more...)

101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work: Tip #2
By John Putzier

Do you advertise for employees in the "Help Wanted" section of the paper? If so, you are probably listing your ad in the right category, right? Wrong! This idea is twofold. First, it can mean advertising for your traditional types of candidates (i.e., those who already have the title and the experience) in non-traditional places. Second, it can mean sourcing for non-traditional candidates (i.e., those who never had the title, but have relevant experience). (read more...)

Revitalize Your Recognition Program (^ top)
By Bob Nelson

Most organizations set up formal recognition programs, but never reevaluate their effectiveness and relevance to the organization's purpose and objectives. This is a vital step in keeping recognition efforts fresh.

Once of the best ways to revitalize an aging organizational recognition programs is through the use of motivators. Here are just a few possibilities:

• Variety. Sometimes, imply adding a new celebratory activity can do wonders to revitalize recognition. I suggest that you brainstorm the ways that variety can be added, without necessarily changing any of the core aspects of the program: you might recognize all employees who recognize or nominate another employee for an award during a one-month period.
• New recognition opportunities. Establish new opportunities for recognition and celebration. Even within a well-defined area of recognition, you should be able to identify many new recognition opportunities. For instance, if you have individual safety awards, establish a new category for team safety awards.
• New recognition levels. Choose new triggers for recognition. To make sure employees do not perceive "recognition escalation" as a take-away, or as changing the rules in the middle of the game, keep lower levels of recognition intact.
• Enhance the scorekeeping process. Make use of this powerful measurement and feedback mechanism. Providing new scorekeeping methods can have a significant revitalizing impact on recognition programs. For example, one organization posted huge scoreboards throughout the company to call attention to its revitalized recognition program; another created a giant recognition "utilization thermometer" for the lobby to track the number of employees who participated in the company's recognition programs.

What Makes Recognition Work (^ top)
By Cindy Ventrice

The kind of recognition that inspires someone to say "You made my day" is both memorable and meaningful. It stands out in employees' minds, sometimes because it's clever and unique, sometimes because of the consistency and regularity with which it is offered, and sometimes simply because it was heartfelt.

Recognition that works doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. It's a 'thank you' delivered in front of a group, one to one, or by email. It's the written or verbal acknowledgement of an accomplishment. It's demonstrating a person's value to the organization by providing a new opportunity. Employees say small gestures mean the most.

Look up the words "recognize" or "recognition" in any dictionary and you will find definitions that use words like "see," "identify," and "acknowledge." These words are at the core of how employees define recognition. One man told me, "I'd be happy if I thought anyone here even knew I existed." Most employees don't feel anywhere near this level of dissatisfaction, but his comment does show the extreme of what it means to feel completely unrecognized.

Employees want to be seen-sometimes literally. When anyone higher up the organizational ladder greets an employee by name in the hallway, typically that employee will view the greeting as a form of recognition. Why? Because these are the people that employees most want to be seen by, because they have the most influence over their careers.

Employees also want their accomplishments identified and acknowledged. When coworkers, internal customers, managers, and supervisors provide specific details about the value of an employee's contribution, they provide recognition that works at its most fundamental level.

So how do you offer recognition that works? You make sure it includes at least one of the four basic elements of meaningful recognition: praise, thanks, opportunity, and respect. Recognition that works is typically a combination of these four elements. Let's look at each element separately.

Praise
Employees want to hear you say, "Hey, you accomplished something important." They want you to acknowledge their progress. They want you to see what they do right.

Three tips for offering praise:

1. Be clear and concise about what you are praising.
2. Make the praise proportional to the accomplishment. Don't exaggerate or over do it.
3. Keep it timely. Don't wait six months for the performance review. When you see it, praise it.

101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work: Tip #2 (^ top)
By John Putzier

Do you advertise for employees in the "Help Wanted" section of the paper? If so, you are probably listing your ad in the right category, right? Wrong! This idea is twofold. First, it can mean advertising for your traditional types of candidates (i.e., those who already have the title and the experience) in non-traditional places. Second, it can mean sourcing for non-traditional candidates (i.e., those who never had the title, but have relevant experience).

For example, let's say you want a customer service representative, and you run your ad in the sales and customer service section. You have already limited your options and your market. You are looking in the same box that everyone else is! And, your target market is now looking at your competitors' ads right next to yours. That's a Lose-Lose!

You are also targeting the active job seeker, rather than the passive candidate who may be more valuable to you. Top talent is usually already gainfully employed and does not need to read the job ads.

If your company sells sporting equipment, try advertising your opportunities in the Sports section. Not only do your type of people read that section every day, but there is also little or no competition for your ad. You stand out and you also have a better chance of being seen by passive candidates as well as active ones.

Just think about the demographics of your ideal candidates and put your advertising in places where they will see it, besides in the classifieds. Outside of newspapers, this same theory applies to other types of publications, journals, programs, and specialized print media.

Now let's look at the second wrong place. Who else might have valuable experience and training in customer service environments, but may not have had the title? Maybe a waitress, or a bartender, or a flight attendant, or a teacher, and so on. Look for people with skills rather than just people with titles.

All the Wrong Places involves getting out of the traditional "been there, done that" category boxes and looking at transferable skills and trainability. There are tons of frustrated workers looking to do something new with the skills they have already developed. But unless you, the employer, opens that door, most people will either rule themselves out or not even realize they could have been candidates in the first place.

Rather than hope somebody figures this out, start advertising and promoting your job opportunities in "all the wrong places." Advertise in their trade and interest publications and be totally above board about it. Say, "Are you a frustrated waitress? or "Are you tired of teaching?" and then explain how they might start over with you.

This idea can go beyond advertising. Go to trade fairs, job fairs and other visibility functions that attract your cross-market. In fact, the venue doesn't have to have anything to do with recruiting. Cisco Systems actually gave away tickets in the end zones at Stanford games in exchange for having the people stand up with a series of placards that spelled out www.cisco.com/careers. The idea was to promote their recruiting web site during touchdowns and extra point attempts. What better place than in a captive bowl full of candidates?

They also had a booth at the Flower and Garden Show in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their logic was that the people who could afford to have enough property to have gardens in the Bay Area were probably successful people! And, in the San Francisco Bay Area, that group has to include a pretty large number of techies. Cisco went to them in a unique environment (theirs), and demonstrated that they knew who they were. One of the best things about this concept is that there is little or no competition, you get exclusive exposure, and ultimately you get the pick of the litter!

In fact, you don't have to limit this to advertising. Don't you have a favorite waiter or waitress? Haven't you seen exemplary customer service in action when you had a problem as a consumer? Look at sales clerks, cashiers, pizza delivery guys/gals, hotel employees, the concierge, valets, amusement park workers, theater employees, auto sales people, car washers, dry cleaners, home repair and maintenance workers, maids and pet-sitters, telephone customer service/help desk workers, and on and on and on. You and every one of your employees is exposed to top notch talent almost every day, and never think about looking at them as potential recruits, because they are in "All the Wrong Places!"

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