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Have you serviced your car lately?
A few weeks ago I dropped my sister-in-law’s car off for a service. I couldn’t help but notice the number of cars in the workshop that had engines pulled out and on the floor. “Looks like you have a few big jobs on”, I said to the mechanic” He said that a lot of people at the moment are delaying servicing their car, in fact, many just keep driving it until the engine blows up or it just stops. He said it is a sign of the economic times. Many people are choosing not to spend $700 on a car service, thinking they are saving money, however it ends up costing them more like $7,000.
This is no different to what I am seeing and hearing in a lot of workplaces. When I have asked them what they are doing to acknowledge employees for great work, their response has been, “They’re lucky to have a job, that’s their reward.”
I am concerned that like the cars, many workplaces are heading towards engine failure, which is going to end up costing far more then regular attention.
A little praise can go a long way towards building long lasting relationships. Recognition is one of the cheapest investments in your employees, yet it can make a huge impact on their performance. Recognition can bring you a significant ROI at a much smaller out of pocket expense. In many organisations the only time an employee is recognised by management is when something goes wrong like when the car breaks down. Crisis management has taken over from positive recognition.
Building a productive working relationship requires managers to take the time to notice when employees are doing things right, instead of when things go wrong. People like and respond to instant feedback and they need validation and affirmation in their workplace.
A Quick-Start Program to Recognise Employees
So, where do you start? Building the opportunity to recognise employees into your organisation won’t happen overnight. If praise isn’t a part of your corporate culture already, you’ll need to start with the basics.
- Listen
- Look
- Praise
Listen
We ask our employees to listen to our customers so why not start doing that to your people. Learn to listen to the people you work with. Simply listening to employees’ perspectives on company problems, ideas and issues makes people feel valued. People become motivated when managers take the time to consider their input. To be a better listener, establish eye-contact, take notes and ask questions. Show you’re truly interested in what’s being said. Active listening tells employees that their input is important… and they are important.
Look
Next, make a conscious effort to look for opportunities to recognise employees. You may have a million items on your to-do list, deadlines to meet and projects to finish. Even so, take a few seconds to stop and look at the activity around you and recognise employees. Instead of waiting for the problems and mistakes to find you, go out and look for the achievements and successes.
By focusing on what goes on around you, you will become more aware of the qualities that make your organisation work: teamwork, cooperation, communication and people. At first, you’ll have to stop and make time to look for these golden opportunities to recognise employees. After awhile, it will become second nature. If you want to change the culture of your company… if you want to create a positive, team building environment… if you want a staff of motivated, energised workers… make a commitment to recognise employees. This is the single most important step you can take.
Praise
Keep it simple for starters, for example a thank-you note or a certificate of appreciation or even a coffee on you.
Why praise?
Praise reinforces, recognises employees and motivates desirable behaviour. When you praise people, you make people feel good about themselves and good about their jobs and help promote workplace motivation. Almost magically, attitude improves and morale is bolstered. The best is yet to come… these recognised, motivated employees will prove to be the most productive.
No news is good news
Have you noticed how easy it has been to get caught up in the day-to-day routine at work and lose sight of the importance of appreciation over the last year/year and a half? Like most people your workload has probably increased as a result of the decrease in the workforce. And while you are focused on your goals, your projects and your results it is so easy to forget to say thank you to the people who help make the results happen.
Don’t forget about the high performers who consistently do a good job, as they are often the ones who get the short end of the stick because we tend to give feedback and pay more attention to low performers. As a result, high performers can feel ignored and unappreciated. This leads your top talent to look for new jobs where they will be appreciated.
While some managers adopt a “no news is good news” management strategy, it doesn’t motivate and inspire high performers. If you need a few tips on how to give more recognition at work, try these three suggestions.
Encourage Recognition.
Talk about recognition in your workplace. Employees will be more engaged, motivated and productive if they receive feedback and recognition for their work, which means better results for the team and the company. A good start is to ensure you helpful give feedback after a major project.
Make it Easy.
Make recognition easy. Stop by the desk of your employee or when you have your one-on-one meeting, sing a few of their praises. You may not be aware of all the great things your people do everyday, so why not even ask them what they have been doing well.
Recognise Your Co-Workers.
Recognition is contagious, and you will be able to watch it spread throughout your organization. Once you start recognising co-workers or employees with handwritten notes, or a token of appreciation, they will be so impacted by the gesture that they will start to give recognition too.
Pass the Trophy around
To encourage a culture of innovation, consider a traveling trophy like this one.
Each month, a winning suggestion is selected. In front of peers and organization leaders, the department manager presents the recipient with the “Reward Wally” traveling trophy. The simple trophy features Wally Reward mounted on a base with an inscription that reads: “Great Work”
The winner keeps it at their desk for a month. The manager then retrieves the trophy on the day of the next monthly meeting for presentation to the next winner.
Award Presentations Make a Year-End Recognition Event Memorable
The company year-end party is often the most anticipated employee recognition event of the year. Employees look forward to an evening full of camaraderie outside of the workplace all year long. The year-end recognition event is the perfect opportunity for company leadership to reinforce company values and motivate employees.
The year-end recognition event is the ideal time to incorporate special award presentations. Award presentations have the ability to build company pride and motivate a large group of employees. To ensure the award presentations are meaningful, the presenter should be a senior manager who personally knows the award recipient and their accomplishments.
Before the award presentations remind presenters to keep comments positive, be specific and relate the employee’s accomplishments back to the organisation as a whole. By recognising outstanding employees at the year-end recognition event, you reinforce desired behaviour for the rest of the company.
Don’t forget to be sensitive to the recipients’ presentation wishes, too. After the initial presentation speech, allow the recipient to say a few words. Follow these tips and your year-end recognition event will be more than just a fun event… special awards presentations will make it a memorable moment your employees will treasure for years to come!
Service Awards that have impact
Get the most out of your service awards with these simple tips that you can put into practice right away.
Awards for years of service are the foundation of many recognition programs. Make the most out of your service awards for your employees and your business. Here are three easy things you can do today that will make a big impact on your service awards
Recognise earlier
It’s no surprise that employees are changing jobs much more frequently these days. Recognising your newer employees can make an impact on their level of engagement. If your recognition program starts at 5 years of service, consider giving a small award for Welcome Aboard, 1 year and 3 years.
Add verbal or written recognition
If you don’t have a formal service awards event, you can add impact by recognising employees on their anniversary day. It can be something as simple as a card from the individual’s manager. Try keeping a supply of Milestone Cards on hand for employee anniversaries.
Use awards that support corporate pride
Make the item memorable and special by incorporating your company symbol or engraving the years of service.
Praise the recipient’s personal accomplishments during the presentation
The presentation of an award is arguably as important as the award itself. Be sure your comments are personalised for each recipient and share specifics about the individual’s contributions and achievements.
