Making Recognition Relevant

Making Recognition Relevant

So you know the seven best practice standards – now what? The challenge: Not only do we have to figure out how to apply what we know, but we also have to make sure that the application is appropriate. Simply put, we need to make the recognition relevant to recipients. While this may seem easy enough, as I speak about the power of effective recognition with hundreds of organizations around the globe, one of the biggest questions is always how to make it relevant.

After a recent presentation, a manager came up to tell me about his own experience in recognizing the top performers in his department. Despite his best efforts, his attempts at recognition had the opposite effect on some well deserving employees. In fact, one of his best employees had recently requested that he simply stop doing the recognition. Now I was curious, and I asked this manager what he was doing that had his best employees asking him to stop. He said, "I give a candy bar for good performance and for every ten candy bars that someone receives, they then get a pack of "LIFESAVERS." Of course, the unintended impact of this "recognition attempt" was that his team felt micromanaged by their obsessive boss and it all came across more like a parent treats a child (they liked the chocolate, but it just went too far).

The kicker is that this well intentioned manager is not alone. Time and time again, audience members will ask, "How come my employees don't appreciate the recognition I give them?" Or comments like, "We spend lots of money on recognition, but it doesn't seem to have an impact."

If that is happening at your organization, I would suggest asking the following questions:
· How do your current recognition programs make the recipient feel?
· What programs are generating a negative response? Why?
· What are you actually communicating when you give recognition?
· What are you doing to engage each individual?
· Do your managers / supervisors know what to do or how to communicate the message?

If the recognition is actually interpreted as belittling or as an insult, it simply won't be appreciated. Again, while that seems rather simple, we find that this happens more often than anyone would like to admit. At one large client, a five year employee said that she begged HR not to give her manager the opportunity to present a service award for this very reason. However, when done well, service awards can be some of the best recognition a company can offer an employee! Reminding the individual of their contribution and inspiring all those who hear the presentation that what they do is important represents a huge opportunity that should not be squandered.

To make recognition relevant, consider a few of the critical factors for success:

Examine the recognition awards / programs. Do they communicate respect for the individual or do they feel more like stars on a second graders homework?
Examine the delivery. Do you rely on "employee of the month" programs to deliver recognition? Is the program old, tired, or overused?
Examine the communication. Make sure that managers understand what to do to make the presentation powerful instead of demeaning.

Don’t get me wrong. The little things can be great! Ice cream socials, thank you cards, a special token of appreciation, and even a simple e-mail message can all be great - just make sure that recipients know what its about and that it demonstrates respect.

Obert C. Tanner, founder of O.C. Tanner Company, once said (and I paraphrase): “Recognition done right celebrates the dignity of human beings and lifts them up!” Let’s remember that RPI’s seven best practice standards promote the same thing. Now what? Make your recognition more than just a program, make it relevant.