by Bill Collier
Your company needs more R&R!
That’s Rewards & Recognition, not Rest & Relaxation.
Read anything from the top business gurus, and you’ll find universal support for recognizing your employees. It’s so self-evident, it almost merits a “duh.” Thank you, Captain Obvious.
The benefits are incalculable: Increased engagement. Reduced turnover. Improved productivity.
Yet, recognition provider Globoforce says, “65% of people surveyed said they got no recognition for good work last year.” They also say that the number one reason most Americans leave their jobs is that they don’t feel appreciated.
So, what should you recognize your people for?
How about starting with birthdays and hire-date anniversaries? If you’re not already recognizing your folks on these days, it’s a good place to start. Buy a card and have their fellow team members sign it. Then give the card to the recipient. Simple. Easy. Inexpensive.
Too much to keep track of? Just set calendar reminders for a week ahead of each upcoming date, and put these events on auto-pilot. Consider asking someone on the team to be the birthday and anniversary czar and let him or her handle it.
Darn near anything and everything is a recognition opportunity. Here’s a list to get you thinking:
• Birthdays
• Company anniversaries
• Perfect attendance
• Highest quality
• Highest production
• Outstanding customer service
• Most suggestions submitted
• Most alignment with your organization’s Core Values
Get creative. Also, borrow ideas from thought-leading companies with great cultures, like Zappos.
Good news! Recognition is essentially free. The cost is whatever time it takes to say “thank you for a job well done” or “Congratulations,” or to mention someone in a company meeting or in your internal newsletter.
Do yourself a favor and avoid an “Employee of the month” award. Things like that are so subjective that they turn into a “Whose turn is it to win this month?” program.
What else should you recognize? Tap into the wisdom of the crowd and ask your team: “What’s important around here?” Then find ways to identify and recognize employees who contribute to their department’s or company’s success.
Recognition doesn’t have to be only from the top down, either. Why not enable peer-to-peer recognition? Consider implementing a “Shout-out” or “Attaboy” or “Catch ‘em doing something right” program.
Let your customers get in on the act. Put out employee recognition cards where in-person customers can offer feedback on the spot. Or add a form to your website.
How about recognizing teams, in addition to individuals? Teamwork is clearly an important aspect of culture-building. Many of the same criteria you’d use with individuals can apply to teams, such as productivity, attendance and so on.
Commit to doing something to get the ball rolling, then add to your recognition program over time.
In Part 2, we’ll explore ways to reward your team. Stay tuned! n
Bill Collier is the St. Louis area head coach for The Great Game of Business. He works with organizations who want to improve financial results, engage their employees and create a winning culture. Bill can be reached at 314-221-8558, GreatGame.com/stl, GGOBSTL.com or bcollier@ggob.com.
Submitted 8 years 343 days ago