Recognize Right Blog: Unlock the People Potential in Your Organization

Working for a happy company can make all the difference in your organization’s productivity.  I recently read this article regarding the happiest companies in America.  Studies show that positive, happy employees outperform others in terms of productivity, turnover rates, and healthcare costs.

According to a Harvard researcher, optimistic sales people outperform their pessimistic counterparts by up to 37%. Actually, the benefits of happy employees can be witnessed across all industries and job functions. 

“If you infuse fun into the work environment, you will have more engaged employees, greater job satisfaction, increased productivity and a brighter place to be,” says Stacy Sullivan, the chief culture officer of Google, who has a telling and rare title at a company often celebrated for its campus and perks.  Other top companies are offering perks such as flexible schedules, onsite daycares, and fitness facilities.

If adding these types of perks to your organization are just not in the budget, something as small as ‘a great job’ or ‘thank you’ from a supervisor or peer will help employees feel happy and appreciated! If your employees are feeling a little blue, this is the perfect time to create a culture of recognition. Recognition leads to happy, motivated, and engaged employees, and that adds to the bottom line – both in employee retention and net revenue.

When instituting a recognition program, start simple by recognizing others who go above-and-beyond. Next, enable your organization so everyone can recognize others systematically; there are online recognition systems, like ours, that are easy and effective.  These tools allow peer-to-peer recognition, the ability for managers to recognize “on the spot,” and for the entire company to administer a Years of Service program.

What can you do in your organization to make someone happy?  Trying saying “thank you” – it is so important to recognize someone for a job well done.  Make it a daily goal!

Take a look at this scenario:  Your organization has decided to create a culture of recognition.  An investment has been made with an online recognition and performance improvement platform.  You, along with management, feel you have created the greatest recognition system with easy-to-use nomination recognition tools. You have aligned corporate strategies and goals.  Soon after launch, participation is lack luster and dismal.  You ask yourself, “What is missing?”  Could it be an effective engagement and communication plan?

It is a fact and backed by research, if your employees are not kept in the loop about the recognition program, participation will suffer.  Communication is an important key in successfully executing any performance improvement initiative. And most importantly, use communication to move and compel people to take action.

Recognition and performance improvement programs’ sole success lies heavily on the communication plan.  A successful communication plan should include: 

1. Launch – Have a party and include everyone! Make it fun and memorable.
2. Repetition – The message needs to be frequent and consistent.
3. Mix it up! – Everyone responds differently to different methods of communication.  Use a combination of print elements, including branded trinkets and posters, electronic messages sent to emails, PDA’s and other devices. 
4. Management – Encourage and engage managers as “recognition” advocates.
5. Online – Post reminders and publicize successes on your organization’s intranet pages or other message boards.

Behind every effective program, you’ll find a compelling communication plan. Do you have a communication strategy for your rewards and recognition initiatives?  What types of communication elements do you include?

On October 13, I’m co-presenting at the annual Motivation Show in Chicago.  Along with Scottrade, we will be discussing “Recognition for the Generations”.  For the first time in our history four generations are present and working side-by-side in the workforce; Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. 

With the vast differences in these generations, many organizations are struggling with managing, engaging, and motivating them the “right way”. For example, did you know Generation X appreciates timely feedback and Generation Y would prefer it daily?

Here are some other interesting facts and statistics about each generation: 

• Traditionalists are motivated by money and the corner office.
• Baby Boomers prefer formal and public recognition.
• Generation X desires flexible schedules.
• Generation Y wants daily praise and recognition.

For more information about “Recognition for the Generations” take a look at our fun YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueyVnx94LVY.  Are you managing a generation and not quite sure you are motivating the right way?  If so, I hope to see you in October!

Last week, I had discussed the importance of mangers and their involvement and commitment to creating a successful recognition initiative within their organization.  This week, I would like to discuss how to build manager buy-in and accountability. Managers are the key ingredient to tying recognition to their critical business strategies because they oversee the day-to-day activities; hence have the most opportunities to recognize employees for doing the right things NOW. 

The most effective way to build manager buy-in is to illustrate the positive effect an integrated recognition program has on your organizations’ bottom line as well as employee engagement, retention, and morale. Sounds like quite the task, but if management is well informed, engaged, and trained, they can be so powerful!

On average, a successful recognition program can yield an RIO from 200% to 600% +, which is common in programs we have designed for our clients.  Successful managers that deliver their business strategies use recognition and they have actively engaged team members as well.

As we all know, an engaged employee is a productive employee.  It is tough to swallow the billions of dollars in lost production because of disengaged employees.  According to the Gallop Poll, the United States has the highest percentage of engaged workers reporting only at 27%.  This equates to over 22 million disengaged employees resulting to over $300 billion annually in lost productivity. 

Different levels of management also play distinct rolls in recognition initiatives – senior managers create the recognition strategy while middle managers implement the strategy.  Tools are available for both levels of management to display timely, actionable reports.  These reports should output who is recognizing, who is getting recognized, and why they are being recognized. 

Today, it is easier to hold managers accountable for their role in using recognition as a feedback and people engagement tool. Other ideas to hold managers accountable are to add recognizing employees to the managers’ job description and hold recognition training sessions.  In the past, we had a client who hosted “Recognition 101” for all management staff.

Managers should consider recognition as a way of providing positive feedback and investing in their employees.  Most managers do agree that recognition is necessary for the health of their organization.  What tools could you use to successfully promote recognition within your organization?

For years, I have been discussing the importance of recognition and emphasizing that people are your biggest asset. Take a look at this article in Fortune Magazine, “What makes the most admired companies different?”

What makes these companies admired is their dedication to understand that people are an asset, not an expense. This research was conducted by the Hay Group who annually assists Fortune Magazine in determining the World’s Most Admired Companies. The companies appearing on the top of the admired list are Apple, Google, Berkshire Hathaway, and Johnson & Johnson.

As stated by Fortune Magazine, if you think your employees are an asset, then you will keep investing in them.  Creating and sustaining a culture of recognition within your organization could be a way to motivate your employees to keep performing at top levels. On the flip side, if you think employees are an expense, then you’re likely to cut the expense.  This is especially true in a downsizing economy.

This new research conducted shows that top companies are making sure their employees feel engaged by their work. These firms are more likely to have stated what engagement means, how to measure it, to have managers accountable for it, and to align business objectives to it (efficiency, productivity, etc).  Not only more admired, but more profitable as well.

Another lesson learned from these top companies: this is not something they learned overnight; it has been a practice in place for years. Champions know what their most valuable asset is, and they give it the attention and investment it deserves.

What can your company do to make it more admirable?  Would creating a culture of recognition be on your list?