As I was about to turn off the ignition, I noticed the sign: “Reserved for Employee of The Month,” so I dutifully found another parking space. It wasn’t that much further away, and as I walked toward the entrance, I happened to look up and saw the sign of an adjacent fast-food restaurant: “Congratulations to our Employee of The Month.” The name was absent. What a meaningless, perhaps self-serving device employers of such employee recognition ‘systems’ have implemented, I thought.
In the first place, publicly heralding such an achievement strikes me as an attempt to bring more credit to the employer than the employee. “Look what a great employer I am,” it seems to say, “I reach down to the little people in my business and show how much I care.”
In the second place, “…of The Month.”? Over the years, I’ve overheard a few employees’ comments about how much meaning they attribute to such scheduled recognition. A typical comment is, “Yep, it must be Joe’s turn this month. He hasn’t gotten it for a while.” It’s obvious these employers are at least attempting to recognize and perhaps reward good employee performance, which is good, but to be truly effective such pats on the back must be meaningful to the employee.
It may seem ironic, but sometimes the technique implemented can actually have a negative effect on employee morale, exactly the opposite of the intent! If employees feel they are being treated just as a cog in a wheel, no different than the other cogs, they resent it; in fact, we all do.
Think about it – when a working superior compliments us generally, such as “You’re really doing a great job,” but we’re pretty sure they don’t have a clue about exactly what we do, don’t we feel that’s an attempt to manipulate us? Nobody likes that feeling. After all, if we’re sure the boss doesn’t have a pretty good idea of the burdens of our job, how can he or she know we’re doing it well?
The news media these days is full of articles about how difficult it is for employers to attract and retain good employees. With our low unemployment rate, it’s particularly important for employers to find effective methods of building a rewarding working environment that will encourage loyalty.
Consistently earned recognition is a very effective method to let high-achieving employees know how much you appreciate them, and surprisingly, more often than not, it doesn’t always require money.
Here are some general guidelines for devising recognition techniques that can put you on the right track:
• Make sure the method means something to the employee. A title such as “Employee of The Month,” often accompanied by a special parking place, which is taken away at the end of the month, just doesn’t do it. How about awarding an extra personal day off with pay, at the employee’s discretion but scheduled in advance?
• Use the old axiom of reward in public, reprimand in private. We all like it if we’re complimented within the hearing of our compatriots as long as we know it’s deserved and is not out of balance with our accomplishments (over or under praise should be avoided – your judgment is particularly important here). Generally speaking, recognition to a public that doesn’t know us is ineffective. Newspaper articles [or social media posts] do have an impact because almost always, someone who knows us will see the article [or post] and comment on it to us. We like that.
• Surprise is an important element, so don’t create a scheduled system where every employee can anticipate they’ll have a turn. Be impromptu, even spontaneous, from time to time. If you know your employees well, you’ll know what they like. Sometimes even a gag gift presented at an employee meeting can have a good effect.
• When complimenting, be specific about an aspect of the employee’s work you like. “I really enjoy working with you, Frank, and I particularly appreciate the extra hours you put in on the Smith account last weekend. I think your work has significantly contributed to the Smith’s faith and trust they have exhibited toward our firm.”
• If monetary recognition is going to be used, of course, a pay raise is always well received. But don’t forget an occasional cash award, but care should be exercised in this regard. If a well-performing employee is going on vacation, for instance, or perhaps they like the one-armed bandits in Cripple Creek, a token amount can be given, but make sure it’s connected to such events and awarded in front of other employees. Also, make it in cash which has a lot more impact than in a paycheck, and make sure everyone knows that any employee could be a recipient.
• For it to be meaningful, only those who truly deserve recognition should receive it, and your employees will know who they are. It is true that some will be left out over time, but it’s better to have it that way than to make up a reason to recognize an underperforming employee. The other employees will resent it and discount the occasions when you really mean it.
As is so often the case, how we do something is at least as important as what we do.
Tuck Aikin was a former SCORE colleague of mine for many years until his retirement. Tuck is a prolific writer and wrote small business-themed articles for the Colorado Springs Gazette for many years. As a co-mentor, Tuck was my inspiration for me starting this blog. The preceding post is reproduced with permission from the author.
