LEADERS have an on-going responsibility to

Transcription

1 The Art of Saying Thank You! Proven Strategies To: Reward Recognize & Praise Employees By Daniel E. Mode, M.S. Rewards & Recognition LEADERS have an on-going responsibility to create a work environment where employees are consistently recognized, rewarded and praised for their performance-based efforts. Validated research and studies provide clear evidence of what effective leaders already know: Appreciation and recognition is what really motivates employees to perform at optimal levels. The following ideas and examples are from leaders in positions similar to yours. They have been divided into both individual and team methods of practicing the art of saying thank you. The following provides a guideline as you begin to increasingly recognize others: 1. Match the reward to the person It is important to clearly understand what each of your employees uniquely value. Rewards linked to personal preferences reinforce the level of a collaborative relationship. 2. Match the reward to the achievement Meaningful reinforcement should be customized to take into account the amount of time and effort necessary to achieve results. Acknowledgement and praise also encourages teamwork and loyalty. 3. Be timely and specific To be effective, rewards need to be given as soon as possible after the desired behavior or achievement. Consultant Catherine Meek also suggested the following to make rewards and recognition programs effective: Engage employees in the development and execution of programs. Programs can be either public or private depending on the individual/team. Programs should have short life span and frequently updated and changed. The programs can vary from cash, time off, tickets, food, etc. (be creative). Programs should reflect the company s core values and business strategy.

2 Implementation Challenges Before any attempt to begin a rewards/recognition program similar to those presented in this paper, seriously ask these five questions 1. Have I built a team where trust and demonstrations of respect already exist? A member of the sales team with a large Texas utility stated: We don t mind changing and appreciate the rewards, but it comes across as confusing because none of us are clear about the overall purpose and vision of what we are changing into Will employees question my motives? (An example of trust levels.) When was the last a time your employees received formal/ informal recognition? Something more than donuts on Saturday, extra coffee, cold drinks, etc... The greatest chance for successfully motivating your team/crew comes from a determination that employees will be receptive once you ve collaboratively set goals, established objectives and defined a clear team vision for implementation of a program to reward, recognize and praise performance. 4. Is there a team/crew/company/culture that reinforce rewards, recognition and praise? Will employees view these changes/programs as both a valuable and sincere effort? Substantive Changes Require: 5. How much time, money and creativity are you willing to invest in the long-term process of motivating employees by recognizing their value and worth to the team/ company? I strongly recommend this be a very conscious decision on your part. If the answer is no or you are not certain to any or all of these questions, then almost any program you implement will have a greater potential for failure. Make absolutely sure the team/crew work environment is fundamentally ready for change. (Internal HR representatives or the training department can provide valuable resources to help make those critical assessments.) As mentioned earlier, it is important to regularly update and make appropriate program changes, but it does way more harm than good when seemingly well-intentioned initiatives are viewed as just another Flavor-of-the month. Ideas and programs that are inconsistent or unfairly applied will ultimately fail. Understanding of the work environment to include attitudes and behaviors. Clearly communicating strategies so everyone is aware of why there is a renewed focus on showing appreciation for exceptional performance. Making it a personal leadership goal to regularly follow-through on planned events or rewards. It is almost always helpful to have a mentor or designated change agent when implementing something new. Make sure your employees are ready for change! 2

3 Individual Rewards There are times when an individual has made an exceptional achievement or meaningful contribution. The award or recognition is all the more meaningful when it involves selection by one s peer, not just management. CAUTION Some employees I ve worked with do not like to be recognized in front of their peers. They will tell you it embarrasses them. Make sure the individual receiving recognition is okay with a public acknowledgement of their achievement. If not, simply provide the recognition privately. Again, this is about understanding what is important to each of your employees (it is another opportunity to gain additional trust and respect). Acknowledge special occasions or service anniversaries by insuring these dates are remembered. Use your creativity and imagination to celebrate what is important to someone else. Take an employee out to lunch or make sure the two of you have a special time alone to express your appreciation for an extra effort. When appropriate, allow an employee to leave early or have an extended lunch to take care of a personal need. Demonstrate a sensitivity and concerned attitude. Initiate an employee of the month program that the entire team has helped to set the criteria for selection. Most important, keep the program current. Next time you have to make a presentation to management, reward a top performer by letting them participate at whatever level is appropriate. When your team/crew is ready, here are some ideas and suggestions collected throughout the country in a variety of industries and organizations. Letters of commendation placed in personnel files not only reward performance, but significantly increase an employee s respect for a leader who has taken the time to care about their future. Some of these suggestions may only take place once or twice a year, but don t let opportunities for recognition go unnoticed. Whenever the schedule or opportunity arises, send employees to special technical training or teambuilding Practice catching em doing it right and say, Thank you! Set your employees up to succeed (not fail). Behavior and performance changes occur as result of positive reinforcement. The emotional effect of ongoing negative feedback is an apathetic, demoralized and unmotivated employee (team). Remember an employee s birthday! It does not have to be a big party or celebration. A sincere happy birthday communicates you are paying attention to what is meaningful to others. There are numerous applications and other electronic tools that will alert you to birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. sessions. Many organizations will ask vendors to come in and conduct on-site training of equipment/procedures. Offer special assignments to employees who have shown initiative or a desire to increase their contribution. (El Paso Electric successfully put together a team of subject matter experts from the field and engineering to uncover ways to reduce commercial installation times.) 3

4 (Dayton Power and Light has a tool committee that works with purchasing, engineers, planners and field personnel to make sure new tools/equipment meet operational needs.) Ask an employee who consistently practices safe work habits to conduct the next safety meeting, or assist the safety representative in developing new procedures. Recognize exceptional performance by having a designated parking space or lunch room table. Whenever an employee presents an idea or suggestion, thank them and positively reinforce their concern/initiative. Tickets to the movies, Dairy Queen, sporting events or other special activities are a quick and relatively inexpensive way to say, Thank you! Once a quarter, have a member of senior management take one of your employees to lunch. Team Rewards In a addition to recognizing individual team members, it is also important to include opportunities for the entire team to be rewarded for their collective efforts. Listed below are effective teambuilding efforts that will increase performance and improve morale: Encourage team participation by regularly giving employees opportunities for input. The reward comes from the ownership of being part of the decision making process. Team meetings, tailboards, luncheons, etc, are all ways to formalize time for ideas/suggestions from the team. Ask your company newsletter to feature your team as an example of employees working together to solve problems and better serve customers. Be sure to include a team picture with the article. Let others in the organization know that your employees are a special team. Consistently find ways to make heroes and winners of team members. Remember, everyone likes to be treated special. It is a powerful motivator to show an interest in an employee s hobby or their personal preferences outside of work. This clearly demonstrates the kind of relationship that shows employees you care about them. Make sure team achievements are recognized both creatively and publicly.   Create an ABCD (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty) award for employees who exceed performance requirements. You might have a hat, button, t-shirt etc. that says: ABCD Award Winner   Hold an annual Team Appreciation Day. A day where, families, children, mothers and fathers, and friends can celebrate how their loved ones are valued/appreciated. This event may only happen once a year, so make sure it will be one they ll never forget. Have t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and calendars printed or embossed with the company logo and the team s motto. Create a bulletin board to post customer thank you letters, team achievements and other information to celebrate successes. 4 Hold an annual Team Appreciation Day to recognize the value of teamwork. Invite customers, others departments, senior managers, etc.

5 TXU field services will ask a vendor to hold a seminar or technical training sessions that will demonstrate more effective methods of using equipment or completing a process. Try to schedule several events a year where the whole team has a chance to have some fun together (i.e., golf outing, bowling, paint ball, bbq ing, etc.). Have business cards made up with both the employee s name and position/title. Not only can this instill pride, but a team motto/logo on the card can reinforce the concept of working together. Biography Dan Mode has an M.S. in Clinical Psychology. For the past 22 years, he has worked as a Senior Performance Consultant with PLS Consulting, Inc. In addition to numerous articles and research projects, he has conducted over 400 leadership and teambuilding workshops for more than 35 utilities including TXU, Con Edison, SCE, Xcel Energy, Bonneville Power and Peoples Gas. Dan can be contacted at positive@palmnet.net. Summary The ability and willingness to positively reinforce desired behaviors is fundamentally one of the most powerful of all leadership traits. It is a motivating factor that employees at every level consistently identify as the key link to overall job satisfaction. This companion piece to the Webinar: The Art of Saying Thank You has only offered a small percentage of available ideas and suggestions to energize workteam performance and morale. Reference: Bob Nelson s excellent book 1001 Ways to Reward Employees provides many additional ideas, examples and case studies for ways to say Thank You! Food is a great motivator. Occasionally, bring in some donuts for no reason. Organize a chili cook-off or have a potluck luncheon where everyone can bring their favorite dish. (Invite other departments to join in.) 5