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Employee Recognition:
It's not even debatable anymore. Study after study makes
it perfectly clear that employee recognition is critical.
In fact nothing seems to be more important and more
motivating than recognition.
National Underwriters discovered that when they surveyed
more than 200 managers. Recognition for a job well done
out-rated money and challenge. On a scale of 1 to 6,
their respondents gave recognition a 4. 9 on the scale of
importance, money 4. 8, and challenging work 4. 3.
In a 1999 Wichita State University survey, employees
rated a manager's thanks as THE MOST motivational incentive
of all. Unfortunately, 58% of the employees said they
rarely received a personal thank you.
Even more conclusive, The Gallop organization studied more
than 80,000 managers in 400 companies. They wanted to
determine what keeps a company's BEST PEOPLE satisfied.
Gallop came up with 12 factors, 3 of which related to
recognition:1)"In the last 7 days, have you received
recognition or praise for a job well done?"2)"Does
your supervisor seem to care about you as a person?"
and 3)"Is there someone at work who encourages your
development?"
Of course, most managers say they already know this. They say they know how
important recognition is. But I doubt it.
If managers REALLY understood how important recognition is,
then you wouldn't hear the number one employee complaint
over and over again. And, of course, you know what that
is. Employees say, "You can do a hundred things right and
not hear a darn thing about it. You do one thing wrong,
and they're right on your back. "
That makes me wonder. Why do so few managers do a truly
outstanding job of recognizing their employees. Perhaps
they're from the "old school" that thinks people will get
soft if they get recognized.
I know that sounds strange, but there are a lot of people
who think that way. They think that expressed admiration
of their children, spouses, friends, and coworkers will
make them lazy. So their way of "encouraging" others is
to take the attitude that nothing is ever good enough.
Baseball manager Casey Stengel tried that approach
on Joe Garagiola one time. Casey said, "Joe, when they
list all the great catchers, you'll be there listening. "
And one manager and salesperson stood looking at a
map on which colored pins indicated the company
representative in each area. The manager said, "I'm not
going to fire you, Sherman, but I'm loosening your pin a
bit just to emphasize the insecurity of your situation. "
One of my seminar participants said her mother used that
same approach--demeaning rather than recognizing. She
told me she worked and worked for several years to do
well in her classes at the university. In fact, she
did so well that she made it into a highly prestigious
honor society. But her mother said, "I used to think it
was a big deal to make Phi Beta Kappa -- until you got it. "
Marcus reported a similar story. He said that was his
parents' approach to "recognition. "He said if he took
out the garbage, his mother would tell him, "It's about
time you helped around the house. "If he got all A's
and one B on his report card, his father would ask, "What
did you do wrong to get the B?"
Marcus continued. He said as a little child he really
tried to please his Dad, to get his Dad's recognition.
So one time he tried to keep his shoes in shape so they
lasted a record six months. When he proudly showed them
to his father, instead of praising him, his father pulled
out a pair of shoes he bought 20 years before and said,
"Beat that. "
There's a employee recognition problem in too many organizations.
As a result, some people are demoralized while others
are demotivated. The demoralized ones say, "Nobody notices
what I do. . . until I don't do it. "And the demotivated ones
are giving less than their full potential. As George Carlin
said, "Most people work just hard enough to not get fired
and get paid just enough money not to quit. "
Well, all of that can be changed. It's one of the things I emphasize in my
program "Peak Performance: Motivating the Best In Others. " (Click here for a program
outline) You can release and inspire amazing performance
when you know how to recognize employees and team members.
But let me warn you. Don't make the mistake of
thinking any praise is good praise. Some managers think
that handing out indiscriminate praise is better than
no praise at all. They're wrong.
If you hand out praise the wrong way, at the wrong
time or for the wrong reasons, it can do more harm than
good. You've got to do it right.
That will be the subject of next week's Tuesday Tip.
I'll give you several recognition principles. And
the week after that, I'll give you a large variety
of recognition techniques. Don't miss them. You'll be
able to use all of them at work, at home, and everywhere.
Action for Employee Recognition:
When it comes to recognition, what would people say about
you? Would they say you're sincere, effective, and
encouraging? Would they say they get all the recognition
they need and deserve from you so they're equipped to
do their very best? If not, you need to give this aspect
of your management style a bit more thought and attention
this week.
More articles:
For additional information on the topic of employee recognition, click on any of the
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