Recognition & Reward * How to Get It Right

A conversation starter from Harvard Business Publishing on rewarding and retaining people when money is tight recently did inspire several excellent comments. It is encouraging to see so many people who “get it” when it comes to the importance of recognition.

A couple of key conclusions were:
1) “Recognition inspires not only the recipient but also others.” – This is certainly true. Recently, the Stanford Graduate School of Business asked us to participate in a study that has now become part of their curriculum on the importance of effective recognition. We confirmed through that study what we had believed to be best practice – when employees are recognized at a rate of 5-8% a week, a culture of recognition takes off in that employees throughout the organization begin to encourage each other and notice actions and behavior deserving of recognition. What a powerful motivator for positive change!

2) “Different people see value in different things, so one should strive to understand what is important to individuals working for you. This is especially critical when working in an unfamiliar cultural environment.” – Again, this is very true. Old-school catalog programs limited reward choice – making it difficult, for example, for a manager with globally scattered team to choose an appropriate and equivalent reward for all team members. We’ve heard horror stories of clocks being sent to Chinese team members, where such an item symbolizes death! Or fleece jackets sent to staff working in countries where the average temperature is 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Farenheit)! The importance of giving the reward of choice is another key tenet of strategic recognition.

Are you creating a culture of appreciation with valuable rewards? What is valuable to you?

Just Say “Thank You”

Smart Company ran an article recently on the power of a simple thank you to retain staff. The article references a 2008 survey by British consulting firm White Water Strategies that found, “Saying ‘thank you’ often had the same impact on job satisfaction as a salary hike. The research revealed that praising staff had the same motivational kick as a 1% pay rise.”

While I agree fully with this statement, I am not surprised at another finding of the same study: “One in three employees reported that they were not thanked at all when they did well, while a further third said they were not thanked enough.”

Fully two-thirds of employees report not receiving adequate acknowledgment of their valuable contributions at their companies. And yet a simple thank you would increase their job satisfaction and encourage them to perform at a higher level. It amazes me that very smart strategist-leading companies today are failing to see how closely tied these are – and how it is impacting their bottom line today.

This is why a strategic recognition program is so critical. A key tenet of strategic programs is the importance of measurement. For any strategic initiative to succeed, clear objectives must be set with the appropriate metrics to measure success. And those responsible must be held accountable.

As the oft-quoted truism goes: “What gets measured, gets done. What gets rewarded, gets done well.” Are you measuring the simple act of thanking your people for their contributions? Are you rewarding that which gets done well?

“Managing Talent” or “Encouraging People”?

Joanna Higgins discussed the divisive nature of talent management in a recent Bnet blog. Joanna poses a very important question on what, exactly, is the definition of talent management and identifies several large holes in talent management theory.

"Is talent management about identifying and nurturing high-flyers, or helping all of your people to develop their particular skills? Done badly, there’s potential for a massive rift to emerge between the ‘talented’ — the ‘hi-pos’ (high potentials) — and the ordinary, tellingly defined recently as ‘the po-pos –passed over and p***ed off’. It’s very dangerous to single out the stars in an organisation to the exclusion of all others. There are far more ‘utility players’ on most teams than standouts, for one thing."

This is why we at Globoforce advocate getting rid of the old-school elitist incentives programs that only recognize the top 10% of employees to allow up to 90% of employees to receive recognition for their efforts to advance the company mission. This aligns, too, with Jack Welch and GE's performance bell curve approach. Welch famously said it's the middle 80% that do the majority of the work -- and therefore where the majority of the recognition belongs.

For those in talent management, what type of programs do you have in place to manage your “talent?” How do you define that? Do you see “talent” in all of your employees – skills, behaviors, and actions that can be nurtured to the benefit of themselves, their teams, the company, and your customers?

Turn Around “Crummy Jobs”

Lindsay Blakely wrote a strong article on the “Five Signs You Have a Crummy Job.” Blakely ties her five signs to “recession putting your organization in a chokehold,” but really, we’ve all seen these situations happen in perfectly good companies for a variety of reasons. Three of the signs Blakely identifies can be dramatically impacted by strategic recognition programs used effectively.

Blakely’s Sign 1: “Budget Ax Severs Emotional Ties” and Sign 3: “A Climate of Fear Sets In” are very closely intertwined. It’s true that when costs – and, more importantly, people – are cut due to recession, an acquisition or other reason, the people remaining lose trust in their leaders and in the organization itself. What once may have been a collegial environment becomes suddenly politically charged as everyone looks out for themselves first. By making a smart move to reinvest in a strategic recognition program, company leadership sends a strong message that all employees are valued. Such a move will also help the company once market conditions improve as remaining employees may remain more loyal to the company and less likely to jump ship – a common occurrence when trust is lost in tough times.

Sign 5: “Innovation Comes to a Standstill” is particularly troubling. If the good ideas stop flowing, how will the company outperform competitors and succeed in the market? Companies thinking strategically will certainly reinvest in programs that encourage innovation to take advantage of the downturn to potentially seize market share. Strategic recognition is once again a strong motivator, especially if the program is structured to properly measure and track recognitions by divisions or regions as well as by employee and group. This gives senior management insight into where the good ideas are coming from so more of now scarce resources can be directed in that area.

Leaders, are you taking advantage of this down market to drive your business and advance your employees? Share your tactics for success.