Recognition Gone Wrong * What’s Your Name Again?

The results of our “Recognition Gone Wrong” contest are in! I’ll be blogging this week on our first, second and third place “winners” and offering comments on how the recognition moment could have gone right.

Without further ado, here’s the story of wrecked recognition from our third-place winner:

“While working for a former employer, I won a Sales Manager of the Year Award. Out of the entire company’s sales force, approximately 130 individual managers & directors, I had the highest sales and several other major achievements that year. At the award ceremony, our company President announced the award and called me to the stage, as follows: “…and the winner is…ohhh...it’s Mr. Bill (no last name…as in Mr. Bill the Saturday Night Live cartoon character)” and he presented me with a logo windshirt and a plaque made of brass, faux wood, and felt. My last name was not spelled correctly on the plaque. I went to hang the plaque and the frame fell apart at the corners. The next year, the recipient of the same award but with lower total sales volume received $2,500 in cash, an extra week’s vacation, a trip, and a logo windshirt.”

Ouch. Let’s count the ways that went wrong:
1) Didn’t actually recognize the person as the wrong name was announced
2) Insulted the person by spelling their name incorrectly
3) Didn’t seek to know enough about the person to learn what would really be motivating and a sign of true appreciation to them

So what should have happened?
* First, be sure the recipient even wants public acknowledgement. To some, this is actually demotivating.
* Second, get the person’s name right! Two seconds of copy editing can save years of hurt.
* Third, present a reward the recipient cares about. Better yet, let him choose a personal, meaningful and relevant reward for himself from millions of options.
* Finally, make sure awards for the same achievements are fair and equitable or you will only foster resentment.

What else would you have done to make this recognition gone wrong go right? Tell me in comments.

Recognition Gone Wrong * Thanks, but No Thanks

And finally, our Grand Prize Winner in the Recognition Gone Wrong contest:

“Here’s a great example about recognition gone wrong. I was working for a large, international company and hit my five-year anniversary. On the day of my anniversary, my boss just hands me this envelope. I open it up and the first thing I find is the instruction letter addressed to HIM that provided instructions on how he should have presented this “gift” to me...whoops! Okay, so he missed the boat on the thank yous. The next thing I find in the envelope is a gift catalogue. I thought, “Well, at least I can pick out a nice gift.” That notion quickly changed when I looked through the catalogue. It was filled with page after page of stuff that no one would want -- all emblazoned with the company’s logo --– ugly watches, desk tchotchkes, cheap travel bags, even jewelry that had the company’s logo on it. I was so hard pressed to find something that I showed it to my wife to see if she wanted anything. She looked through it and gave it right back to me. There was literally nothing in there for either one of us. The whole experience was a let down. This milestone moment became an empty moment. I think I would have been happier if the company just didn’t acknowledge it at all.”

I’ve heard similar stories from countless people over the years about the insult of trinkets and trash. In their recent webinar, Intuit told how employees were upset on behalf of the company as they thought Intuit was getting a bad deal on over-priced, outdated merchandise. Others have agreed corporate logo-wear was not a gift of choice and destined for the local charity shop.

But to me, that’s not the real insult in this story of wrecked recognition. It’s that the boss couldn’t even be bothered to take five minutes to personally and sincerely thank the employee for his five years of effort and contribution.

How to make this right?
* First, the manager should have made a point of acknowledging the five year anniversary directly to the employee and possibly in a team meeting or similar public arena. In today’s workplace, many employees don’t last five years. If you want to keep your top performers (who will have many more options when the recovery comes), you had better show appreciation for their time investment with your organization.
* Second, give the gift of choice. Let the person choose what matters to them. Perhaps this employee works long hours to get projects done on deadline, causing him to miss plans with friends for weeks on end. Let him choose to treat them to a fancy dinner. Or maybe his kids mean the world to him – let him choose to buy them a backyard playset and watch them play while works from the home office.

It really is as easy as that. Make it personal; make it meaningful; make it relevant.

Let Globoforce Give You the Recognition You Deserve (and never got)

I’ve asked periodically in this blog to hear your “stupid recognition” stories – stories of recognition gone seriously wrong through a muffed recognition moment, a ridiculous or inappropriate reward, or even no recognition at all for a momentous contribution. Some of the stories have been outrageous, some funny, some sad (and some are posted on our Facebook Fan page).

Now’s your chance to get the recognition you deserve. Miffed about that mug you got after 10 years of hard work (and no other recognition)? Annoyed by the lazy, lying co-worker who got praise while you were ignored for saving the company millions? Want to tell the world about it (and earn a reward you REALLY want)?

Starting today, so-called Employee Appreciation Day, through Tuesday, 31 March, send us your stories of “recognition gone wrong in the workplace.” We’ll right the wrongs of bad recognition by picking the top three most horrible stories, suggesting how the recognition should have been handled for a positive memorable experience, and giving those winners the reward they deserve.

What are the rewards? Globoforce GloboCertificates that the winners can use to select their Reward of Choice from more than 2,000 retailers around the world.

* First Place – $500 GloboCertificate
* Second Place – $250 GloboCertificate
* Third Place – $100 GloboCertificate

And now for The Rules:

• Send us your story be email (contest@globoforce.com) or fax (+1 508 357 8964), including your full name, mailing address, date of birth (no contestants under 18 years of age), telephone number and email address.
• Keep your story to 250 words or less.
• Do not name or include disparaging remarks about the employer or manager specifically.
• Only one submission per person.
• No Globoforce employees can participate.
• Agree your submissions can be publicized on the Globoforce website, Globoblog, and Facebook Fan page.
• Winning entries will be chosen by 15 April 2009, and winners will be notified by 17 April 2009.
• Read the official contest rules for complete guidelines. Note that by entering this contest, contestants agree to these Official Rules in full.

If you’re under 18 years of age or have multiple stories you’d like to get off your chest, share them on our Facebook Fan page or in comments.!

Recognition Gone Wrong * There’s Nobody Here but Me

Continuing the announcements our prize winners in the Recognition Gone Wrong contest, here’s our second place finisher with her story of wrecked recognition:

“I work for freight forwarder for the past 15 years. When I took over, there were Cargo Correction Advices (CCAs) dating back to 10 years ago. It was so out of control and no one was addressing it, so I took it upon myself to sit down with the carriers and laid down some rules of timely submissions. In the end I was able to have them waive 80% of the total CCAs still open, thus saving the company thousands of dollars. The remaining 20% we were able to work out a plan to split the difference, thus saving the company some more dollars.

To this day, my manager never acknowledged what I did. Today, I am still handling the same things, rate changes, surcharges that the carriers impose that up and down with different rates and dates of affectivity. I am on top of everything and to this date, there is no open weight or rate discrepancies. I tackle these issues right on as no one will.

When my manager has visitors from the carriers, he never brings them to the staff to introduce them. It is like we are nobody. Especially on Carrier parties, he never extends the invitation to us. I think it is important that immediate managers recognize that it is not only him but me and all the staff that work with him and for him that make him and the company successful. Making us feel that we matter is key to trust and loyalty.”

Notice in this story, the person isn’t asking for anything more than simple acknowledgment. And therein lies a powerful lesson for all managers. Often, people only want to know that you see them, you see what they do and you appreciate it. It’s like the Zulu greeting for hello, literally, “I see you.”

How could this recognition have been made right?
* First, the manager should thank the person for their efforts to save the company what seems to be significant money while instituting a simple process to ensure that money is not wasted. Praise them for taking on a task no one else seems to want to do.
* Second, the manager should be sure his manager also knows of this significant achievement. Passing praise up the chain is equally important.<
* Third, involve caring and committed employees such as this person in the activities of the company, especially those that impact on or are a result of their work. Clearly, the manager should introduce the employee to the people she works with.
* Finally, this employee is obviously a hard worker. But the company could benefit even more from her work if she were deeply engaged. Such praise, acknowledgment and inclusion could significantly raise her engagement levels.

What else would you do to make it right? Tell me in comments.

Wrecking Recognition * Tell Us Your Stories

On his Employee Engagement Zingers blog, David Zinger posted today on "Wrecked Recognition," encouraging folks to enter our contest for the worst stories of employee recognition gone wrong.

David shared some of his favorite stories of wrecked recognition:

Instilling disengagement. Perhaps you were given a hat and you hate wearing hats or you got a company pen that leaked all over your purse. Perhaps you were given a box of donuts and you were dieting. The wrong type of recognition does not foster employee engagement, it instills disengagement.

How long can you last? Years ago most recognition events seemed focused on how long you worked there. It seemed if you had been there 30 years the organization would finally recognize you.

Public recognition or humiliation. At one organization I worked with, they called in the work crews to publicly acknowledge them and it was painful. These guys would have preferred never to be singled out in front of their peers and asked to come up to receive a plague and a gift. If the workplace really saw these gentleman they would have done it quietly in the lunch room or run it out to them where they were driving heavy equipment. I believe some of the men experienced the recognition as humiliation or punishment not as reinforcement for good work. We must recognize the impact or our recognition.

Dying for recognition. One organization somehow failed to recognize that someone had died and the person who had died two weeks earlier was called up to receive their award.

What about you? Tell us your stories, and enter to win $500, $200, or $100. Contest ends March 31, so submit now!

Overcoming Common Global Recognition Fears

One of the most common concerns I hear when talking with large, global organizations about employee recognition is the cultural factor: “People are different ‘over there.’ I’m afraid of offending ‘them’ so we prefer to not implement formal recognition.”

People, that’s just laziness talking. And, as with all acts of laziness in the corporate world, it will cost you in terms of employee loyalty, customer service, productivity and you will ultimately see the negative impact on your bottom line. But I do understand the underlying fear as we’ve heard the horror stories of recognition gone wrong (public, individual recognition in an area where private, team recognition is more appropriate or sending a fleece sweatshirt with the company logo to an employee in Nairobi).

David Cohen expressed it more eloquently than I could in the Unbound Ideas blog:

“Leadership sets the example when it comes to core values and the competencies that stem from them. Despite differences in the local setting, within the walls of the organization, expectations for success are based on corporate culture. For big companies, trouble arises when local norms conflict with organizational values. In such a case, which “culture” gets the upper hand? Should the multinational organization be sensitive or to the local culture or should it run right over it? The answer, again, is to be true to core corporate values while being flexible to how those values are expressed.

“Take the issue of recognition, for example. How does a company recognize its key employees consistently around the world? Should the company definition of recognition dominate everywhere employees work? The important or core consideration is that recognition gets expressed. As to how it gets expressed, that should be up to the local cultural norms. Focus on the value like a laser. Let the behaviors express themselves naturally.”(emphasis mine)

We’ve seen the truth and wisdom of this statement across several of our global customers. Traditions in China, for example, are often raised as a concern for a “new” or “different” approach to strategic recognition. Yet, across several customers with operations in China, it is Chinese-based divisions or teams who practice the most recognition of their colleagues.

As with all other strategic recognition advice, recognize any employee who demonstrates your company values as these behaviors are worthy of direct, sincere appreciation and reinforcement, but be judicious in how you do so to respect cultural and personal preferences.

Employee Recognition Best Practices

Last Fall, Ascent Group released their “Reward & Recognition Program Profiles & Best Practices 2008” report. (Available for purchase here.)

Covering respondents from across industries and around the world, the report comes to many of the same conclusions Globoforce has defined as best practices based on our work with some of the world’s largest and most diverse companies.

“Recognition is about acknowledgement and appreciation for a contribution, improvement, innovation, or excellence—a message to employees that they are valued. The act of recognizing an employee affirms the values and spirit underlying the achievement. It’s also about reinforcing desired behaviors and increasing their occurrence. Attitude and performance are closely linked; the appropriate recognition at the appropriate moment will create a positive attitude that, in turn, will lead to improved performance.”

A few of Ascent’s key findings from the report include those below, with my comments to each.

“Reinforce behaviors and reward results.” This is in agreement with what I said last week that recognition is about encouraging, acknowledging and appreciating desired behaviors, then rewarding results.

“Be timely, specific and communicate!” We advocate recognizing employees in the moment – as soon after the even worthy of recognition as possible so it is clear in the mind of the employee why they are being recognized.

“Match the reward to the person and the achievement.” We’ve heard nightmare stories of recognition gone wrong. Let employees choose for themselves a personally meaningful and culturally relevant reward.

“Measure the effectiveness and impact of your reward programs.”
Ascent found nearly ¼ of respondents do not measure program success. This aligns with our own findings that 42% are not measuring their recognition program’s results in any way, leaving CEOs in the dark on the metrics of success they care about.

What are some of your best practices for effective employee recognition? Tell me in comments.

Staying Aware of Employee Needs in a Recession

March is supposedly Employee Appreciation Month, with emphasis placed on March 7 as Employee Appreciation Day. More of my thoughts on the travesty of limiting employee appreciation to a single day in an upcoming post, but in honor of Employee Appreciation Month, I’ll be blogging throughout March about the employee devastation that’s been happening across companies and industries around the world. I also plan to hit on what you can do about it through consistent communication and recognition to regain competitive advantage and employee engagement, even during this worsening recession.

With the pressures mounting on managers from all directions, it becomes harder to notice the good but so much easier to punish the bad. Conversely, because of increased pressure, employees need to know their efforts are appreciated all the more, especially if you want them to keep delivering at a high level of performance. Stephen Friedman recently wrote on this topic of catching your staff doing something good in the Financial Post:

“When asked to provide feedback about their manager, employees often say they can do a hundred things well and hear very little from their boss. But when they mess up, they certainly hear about it. On the other hand, managers don't focus their effort or attention on what employees do well, largely because they believe success requires no action on their part, but mistakes do. This is itself a mistake. Recognition is a fundamental part of employee satisfaction, and it is associated with high performance. Any praise or recognition acts to reinforce success, increasing the likelihood it will be repeated. It can also bring about a much needed balance in the energy expended in the workplace. The concept is quite simple - be as outwardly happy when things go well as you are angry, annoyed and disappointed when things go poorly.”

This approach of consistency in demonstration of emotion, praise and criticism contributes significantly to the culture of your company. In his most recent book, The Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines the impact of our cultural experiences and differences on influencing our tolerance for the behavior of others and how much we value and respect authority and hierarchy. What kind of culture are your creating within your organization or team and how is it impacting these same areas – which are all critical to company success?

In the same vein, when recognizing employees for their efforts, you must consider the larger culture in which you are rewarding. Individual praise is welcome in the US, but less so in cultures more focused on the team and community, such as in Japan. To paraphrase Gladwell, an employee’s actions are not based on his or her personality and initiative alone, but also on the “tendencies and assumptions and reflexes handed down” in the community in which the employee grew up. These cultural legacies matter and powerfully persist “long after their usefulness has passed.”

How aware are you of the needs of your team members? Of your peers? Are you feeding those needs in a culturally appropriate way? Or are you contributing to the lowering of individual performance by ignoring or thwarting their needs or, worse yet, trying to address needs in a thoroughly inappropriate way? Has this happened to you? Join the conversation in comments and share your story of recognition gone wrong on our Facebook Fan page.