Recognizing Employees' Work
How to Use Individual and Group Recognition to Motivate Employees
Sep 5, 2009
Recognition doesn’t have to be a complicated process. It can start with a simple and sincere “thank you." Many employees value a genuine “thank you” at the right moment more than other forms of recognition that take place months later. As William James once said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
Employee recognition is also about acknowledging their accomplishments publicly, within the team or company, so that other employees and the management are aware of their results. Public recognition is beneficial not only for the employees who are being recognized but also for other employees who can then find their inspiration to achieve more too.
Why Recognize Employees for Their Accomplishments?
Management is all about coaching others, overseeing their work, and directing them as needed. A good manager knows how to motivate their staff so that the desired outcomes are achieved with the least effort. Recognizing employees’ contributions and successes is key in motivating people and building a strong and cohesive team. It is also an essential factor in boosting performance levels and ensuring long-term employee loyalty.
What Should a Manager Recognize?
Most managers focus on recognizing one or both of the following: the results and/or the behaviours that led to the respective results.
While both are important, recognizing the behaviours the employee exhibited, which ultimately helped them succeed where others failed in the past, will help other employees understand how they too can make behavioural changes and thus become successful in the not so distant future. Behaviours are also personal, therefore recognizing an employee’s particular behaviours will bring to light what makes them stand out.
Tips for Publicly Recognizing Valuable Behaviours
Following these steps will help leaders focus on the behaviours they want others to display as well:
- Start by saying “thank you”, preferably in person. Never underestimate the power of a simple “thank you.”
- Briefly describe what the employee did – their behaviours – and be as specific as possible about the impact of their actions. For example, “Thank you, Mike, for stepping in and taking ownership of the variance analysis. Your action helped us uncover several accounting errors, which we were able to get fixed before the deadline. Without your hard work and attention to every detail we would have likely overlooked those errors and probably missed the deadline as well.”
Individual Recognition versus Group Recognition
Both individual and group recognition are just as valuable in recognizing accomplishments and encouraging certain desired behaviours. The examples below will help managers get started.
- Say “thank you” in person, over the phone, or by sending a personalized hand-written note (depending on any location restrictions).
- Mention individual achievements during regular team meetings or conference calls, or when dealing with virtual teams, send an email to the entire team outlining the employee’s achievements.
- If corporate employee recognition programs are available, nominate the respective employee for an award.
- If the company has an “employee of the month” program, nominate the employee for that program.
- Have a team lunch or a “Happy Friday” office party to celebrate successes and help build team spirit.
- Have a team-building session and ask the respective employee to share their success tips with the other team members.
Recognizing employees’ work is an integral part of building team motivation and cohesiveness. It is also one of the best ways a manager can focus on performance management. Many managers are trained to look for errors and mistakes, in order to be able to identify potential bigger issues and deal with them effectively. It is easy then to forget to take the time to also acknowledge successes and things done well.
Resources:
Alexander Hiam, Motivating and Rewarding Employees. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 1999.
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