Make Their Day Blog

Written recognition makes a greater impact than verbal. Saying the words “thank you” or “great contribution” is valuable. Putting the same sentiments in writing somehow just means more.

For years I have been talking about the value of the handwritten note, thoughtful email, or even a encouraging text. And for years, readers have been asking for new ways to send these messages. How can we improve on the basic written form of recognition? Well, what if you could:

• Create a running feed where everyone could see the notes?
• Track who is using the system, discovering gaps in usage as well as who your champions are?
• Customize individual profiles that outline some basic preferences?
• Post and receive notes directly to your smart phone?
• Share your notes on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn?

Seems to me that such a set up could really facilitate organization-wide recognition - especially in a youthful organization where social networking could have the greatest effect.

Enter Sparcet, a brand new app, just out of beta testing, that could be a great way to build on existing recognition within your organization or your team. If you want to check it out:

www.Sparcet.com

It is free. Sign up and test it out. Send invites to a few people in your organization. Send me an invite if you wish. Play with the system. Tell me what you think. I see a lot of possibilities for this app, and would love to hear from you.

The features I have mentioned here are free. They have additional engagement provoking strategies that will cost your company a bit of money, but the basic app that allows you to send your messages with words of praise and appreciation is free.

When it comes to recognition, I have some of the most creative readers in the world!

I received this thank you card from Kelly Cowan of Ontario. She created the card, which is illustrated with a puzzle piece mountain, to use at work.

Take a look at the image. What does it say to you? To me, it sends a powerful message about the individual’s role in achieving success, that every “piece” is important in reaching the pinnacle. What a great way to reinforce the importance of individual contribution to team success. I love it. Thanks Kelly!

Have you created a custom card to use at work? Send me a picture and note telling me how you use the card and I will post it.

As an employee recognition consultant I am always looking for new innovative forms of recognition. The example I came across this week isn’t typical of what I usually find. In fact, it doesn’t include any form of praise or appreciation whatsoever. I even doubt that Zappos, the company that is using it, considers it to be recognition. And yet it is. It is a very subtle form of employee recognition.

Recognition is about two things, being:

1)Visible

2) Valued

Most of our recognition efforts are focused on the second part, conveying the message that people are valued. Demonstrating the value of our employees is extremely important, and we need to do it through both our words and our actions. The more we can show our praise and appreciation the better.

But what about visibility? We don’t pay much attention to it, and yet visibility is critical to the success of our organizations. No one wants to be a nameless cog in a machine. They literally want to be recognized, as in “Oh I know who you are! You work in accounting and your name is…” Small organizations have no problem with this and consequently usually have higher levels of engagement. With bigger organizations people can get lost in the crowd.

What do organizations do to counteract this sense of isolation? Most have on-boarding processes for introducing new people around the company when they are hired. And most have mixers and other events where people can get more familiar over time. What else can be done?

Here is what Zappos is doing that I find so interesting. As part of their computer log-on sequence, employees are required to identify the photo of one employee, chosen randomly from their data base.

Isn’t that intriguing? The message I get from this process is that knowing your coworkers isn’t optional. If you want to work here you literally have to recognize everyone!

Tell me what you or your organization do to improve visibility!

I am participating in a panel discussion on Getting Individual Recognition in a Teamwork Environment. It is free to attend but you must register. Details below:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 6:30 to 8:00 PM
Cisco Bldg. 24, Large Conference Room
510 McCarthy Boulevard
Milpitas, California 95035

6:30 to 7:00 PM   Networking and Light Refreshments
7:00 to 8:00 PM   Round Table Panel Discussion
8:00 to 8:30 PM   Networking

Panelists:
Jeff Hahn, former Quality Director at Oracle Corp. and Cisco Systems
Chi Nguyen, PMO, R&D, and CTO Office at i365, a Seagate company
Cindy Ventrice, expert and consultant on employee recognition; author
of Make Their Day: Employee Recognition that Works

Come with your questions and perspective. It should be a lively discussion.

RSVP: info@rosetogroup.com or (408) 221-9760

If you want more information check this link.

HR.com and the Institutes for Human Resources (IHR) is holding a virtual Rewards and Recognition event, and it is right around the corner…
July 13th & 14th

My session, Manager-driven Recognition, is on the 13th at 12:30 Pacific/3:30 Eastern. Here is the information:

In this session we will look at the most successful method of increasing recognition satisfaction, the manager-driven approach. The session will cover the:

• Research into what employees want vs. what provides satisfaction (not the same!),
• Survey that revealed the surprising cost of the most meaningful recognition,
• Recent study that revealed the determining factor in how valued employees feel,
• 50/30/20 Rule – the preferred recognition mix,
• Managers’ role in delivering effective recognition,
• Managers as leaders of program development and culture change,
• Secret to getting commitment from managers, and
• HR as facilitators not drivers.

Focusing on manager-driven recognition engages individuals and changes cultures. Effective and resource friendly, this is a proven approach to recognition that works. Before you invest in a new or revamped program you need to attend this session!

Check out the other  offerings as well.

You can register here to attend this complimentary event right from your desk!

Last week Wired ran a story on how Facebook was testing new performance feedback software from Rypple.The core idea behind the software is that annual reviews don’t provide frequent enough feedback, an idea I completely agree with!

Frequent feedback is especially important with younger workers. Research that I completed in 2008 showed that those in the workforce 4 years or less had a strong preference for daily feedback, so anything that increases the frequency of feedback is potentially beneficial.

There are many software programs that allow coworkers to offer each other praise or thanks, increasing the frequency of feedback. What seems to set Loops apart is that it also has channels to support supervisors in setting goals and in offering feedback and coaching. Loops isn’t only a peer recognition platform, it is also a supervisor recognition platform. This is a critical distinction because, as you know if you have read Make Their Day, feedback from the supervisor is the critical. Supervisors need tools to support their recognition efforts, not replace them.

According to what I have read, Loops organizes the data to provide a sort of ongoing 360 and can be used to replace (or support) the performance review process.

According to the Rypple website the software is also being used by:
Mozilla
Gilt Groupe
Photobucket
VivaKi
Fern Expo

I look forward to learning more, particularly from those who have been using the software. If you have had experience with Loops, leave a comment.

Last month I spoke at the ASTD International Conference in Orlando. I presented at two sessions. One was an author chat to talk about simple, but effective recognition techniques. The other was a concurrent session with friend and colleague Alex Lamb on mending organizational culture. We looked at the intersection between behavioral economics, applied improv, and, specifically, the one to one interactions that determine how valued an individual feels. This intersection is the study of Tokenomics. Links to all the materials from our session are here at the techneq.com website.

Our session was broken into three segments that covered mapping, modeling, and mending organizational culture using the Tokenomics model. If you review the materials you will see that in the segment on mapping we talked about identifying people’s validation systems (what kinds of tokens do they collect). In the last segment (Mend It) we discussed ways to provide the desired validation that were proactive and had a positive influence on the culture.

Because the overall concept of Tokenomics is so new  we had to lay a lot of groundwork. This didn’t leave much to talk about behavioral models and simulations. It is a shame because the simulations that Alex is creating provide some great insights into individual behavior and group dynamics. He had done a few simulations that demonstrate the role managers play in defining organizational culture. Of course, with my interest in recognition I find this particularly fascinating.

Alex has written four blog posts that provide background on the simulation work that he did for our session. They are worth checking out!

Need proof that a little bit of recognition can make a big difference? How about hearing directly from managers who have tweaked their way of working? Who are taking action and reaping results?

On the anniversary of receiving the weekly recognition tips for one year, my subscribers “pay their dues.”  I ask them to tell me what they are doing differently and what changes have they have observed in employees.

A New Way of Working

In terms of what they do differently, for the vast majority, they simply keep recognition top of mind and offer frequent sincere praise and appreciation. Many have begun using the FASTER meeting format, and a few have come up with creative ideas that I include in future tips.

Positive Results

What changes have they observed? After offering these tips for over four years I have quite a collection of success stories. Here are just a sampling:

“The difference? It shows in the glows.”

“The biggest change I have seen on my direct team is that they appear to be more willing to offer assistance and have actually thanked me for acknowledging what they have done.  I had one employee say in all the years they have been working for our organization nobody as ever shown interest in what they do.”

“During our staff meetings we take a moment to have people talk about successes. People see that recognition and reward are part of the new culture and it has helped morale.”

“I’ve always thought of myself as someone who does a fairly good job of recognizing others.  Particularly in the last six months I’ve tried to “kick it up a notch” and have been pleasantly surprised by the positive responses I’ve received.”

“I now make absolutely sure that I thank employees for their contribution (or task they have done for me) and give them feedback on how it helped me or the quality of work. I have noticed that in my 360’s people are commenting about my great feedback now.”

“One staff has said to me it feels like I’m giving her a million dollars when I give  her [an award].”

“They volunteer to do extra for me with no questions asked.”

“I’ve noticed that people are recognizing each other more.”

“By recognizing them personally it has helped to keep communication open and create positive relationships.”

“Most of the benefit is reinforcement of good recognition behaviors.  We tend to be very busy…so recognition can get overlooked.  An indicator of success is that we do an annual survey across all of the Company on employee attitudes.  For the last two years our team has been well ahead of the function / broader Company on all categories including recognition.”

“Three years ago, I scored really low in the Competency areas of “motivating others” and “directing others” in my 360 Feedback.  I believe that the simplicity of the tips you’re sharing makes applying them more real and sincere.  I think that I’ve improved a lot because my team is more responsive now.”

“I can just “feel” that it has made a difference in the relationships we have with each other and our staff.  We took to heart one of your tips- ” At the end of the day” and have started doing Huddles with staff and leaving little notes. It does take extra time and energy but wow has it made a difference.”

Simple, But Not Easy

Each of these managers changed their habits. They found that simple behaviors, repeated consistently resulted in teams with higher morale and greater willingness to pitch in. In the words of one reader, “Wow, has it made a difference.”