Make Their Day Blog

We often hear that believable recognition is specific recognition. Specifics certainly help in demonstrating that you really “see” the recipient, but is that really the key to making recognition believable?

The foundation of effective recognition is respect. With respect, employees tend to see recognition in the everyday acts of managers and supervisors. Give them difficult customers to help and they know you trust their capabilities. Same thing when you ask them to take their vacations at a different time than you do. They see the recognition potential in your actions if you have a respectful relationship. But is it enough to overcome slightly vague recognition? A note from a reader gives us some insight into this. She received the weekly tip, Put It In Writing:

People generally love thank you notes and written words of appreciation. They love them so much, in fact, that they hang on to them for weeks, months, or sometimes years! It takes you a few minutes longer to create a note than it does to just tell someone how much you appreciate their contribution. The effort is worth your while.

In response to this tip, the reader sent me the following message:

I have notes of appreciation or recognition that I received years ago. Some are as simple as a post it note that says “Great Job!!!” that I know really came from the person’s heart.

I have saved notes both from my supervisors and the people I supervise. I don’t usually save the notes if I know they aren’t from the heart….if they are just a superficial nice thing to say.

I read this and thought, “great job” isn’t very specific. Yet here is a reader to hung on to the note because it was meaningful. This made me wonder (and ask):

What tips you off that a “great job” is from the heart or not?

She wrote back:

Good question. I think that their other behavior supports the recognition. That they aren’t just saying it to check it off their to-do list. Also, when they look me in the eye when they talk to me, a written note is more likely to have more meaning. Also, supervisors don’t always have to agree with me or my ideas, but when they at least take time to listen and consider my input it goes a long way in feeling heard. If I feel heard, I have an easier time believing what they say or write is genuine -if I am important enough to listen to, they probably really care if they take the time to write a note.

The reader refers to other behavior: looks me in the eye. listen and consider my ideas, these behaviors sound like respect to me. The lesson? Work on the respectful relationship first, you can get eloquent with your message later. Your returns will be greater.

Copyright Cindy Ventrice

Last year I was quoted in an article on getting the praise you need. One of my recommendations was that you praise your supervisor every once in awhile. The idea behind the recommendation being that:

1) Supervisors need recognition too, and

2) The more recognition supervisors receive the more willing they are to give it.

Of course you have to mean it. Don’t give praise just to get praise. That would be manipulative. Give your supervisor praise because your he or she does something well. You may be surprised the effect your praise can have.

Every week I send out thousands of weekly employee recognition tips and almost every week I hear from someone who has received a written note of praise from a supervisor that he or she found particularly meaningful. Usually, the reader has kept the note  for ages and refers to it from time to time (proving the lasting value of putting your praise in writing).

Today, I received another email about putting praise in writing, but this one was a little different:

“I don’t have any [notes] that I’ve kept from my managers, but I do have several thank-you letters from the person I manage. I give her lots of positive reinforcement, and she gives it back. I find it very encouraging!”

Nice huh? Wouldn’t you like to work for a supervisor like this? You can, just give some sincere praise.

When you don’t get any recognition for your work it can be difficult to give it. Think of recognition like food. You are starving (for recognition) and, if you are a manager, you are still  expected to “feed” others. When this happens you are likely to say something along the lines of what I recently heard come out of the mouth of a supervisor:

“Your design is really excellent! In fact, it looks a lot like one I sketched up over the weekend.”

I could almost see this “starving” supervisor reaching out, ready to hand a chunk of warm, crusty, butter-slathered bread to the employee. Then, at the last minute, she snatches it back  and shoves it into her own mouth.

While I understand the desire to feed yourself first, there are a couple of problems with this:

1) A stolen recognition “meal” isn’t all that satisfying. While recognizing yourself in front of others has a place, this isn’t it, and this supervisor isn’t going to feel any more valued.

2) The employee who was recognized by his supervisor for excellent work heard only that he wasn’t original. To top it off, his respect for his supervisor just went down a couple (more) notches.

So, what is the answer? That depends on who you are.

Managers & Supervisors

For managers and supervisors the answer is:

Give recognition freely. Give staff credit for great work, ignoring the part you played. Thank people for doing their jobs (no, a paycheck is not enough). Don’t expect an instant return.

Expect a long-term return on your efforts. Give credit and people will respect you more, cooperate more, take more initiative, and yes - occasionally recognize you as well.

Maintain the appropriate supervisor mindset. Know that, as a supervisor, your job is to supervise your people. Inherent in that fact is that when your employees’ work is good, you are doing good work. For you to acknowledge the part you played is redundant. Remember, the more they shine, the better it reflects on you.

Everyone Else

Do you know that middle managers and supervisors are the most under-recognized group out there? Give them a little praise and appreciation. You will be amazed at how much more likely they are to give provide you with more recognition when they aren’t starved themselves. Recognize your supervisor and  managers in other departments or groups. Privately give them the praise and appreciation they deserve. Everyone will be the beneficiary.

Copyright 2010 Cindy Ventrice

I have written before about how the positive work an organization does in the community reflects positively on employees and provides inherent recognition. Employees who work for companies that do good have pride in where they work. An example is the Haiti relief effort going on in many organizations.

Organizations and employees around the world are stepping up to help in the relief efforts in Haiti, and I asked readers to tell me what is happening in their organizations. These are the stories they shared with me:

The Pacific National Exhibition in British Colombia holds a monthly “Jeans Day” where employees donate a minimum of $5 to wear jeans on the last Friday of the month. A quick thinking program organizer changed the scheduled recipient for January to the Canadian Red Cross’ Haiti relief efforts. The final result: over $300 donated.

The National Marrow Donor Program , based in Minneapolis, lent two satellite phones and paid $4000 in calling minutes to Healing Haiti, an organization that was setting up two orphanages outside Port au Prince.

Kids4Change is sponsoring a letter drive, asking children to write letters and poems, draw pictures, etc to be sent to children in Haiti. If you want to participate send cards and letters to Kids4Change, 609 Piedmont Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27803. They will be collecting cards throughout the month of February 2010.

Manhattan Toy sent 1000 puppets to be included in care kits that the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota is sending.

San Diego based Superior Mobile Medics’ 98 employees held a variety of fundraisers (spaghetti lunch, pancake breakfast, ice cream social, book exchange, and more) and raised over $1200 and SMM is matching the funds they raised.

Canadian temporary agency, Hunt Personnel sent out a donation request email to their 85 employees, offering to match any funds raised. They donated $2500.

What is your organization doing? Let me know!

By the way, for the month of February I will donate 100% of the proceeds from group licensing of the webinar Small Budget, Big Payback.

All the best,

Cindy Ventrice

I am often asked, “How do you get managers to use employee recognition programs?” Here is an excerpt from The Secret to Recognition Programs That Work that answers that question:

You need managers to own your recognition programs. They should participate in peer programs, celebrate organizational awards, and actively participate in any manager programs. This requires commitment.

Let’s look at ways you can encourage manager commitment:

• Show the benefits of creating an environment where people feel valued (What’s in it for the organization - improved productivity, safety, customer service, etc and what the manager will gain - staff with better attitudes, more self-directed, looking out for the best interests of the team)
• Provide statistics on how your organization is doing (think scorecard - - it’s motivating to track improvement!)
• Get executives to demonstrate commitment by providing resources and being the face of the program (think of it as trickle down enthusiasm)
• Have senior management set measurable goals for managers (it’s great to see the organization’s scorecard, even better to see your own - staff satisfaction scores are a good choice).
• Get senior management to recognize based on these identified metrics (managers tend to be under-recognized and respond well to positive reinforcement).
• Solicit manager ideas. Address their concerns about design and implementation - but don’t let them make excuses for not participating.
• Have managers share their success stories (these are really energizing and demonstrate viability in your organization).
• Provide training. Managers who develop good habits are more likely to remain committed to ongoing recognition.
• Make it easy to do. (this doesn’t mean do it for them, but don’t create obstacles either!)

One last thought: Send them the weekly tips you receive from your subscription* or encourage them to subscribe. Let me encourage them to take action!

* not subscribed? It is free. Sign up now!

Let me hear from you. What works best in your organization for developing and maintaining manager commitment?

Copyright 2010 Cindy Ventrice

An article in HR Magazine (January) looks at taking a recognition program online.  Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet) had a recognition program that was introduced in 2006.  For this program managers nominated staff and then were responsible for gathering up to five levels of approval. Each nomination then went to a recognition program administrator who reviewed the nominations to ensure that award sizes were consistent with achievement. Expected turnaround: 30 days.

A program  guaranteed to frustrate managers

Put yourself in the  shoes of a manager who wants to recognize an employee and give them an award under this program.  You complete a nomination. Now you need to walk the nomination form around for six approvals. What goes through your mind? Here are a few of my thoughts:

• I don’t have time for this!
• Is this person exceptional enough to justify the hassle?
• Does HR think I’m incompetent?

Not surprisingly, according to HR Director Leah Coyne,  under this program “Very few awards were granted each year.”

Goals for the new system

Globoforce worked with Discovery to create a new system that

• encouraged rather than discouraged use,
• provided faster turnaround, and
• resulted in more awards to more employees.

These strike me as important goals for improvement.

What they implemented and the results

The new system handles the nominations online, but still requires that 3-4 people review/approve a nomination for award. With less approvals and online administration, they are handled faster than before. The result is a significant increase in the number of employees awarded, from 2 to 20 percent of the workforce. The article doesn’t mention the new turnaround time.

I still wonder about the number of levels of review required. The article never mentions the dollar value of the awards, so I don’t know if this amount  of control seems reasonable. I certainly hope they aren’t putting managers through this in order to give out $25 gift cards.

The results do seem to speak for themselves, in addition to increased usage: “a 2009 survey of award recipients and managers reported having more connection to the company, being more engaged in their work, and feeling more satisfied and appreciated as a result of receiving awards.”

Copyright 2010 Cindy Ventrice

An article in the Wall Street Journal online offers three ways to motivate recession-weary staff: ask for input, offer cross-training, and assist with family matters. These are all good ways to communicate staff value, but when you are talking about motivating the weary, there is an important ingredient missing, and that is FUN.

People need to laugh, or at least smile, at work. It reduces stress and increases cooperation. It is good for business.

How can you lighten up?

1) Give out a silly award. Get something cheap: an eight-ball, a wrench, a jar of peanut butter. Endow it with meaning: looking ahead, mistake of the week, smooth handling of a sticky situation. Keep it light-hearted. If you go with something like the mistake of the week, give yourself the first award.

2) Have a crazy contest: office miniature golf tournament, who can build the biggest house of cards in 5 minutes, or the ugliest pet contest.

3) Have a competition that relates to work and make the prizes fun: customer service contest between departments or branches with toy giraffes for the winners (sticking your neck out for great service), or a competition with previous results (production rate, error rate, safety record, increase in sales) and celebrate any win with a pizza party.

4) Add a touch of fun to your meetings: put a bit of humor in your PowerPoint, take a moment to play “something no one here knows about me is,” put toys on the table for people to fiddle with throughout the meeting.

When your routine is beginning to wear on your team, break with routine. Do something out of the ordinary. If your are afraid that people won’t like it, remember, even groans build energy.  Put some squishy stress balls on the table. Tell people that if they don’t like your humor, they can throw the ball at you. You will be surprised by the number of smiles you can generate in just a few minutes.

Now it is your turn. Tell us how you lighten up at work!

Copyright 2010 Cindy Ventrice

We all know it has been a tough year for organizations of all kinds. They have made changes that can significantly affect employees.

So I am wondering, to what extent have changes affected how valued we feel at work? And what changes had the most affect on how valued we feel? To find out we are conducting a short survey.

If you are an employee please participate! The survey will only take about three minutes and the results will be published in this blog as soon as they are available.

Take the survey now

We are wrapping up a really tough year. We have experienced layoffs and budget cuts and are all struggling to do more with less.

Many people were laid off this year. Some are back to work, at least with temporary assignments. Others are still struggling to find work. It can be really demoralizing. If you know someone who has lost their job this first resolution is for you:

1) Stay connected. For those who have been out of work for awhile, it is easy to fall into a funk and withdraw. Help them out. Send an occasional email, take them to lunch, make a LinkedIn introduction, anything that let’s them know you are thinking about them.

For those who are employed, employment generally means a greater workload, less resources, less compensation and/or benefits. In some workplaces the atmosphere has become oppressive while in others, people have come together with a strong ‘can do’ spirit.  The atmosphere all depends on the attitudes and actions of absolutely every person who works there.

We all want to work in a great place. If you don’t, be the catalyst for positive change. Here are two simple workplace resolutions that will help turn your organization around:

1) Say thank you. These two simple words tell your colleagues that you appreciate them. You will soon see how appreciative they are as well.

2) Acknowledge your coworkers. Few of us work in a vacuum. Acknowledge the support and encouragement that others provide. Praise their contributions. Share the credit.

Two workplace resolutions (that work equally as well at home): praise and appreciation. Neither takes much time. You can keep it as simple as you like. Offer both and you will see smiles. People will be more cooperative and positive. Your workplace will be more enjoyable (and probably more productive as well!)

These are resolutions you can keep and you will make someone’s day over and over again. What would you add to the list?

Copyright 2009 Cindy Ventrice

In my little corner of Northern California, it’s common wisdom that “big box” stores represent soul-destroying corporate greed. Few people in our little community would readily admit to shopping in a Costco or a Walmart. They believe that only small locally-owned stores can possibly be good.

I have a different view about where to shop. I will shop anywhere that treats employees well. When employees are treated well they tend treat customers and even vendors well. The theory doesn’t always hold up, but it is pretty reliable.

In 2007 Circuit City chose to lay off their experienced workers for cheaper models. When I read the news I stopped shopping in Circuit City. I never stepped foot in one again. I drove 30 miles or bought online until Best Buy came to town. Best Buy has a reputation of treating employees much better than their now defunct counterpart, so that is where I now shop.

Walmart tends to need to be forced into being a good employer. I have never shopped in one.

Costco is a different story.  I do shop at Costco.The employees of our local Costco tend to stick around for years, some since the store opened in 1994.  From the beginning, I read that they had good benefits and decent pay. I could see that employees were helpful and courteous. The store had quality products, often from local sources. It was clean and well-stocked. I don’t care that they are a big chain. From my perspective, they are a good, local business.

Today I read an article in Fast Company (November 2009 - I’m a little behind) that just confirms my view. Employees at Costco receive an average of $17 per hour ($13 is the national average). Costco pays 90% of insurance costs for both full and part time employees (According to SHRM the average for retail is around 54%).

Costco still seems like a good place to work and I will still continue to shop there.

What do you think?