Make Their Day Blog

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

Recently, I was asked about some research I completed in 2007 and in digging around, found this post:

Tuning Into Employee Preferences

In it, I share the results of a survey I had completed that asked respondents about the manager behaviors that communicated to them that they were valued.  Praise, feedback on your work, a manager who listens, which would be most valued? You might be surprised by the answer.

And while you are there, it is worth asking yourself if you are doing what matters most.

All best,

Cindy Ventrice

“You’re late.”
“I can’t believe you said that.”
“You didn’t listen to me.”

We all know people who always notice the mistakes and flaws of others and never comment on the positive. We would label them as critical.

Ask these critcial people about their comments, and they’ll tell you that they want to see improvement and need to point out what requires fixing. They would say they are discerning.

They may in fact be very observant and have astute critical feedback. The problem is, that once we have pegged them as critical, we ignore or resent their observations. And, as for likeability, well people certainly don’t flock to them. Put these critical/discerning people into the workplace, and they find they don’t get much cooperation. Make them managers, and they discover that they have to micromanage because employees aren’t motivated to take the lead.

Part of my job is convincing these managers and supervisors that they’ll get greater improvement with praise than criticism. For some this just seems counterintuitive. After all, if you want to fix something you need to point it out. Or do you?

I say “No, you don’t.” Instead, try praising what is working. Very often the person you have praised will take the initiative to figure out how to do things better on their own. Praise boosts confidence. A confident person is more able and willing to discern what needs improvement in themselves.

It may seem counterintuitive, but it works.

What has been your experience? Have you tried giving more or less criticism? What was the result? Have you had a manager who changed approaches? What was the result? Let us hear from you.

A recent study of over 800 respondents found that those who have been in the workforce for four years or less are most interested in opportunities to socialize with coworkers.

Santa Cruz, California (Press Release) October 1, 2008

This study found that those who have been in the workforce for four years or less (the emerging workforce) are most interested in opportunities to socialize with coworkers than other groups. This group included employees of all ages although it was predominately those 35 years and less.

On a scale of 1-5, with 5.0 most preferred those employed four years or less scored higher in all four categories positively associated with socializing with coworkers. The study also tracked the age of the respondents.

According to Cindy Ventrice, author of Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works “While age was a factor and this is a generational issue to some degree, it is worth noting that the strongest variations came from those who have been working for four years or less, regardless of age. Our emerging workforce has not yet built a strong work network. They need and want opportunities to do this.”

About the author:
Cindy Ventrice is the author of the best-selling book Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works and the companion guide Recognition Strategies that Work. She has been quoted in The New York Times, Harvard Business Update, Workforce Magazine and on CNBC and has worked with managers in 14 countries and has helped hundreds of organizations improve employee morale and loyalty through effective recognition strategies.

http://www.maketheirday.com

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To order your copy of the complete research report: Order

The press can contact Cindy Ventrice for a copy of the report.

Watch this video of a department store Santa. Earlier this year, David Gray held this video up as proof that you can be productive without being engaged.

But is the Santa in this video really disengaged?

If you say yes, the mistake you are making is in thinking that engaged employees have to be upbeat cheerleaders. This guy liked his world-weary persona. He might not have considered himself engaged (in 1975 he would have been puzzled that we were even thinking about it).

Listen carefully to what he has to say and you will hear someone who knows exactly what result he needs to achieve, has the talent required to achieve it, and is proud of his result. That is engagement.

Here are a few things to look for in the video:

1) He mentions several times that he has been called the only authentic Santa in Chicago and how he gets to pick his hours.

2) As his costume is completed he says, now you are going to see something beautiful.

3)Then, as you watch him with the kids, his voice over says, “you see so much love…if I make kids happy…”

Yes Virginia, there is an engaged Santa Claus.

Using MRI technology, the Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan found that a compliment stimulates the same reward center in the brain as does cash.

In their research they did two experiments. In one, people played a gambling game and received automatic cash payouts. They were rewarded for achievement. There was no human interaction. In the second experiment they received evaluations, supposedly from strangers reviewing their videos and questionnaires.  In each case, in this second experiment, they were paid a compliment.

Their MRIs showed that in both experiments  the people felt they were receiving a reward.

This seems to help explain why recognition is so effective. I would love to see them test the effect of reading the compliment a few days later. I bet it would still trigger the reward center. I can’t think of a more cost-effective way to recognize people that offering a few written words of praise. It is the reward that keeps on giving!

If you want to read the full story visit ABC News.

A 2008 survey of over a 1000 respondents completed by UK coaching company White Water Strategies showed that acknowledging staff achievements properly had an equivalent perceived value to a one percent pay increase.

So, that means if your company has an annual payroll of four million dollars, recognition has a perceived value equal to $40,000 in raises. Try this calculation with your company payroll figures. In this time of tight budgeting, would you say it is worth teaching managers how to recognize effectively? I would consider it an intelligent investment.

If you are interested in implementing recognition into your organization you will want to read this post.

Employee recognition is critical to maintaining morale during difficult economic times. When employees feel valued your organization can not only survive, but often thrive during a downturn.
If you have read Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works you might remember the story of Remedy, the company that coped with economic hardship and parent company scandals, and managed to come through it with improved customer service, increased revenue, and steady employee morale.
To make this happen they needed a culture of recognition, and this leads us to some good news and some bad news.

Bad news: You can’t achieve this level of engagement with gift cards or an employee of the month award. Program development must be built on a rock solid foundation and adhere to the principles of meaningful recognition.
Good news: You can achieve an energized work environment without investing a lot of money. The key is getting real buy in for your recognition initiative, building skills, developing a solid plan, and creating a memorable communication campaign.
You can create a positive recognition culture!

Bad news: Private consulting on making effective culture change can be costly. Chances are good that you don’t have the budget right now to have an expert oversee a full-scale culture change. I know for many of my readers working for small businesses and nonprofits, this was never  an option.
Good news (and yes, a rare sales pitch) There is an alternative that your organization can afford. For only $299*, you and your colleagues can attend a weekly webinar series, six sessions in all, where you will learn the basics of designing and implementing a recognition initiative.
Group size is restricted to allow for plenty of interaction during the sessions. You will be able to ask questions of me and I will ask questions of you so that we can address the unique needs of your organization. To be able to offer this level of personal assistance I need to limit participation to 25 organizations (through conference room access you can have as many people within your organization participate in the webinars as you like).
This is a popular program and because I only run it once per year, you will want to register soon.
Tools, guides, and assessments. The webinar series includes lots of materials that will help you with your program.
You will receive:
Cost of Turnover Worksheets
Executive Commitment Checklist
Catalysts for Manager Commitment
Training Needs Assessment
A copy of Recognition Strategies that Work
24 Questions to Ask Before You Design
Implementation Tables
Sample Timeline to Rollout
Private consultation included: In addition to the six-hour course you will receive five assignments that will help you prepare your initiative. When you turn in the assessments and planning documents (one set per organization) I will review them and provide you with my analysis, in essence a private consultation on each of five topics.
When you complete the course your organization will also receive a half-hour private phone consultation that you can use anytime within the following six months.

If you have been considering a recognition program–
If you are concerned about hanging on to your top performers–
If you need maintain morale in spite of layoffs–
this isn’t an opportunity you can afford to pass up!

I hope you can join me.
Designing & Implementing Recognition Programs That Work
January 6-February 10, 2009. $299 *plus long-distance charges. This six-week web series covers everything from buy in to project planning. Part workshop, part private consultation, this is most cost-effective way to initiate a recognition program. Click here for more information

Q: We have recently started a Years of Service Program. Some employees are unhappy with the program because we are recognizing those who have been with the company for five and ten years. Those that reached five years service in previous years are not included. How do we start a program like this without upsetting long-time employees, some of which who have been with us since the beginning (fourteen years)?

A: The purpose of a service program is generally to demonstrate that long term service is valued. This means you need to initially recognize all long term service. regardless of the additional cost. If you don’t, you will cause ill will with the people you most need to honor.

To create a positive experience on startup you need to do four things:

1) Create a ‘from the start’ award that is very special. This will be an award that is never offered again. Give it to anyone who has been with the company since its inception.

2) For those that have been with the company more than 5 years, but not from the start, give them the appropriate 5 year increment award. For instance, for the person who has been there 8 years, the presentation would be of the 5 year award. In two years he or she would receive the 10 year award. During the presentation, management should acknowledge that the receipient has actually been there longer and that this is a retroactive award.

3) Put awards in place for lengthier service. I realize no one has reached the 15-, 20- or 25-year milestones yet, but they should be able to anticipate how they will be awarded.

4) Be sure that management gives the awards and prepares a meaningful presentation.

(for more on designing and implementing a program see this post)

All the best,

Cindy

On Tuesday I spoke at the The Motivation Show in Chicago on how to Motivate Millennials Using Employee Recognition. There was an excellent turnout and many people got involved in the conversation. As an opening exercise, I asked people to discuss their observations of Millennials in the workplace.

One gentleman had a story to share. His company had held a retreat. Employees traveled from other parts of the country to attend. The first evening there was a social. One Millennial showed up in shorts and flip flops… and was drunk. When he was told that he needed to change into appropriate attire he insisted that this was how he always dressed for parties, became belligerent and threw around a few choice words.

Once he sobered up he was put on the next flight home. Later, he was let go. During all this he was perplexed, “Why send me home?” “Why fire me?” he wanted to know, “Couldn’t you just give me a time out?”

Hysterical. I wonder if time outs worked when he was younger?