Make Their Day Blog

Ever need to delegate an assignment that you know is no fun, that no one in their right mind would want to do, but that needs to get done anyway?

Last week I presented at Adobe Software along with a panel of Adobe managers who shared their excellent ideas for recognizing employees (I love talking with managers who “get it.”)

Gwyn Weisberg

One manager, Gywn Weisberg, brought an example of an award that she  implemented with her team last year. It is a fun award that acknowledges those “nobody wants to do it, but they step up anyway” assignments.

As you might be able to see in the photos below, the award is a prettily packaged novelty dog “poo.”

Most of us have heard of the prank where you light a bag of dog poo on fire, put it on the porch of someone you don’t like and ring the doorbell and run. The victim comes out and stamps out the fire and, well, you get the picture.

Typically, receiving a flaming bag isn’t such a good thing. In this case, it is only symbolic and symbolizes a willingness to take on the less pleasant assignments. The words Thank You hold a prominent place in the message on the front of the bag. (This is an award  that focuses on the appreciation element of recognition.)

When we think about recognition as seeing and acknowledging staff this award does a great job of recognizing. Gwyn sees the reality of these unpleasant assignments (there aren’t too many!) and acknowledges those that are left holding the bag (sorry Gwyn I couldn’t resist).

The Flaming Bag is a traveling trophy. It goes from recipient to recipient, as each takes on an unpleasant assignment. On the back is a list of previous distinguished recipients.

I imagine the list shows that everyone pitches in and probably helps keep Gwyn on her toes when it comes to spreading the “ick” assignments around!

Brooke Thomas came up with an award that I love!

She writes:

A couple of months ago, we were getting ready to launch a new application to the whole company. Our last gating milestone was our internal validation process for which we had only one regular employee (and two recently hired temps who weren’t up to speed yet). These validations are extremely tedious and it takes a special someone to march through them.

This employee was extremely stressed out and working long hours. I sent her a Mike Rowe “Dirty Jobs” life sized card board cut-out with a note, saying I realized her job was very tough right now but I was sending her some ‘help’ in the form of Mike Rowe. Needless to say everyone in her office loves Mike and she can in turn ‘loan’ him out when others feel like they have thankless dirty job.

I hope it turns into a sort of ‘underground’ peer recognition program.

Very creative Brooke!

The Dirty Job award acknowledges that achievement doesn’t always mean doing something grand or exciting. Sometimes it just means rolling up your sleeves, getting dirty, and getting the job done!

The best ideas always seem to come from readers. Do you have an idea to share?

In the last post I looked at two books on the subject of influence. One is focused heavily on how we are manipulated into doing what someone else wants. Not the most positive subject, but Influence still manages to offer a lesson on positive motivation. The other book, Sway, looks at what causes us to behave irrationally. It too offers good lessons for managers. If you missed the last post, check it out here.

The third book I want to discuss is Influencer by the authors of Crucial Conversations, Influencer comes at the subject of motivation from a much more positive perspective, that of creating positive change by changing behaviors.

To achieve the results we want, the authors suggest we start by identifying the very specific behaviors that we want changed. Once we know what behaviors we want to change we can provide motivation.

Influencer provides examples where the behavior of entire communities was changed in order to improve health (eradication of Guinea Worm), keep convicts from returning to jail (Delancy Street), and reduce avoidable deaths in hospitals. The authors look at firmly entrenched behaviors and what motivators will get us to change those behaviors.

This book, like the previous two, holds some lessons for those of us that want to be a positive source of workplace motivation. (for the first three extrinsic motivators see the previous post).

Extrinsic motivator #4:  Peer Pressure. We all remember peer pressure from our school days, but we tend to forget that it is an influence in the workplace as well. It is the reason why you don’t have to turn everyone to your way of thinking. To achieve change you need to influence those whose opinions are most respected, the opinion leaders. Part two of peer pressure is to design a workplace with social support for the right behavior. This might be the pizza party for everyone when 51 percent of the department achieves a goal, with the promise of a bigger event when 75 percent achieve. The stakes aren’t high but there should be a little friendly pressure (and support) from those already achieving on those who have yet to get there.

Extrinsic motivator #5:  Change the Environment The old Western Electric experiments proved that if you change the environment people are more productive (Hawthorne Effect). Change things back the way they were and people are once again more productive. They showed that it was the attention itself that was motivating, not the environmental changes. When the attention was gone, the change itself made no difference.

When the authors of Influencer talk about changing the environment, they aren’t referring to the short term bump in productivity of the Hawthorne Effect. They want us to look at our environment to see how it influences behaviors we want to change, and ask ourselves if modifications to tools, aesthetics, or any other physical factor, would induce behavioral change without additional effort. For a manager, it might be a staff member’s uncomfortable chair that keeps them looking for excuses to get up and wander. Or maybe the first come first serve vacation sign-up chart  is causing animosity among coworkers and reducing cooperation.

Extrinsic motivator #6:  Design Rewards Obviously I think this one is right on target. Rewards help people to move in the desired direction by providing something to work towards. Rewards don’t have to be money or even anything costly. Recognition is as effective a reward as you have at your disposal. If you still have doubts, see this story of one manager’s experience.

Extrinsic motivator #7:  Demand Accountability The mirror of rewards is accountability. Rewarding good behavior just doesn’t have the same impact if you ignore bad behavior. Years ago I taught a Coping with Burnout course. We discussed what had led participants to feel burned out. I quickly realized that most of the participants had once been top performers. What really “burned them up” was  seeing how little others could get away with accomplishing, without recourse. Lack of accountability undermined their sense of value.

External motivators - I have covered three books that demonstrate that we can affect the behavior of those who work with us. I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of influence and motivating others.

Copyright 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

In response to the weekly tip Put It In Writing, reader Pam Olson writes:

“I have saved and re-read many notes like [those mentioned in the tip].  The ones that I especially like are the ones where someone thanks you or tells you of their appreciation of the small things you do - often very small things that are just taken for granted by most people.”

Pam makes a good point. Written notes aren’t just for the big wins. When you notice the small details you recognize something that maybe the recipient hasn’t even recognized in themselves.

I remember when I was interviewing employees for Make Their Day. I was asking what makes a great manager. One trait I heard many times was, “My manager sees things in me that I didn’t even see myself.” Often, the were talking about the “small things” that Pam mentions.

Focusing on the small things obviously has the potential to be a very powerful form of recognition. But couldn’t it also seem like the manager is focused on trivia? What do you think? Do you want to be recognized for the small things? Do you have a story to share? Tell us what you think!

As Thanksgiving in the U.S. approaches I can think of no better time to reflect on the value of telling employees that they are valued.

Readers of Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works are aware that there are  four elements of meaningful recognition.  The acronym PORT stands for Praise, Opportunity, Respect, and Thanks or Appreciation.

Many of us say “Thank you” all the time. It is as much a habit as “Hi. How are you?” But habitual thanks aren’t the kind of appreciation I am thinking about. I am thinking about - the kind that is firmly grounded in gratitude.

Try this exercise:

Make a list of ten people you work with, for, or report to you. For each person on your list write down what it is about him or her that you rely on. Is it a certain skill set? An attitude? A behavior? How do these traits make your life better/easier? Got it? Then you’ve got gratitude. You can turn this into meaningful appreciation by communicating it. Put it in a note card, on a bulletin board, in an email - the medium isn’t critical, but the message is!

Employee recognition doesn’t have to be costly. In the past, I explained the value of symbolic awards and offered tips for using these as inexpensive and impactful awards for recognizing employees.

I am always on the lookout for clever ideas and reader Kellee Joost has an idea to share. She uses a cheese grater to send the message:

Thanks for contributing to the “grater” good of the Company.

The pun may make you laugh or groan, but the message will stick!

What symbolic awards come to mind for you?

All the best, Cindy

Kirsten Smith of the provincial government of British Columbia maintains a “Thank You” binder.  Her staff loves it enough that they wanted to share the practice with other parts of the organization. They sent  the following note to be posted on their internal website:

“Manager, Kirsten Smith shows recognition to her staff by keeping and maintaining a “Thank You” binder that holds all the comments and emails about her staff, thanking them for all their hard work or help, etc. At each staff meeting she pulls out the “Thank You” binder and reads out loud all the thank you notes or comments she’d received since the previous meeting. I know Kirsten believes that informal recognition is extremely important in fostering pride, but can often be overlooked and that this type of recognition supports an employee’s identification with the organization and its mission and is a simple and powerful way to strengthen, encourage and reinforce all of the behaviours that are necessary for an organization to achieve success. ”

A manager getting recognition for being good at recognition! Staff that wants to share her best practices. I think that is pretty fantastic!

You Really Don’t Have to Spend Alot
To Boost Morale

Most companies are scaling back their summer party because of finances. A few are eliminating it completely–a bad idea. People need to have a bit of fun and let off some steam. It’s good for morale. I highly recommend that you do something. Celebrate a milestone with an ice cream social. Have a potluck lunch with games and prizes. Do something a little different. It doesn’t have to cost much. You might even find that people are even more excited about your low-cost event than your usual get together.

Here is an example of fun, low cost, and
relatively easy contest:

Molly Moseley of JobDig.com writes:

We usually plan very expensive contests, but this year I was working with close to nothing. We held a month-long company miniature golf contest. As you can see in the photos our office was turned into a “Country Club” and every morning we played a new “hole” which somehow involved office cube bunkers, carpet sand traps, and coffee cup bodies of water.

To my surprise, everyone loved it and would show up to work early to “practice.” Each day there was a new hole and format – scramble, best ball, speed golf, etc. To end the month long contest, this past Monday we had a BBQ lunch and headed to an actual miniature golf course. Everyone enjoyed themselves.”

A little fun, a bit of socializing, very little cost. Thanks Molly!

A manager I coached wanted to build greater rapport with her team by offering them recognition. She told me that any awards had to be very inexpensive. She had very little money to spend, only about $30 for a team of nine. I told her she could offer inexpensive, high-impact recognition, but that she was going to have do a bit of work to make it happen.

I gave her her first assignment.

Think about three things:

1)  What is unique about each member of your team?

2) How do members contribute to the work the team does?

3) What do you most value about each individual’s role within your organization?

She finished the assignment and got back to me with her list. She had put a lot of though into how each person made a unique contribution to the team. One employee was great at relieving group stress by lightening things up. Another had a gift for organizing the work environment. A third was superb with difficult customers.

She told me that she learned something in doing this assignment. Thes exercise made her think about what was valuable about each person, and it increased her appreciation of the work each did. She learned that, in fact, she did value every member of her team. While initially, she had her doubts about one or two, she realized that each contributed, although some in ways that weren’t immediately visible or obvious.  She had simply failed to “see” them clearly.

I gave her a second assignment. I asked her to think of a symbol for each trait or behavior. These symbols should be something she could purchase for no more than a few dollars: a puzzle for solving challenges, a silly mask for bringing humor to the workplace, a slinky for flexibility.

She made her list, shopped for and found appropriate items, put some thought into her presentation, and then held her awards ceremony.

She reported back to me that at the end of her presentation, she said, “I hope you all know how much I value you.” One member of the team spoke up. She said, “I do now.”

Want to build better rapport with your team?

Do this exercise.

Make a list of your team members.

1) Note what is unique about each:

• characteristics
• valued behaviors
• specific ways in which they support the team.

2) Don’t leave anyone out. You can find something you value about every single person if you really look.

3) Once you have completed the list, tell team members what you value. Or, take the next step.

4) Add the symbolic awards. Do a more formal presentation of each. You can make the presentations one to one or to the group as a whole, whatever is a better fit with your team culture.

This is recognition that acknowledges what you value. It is inexpensive. It is meaningful. It will be appreciated.

© Cindy Ventrice