AcT NoW-To Recognize Your Employees
(Ref: previous Investor’s Business Daily)
When was the last time your boss recognized
you for exceeding the customer’s
expectations? When was the last time your
boss recognized you in front of your peers
and other leaders? What type of recognition
was it and how was it presented?
It’s been obvious to me for quite some time,
and worker surveys bear it out, that
recognition in the workplace is as important
a “perk” as wage and benefit increases, yet
many leaders fall woefully short when they
should acknowledge an employee(s) for a job
well done.
“How far that little candle throws its
beams! So shines a good deed in a
naughty world.” William Shakespeare
“Managers and leaders think they’re strong
on acknowledging their workers. Talk to
employees and you get an entirely different
story,” says author Rosalind Jeffries and the
author of “Motivating and Recognizing Today’s
Workers.” “I’m finding that many companies are losing people left
and right, because recognition is not something that’s even
considered,” she says. “It may be talked about, but it isn’t practiced.”
From my experience, I’ve seen leaders recognize their employees
but I, and everyone else in the room, could tell by the leaders “nonverbal’s,” that they didn’t really want to be there and what they were
doing was a chore and an obligation. I’ve also witnessed leaders
who enjoyed recognizing their people and took great joy in doing it.
They became the “quality benchmark” by which I assessed every
other leader –and not just when they acknowledged their staff. This
“acknowledging stuff” has a ripple effect like waves washing up on a
beach.
So you may be asking, “how then can a leader (dare I say it?) “Walk
the talk?” Here are a few tips from Ms. Jeffries and yours truly:
Involve the workers. Include your people in the decision making
process and invite them to management meetings when their jobs
are being discussed. When it is appropriate, give credit to the
employee(s) in departmental meetings. “If an employee prepares a
report, put their name on it. If an employee’s idea is used, make
sure they are acknowledged,” she says. Here’s a novel idea: ask the
employees what type of awards are the most meaningful and why.
“Dear Heart. Please stop getting involved in everything. Your job is
to pump blood, that’s it!
Take time to listen. “Listening is a dynamic tool that’s often
overlooked,” Jeffries says. To be an effective listener, leaders must
learn how to suspend any assumptions they may have about the