Word Of the Week #574: Recognition
July 16, 2015 by Susan Clarke
Recognition – the acknowledgment of achievement, service, merit, etc.
How good is your company at given recognition? How much responsibility do you feel you have? Are you allowed to make important business decisions on your own?
This week features the second of the “6 Needs to Thrive at Work” that Michael Lee Stallard featured in his book, “When workers thrive, companies do too.”
Once again, there are so many different ways to show recognition so I picked a few that were work related. And as Stallard says “they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.”
Stallard writes, “The second need is recognition. It energizes us when we work with people who recognize and voice our task strengths (“you’re a great manager”) and/or character strengths (“you persevere to overcome obstacles”). It’s almost as if we have a recognition battery that needs to be recharged periodically. The problem is that the plug-in is on our back, exactly in a place we can’t reach, so we must rely on those around us to charge our recognition battery. If it’s not charged, we will feel emotionally and physically drained.”
Another great article I found is “5 Ways to Build a Recognition Culture” by Jessica Miller-Merrell. She writes, “Any type of organizational change takes 18 to 24 months to fully take effect meaning that an employee recognition culture doesn’t happen overnight.
- It Starts at the Top. Any type of culture shift within an organization must have senior leadership support. It’s that simple because without them walking the talk, the change won’t happen. No way no how.
- Empower Your Employees. Map out a formal employee empowerment policy whether it’s the ability to recognition employees on their own or make business decisions. The responsibility one has can make a difference in their level of engagement and care they take in their work.
- Promote FUN. Employees that play together stay together. Make your workplace FUN and ask your staff what they want and need to stick around using employee town halls, stay interviews, or employee surveys. You don’t know if you don’t ask.
- Shower Them with Affection. Employees need to be recognized in both formal and non-formal settings, public as well as private. Sometimes all it takes is a quiet thank you to employees help drive results. Individual employees and cultures prefer different recognition methods too.
- Regular Recognition. And by regular, I don’t mean your annual review or dropping off a copy of the five year employee anniversary catalogue. Regular recognition needs to happen for a positive and engaged workplace.
This week’s focus is on recognition. Do you feel that your talents get recognized? Do you have FUN at work? Do you come home feeling emotionally drained after work?
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