Recognition
Nourish your employees with carrotsWe all know that carrots are good for our health. Likewise, in the business realm, carrots make the difference between a poorly performing company with low morale, and a winning company with an engaged workforce. SHARON ASCHAIEK |
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 [ 2006-03-08 ] |
Carrots is the term Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton use to describe the rewards that employers offer their employees to acknowledge their good work. As they write in A Carrot a Day: A Remarkable Story of How a Leader Can Unleash Human Potential (Gibbs Smith, 2002, $18.95 US), more North American companies need to better reward their employees' contributions if they want to stay competitive.
"In today's highly competitive business climate, where top employees can have their pick and choose of employers, if you want long-term success, you've got to engage your people," Gostick says. "When people feel engaged and appreciated, they stay longer at their places of employment and give more to them."
Gostick and Elton are principals at O.C. Tanner, the world's largest employee-recognition firm. Over the last 80 years, O.C. Tanner has helped spearhead employee recognition programs for about 8,000 clients in Canada and the U.S., including Sears, Avis, KMPG and AOL Time Warner.
The research clearly bears out what they have to say. According to Employee Engagement Report 2005, a survey of 990 North American and European employees completed by U.S.-based organization and leadership development company BlessingWhite, 79% of employees do not feel fully engaged in their workplace.
Only 18% of respondents indicated that they understood their organization's strategy, and 22% said regular, specific feedback about how they're doing would improve their performance.
The first step to becoming a 24-carrot manager, then, is to pay closer attention to what your employees are doing.
"They key is getting out of your office on a regular basis," write Gostick and Elton. "By walking around and recognizing your employees for doing the right things, you help them identify which behaviours should be cultivated and which should be weeded out."
Pick your carrots wisely: choose personalized gifts that really resonate with people, as opposed to generic rewards such as a company mug, they write. The more time you spend on the floor getting to know your employees, the more you'll learn about what's important to them.
When delivering praise, they write, consider your delivery. Garden variety praise such as "You're doing a great job" has little impact. To be effective, give praise that's timely, specific, sincere and well thought out. Indicate how the person's efforts have contributed to the goals of his/her team and of the company at large.
"And by making the presentations public," they write, "you not only make the person being recognized feel appreciated, but also inspire those who are in attendance."
Managers can be strategic in their recognition initiatives to lead employees toward achieving specific departmental goals, they write.
Involve employees in establishing these departmental objectives, create straightforward strategies for achieving them, and post each team's vision, goals and objectives in a conspicuous place in the department. Continually reinforce behaviour that's in keeping with these established goals.
Recognition of individuals should occur weekly, they write, and team celebrations should occur at least every couple of months.
"When people feel that commitment and are recognized once a week," Gostick says, "they're usually in the most productive and profitable workplaces, and there is a correlation to the bottom line."
CARROTS ARE GOOD FOR EMPLOYEES
Looking for creative ways to personally and consistently reward your employees? Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton's A Carrot a Day (Gibbs Smith, 2004, $12.95 US), the companion book to The 24-Carrot Manager, offers 365 ideas (see thank-you box below).
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SAY "THANK YOU"
For a team reward, bring in a massage therapist for a day.
Have the company president write a letter of thanks to a particularly outstanding employee.
Schedule a one-on-one meeting with an employee to focus only on their accomplishments.
Reward an employee with a day at the spa.
Collaborate with HR to give employees their birthdays off without its counting against vacation days.
Reward a fitness fanatic by paying his/her gym dues for a month, or longer.
Involve a great employee in one of your meetings with a senior manager, and highlight their accomplishments.
Do you have you a bad boss?