Monthly Archives: March 2022

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Why It Is Okay To Have Manager Approvals for Rewards

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You and I know that recognition and reward programs have to be designed with the right business rules to make their use fair and equitable.

This is especially the case where performance-based recognition and reward programs exist. Such programs have their own rules for who is eligible to give and receive rewards. 

Reward programs where peers nominate someone to receive a reward may even require that a manager approve of whether the desired recipient should receive the reward. 

And yet there are some organizations who say they don’t want a manager’s approval at all. This takes too much time to approve a reward nomination. How will it look to employees? 

However, I am here to tell you it is okay to have managers approve reward nominations. 

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Why Your Leaders Must Lead Out With Recognition

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Not every organization has a leader or a leadership team that drives recognition initiatives.

Always aim for leader commitment and support for your recognition strategy and programs. It is essential to get their personal and emotional commitment and not just their buy in. The concept of “buy in” is so organizational driven, detached, financial focused, and transactional. 

I will explain the seriousness behind getting your leaders to lead recognition in your organization. 

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How Much Recognition Should You Give To People?

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When recognition program owners ask this kind of question, I think they are seeking a one-size-fits-all approach to recognition giving. Whether this is recognition practices of face-to-face recognition or expressing recognition through online recognition programs. 

Notice the generalized question asking about “recognition” and to “people”. Those are both very broad terms and very unrealistic.

And I am sure you are lingering to read now exactly how I will answer this question. How much recognition should you give to people? 

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How To Innovate Your Recognition Programs The Right Way

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It is one thing to make quality or continuous improvements to your recognition and reward programs. But what about innovating them?

Some of you have probably heard of the design and consulting firm, IDEO, based in the U.S., and with offices in England, Germany, Japan, and China. They founded IDEO in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. They have over 700 staff and they use a design thinking approach to design products, services, environments, and digital experiences. 

You could do this on your own or collaborate with your recognition program provider. Look at IDEO’s design process below and consider how you might apply it to your recognition programs. 

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How Often Should You Be Training People On Recognition Skills?

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How often should you be training people on recognition skills? 

That’s an interesting question to ponder on. Unfortunately, not enough people ever ask it or even think about it. 

Recognition skills fall into the realm of being “soft skills.” People define soft skills as personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.

What should be the frequency of soft skill training, and in particular, recognition skills? 

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What Is The Estimated ROI From My Recognition Program?

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Everyone wants a positive Return on Investment (ROI) for any new project or program. Employee recognition is no different.

Leaders and program owners alike want to know and compare the monetary benefits from their recognition program. One client recently asked me, what do you consider the estimated return on investment for implementing employee recognition program? 

Unfortunately, the quick and easy answer to that broad question is, “that depends.” 

But to bring some peace of mind to any of you who might have the same question, I will now give a more detailed answer. 

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Has A Leader Given You Meaningful Recognition Recently?

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Have one of your organizational leaders recently recognized you in person, or publicly, for a specific contribution you made? 

It feels pretty good, doesn’t it?

The problem, though, is it doesn’t happen often enough. 

Examining some research completed over the years might give us some insights why this is. From there, together we can make some suggestions about what you can do.

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How To Use the Right Words To Express Your Recognition

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You would think that giving recognition to people was something pretty easy to do, right? 

Unfortunately, even if you get over the resistance and discomfort of recognizing people, there’s another challenge to overcome. That’s the challenge of expressing your recognition the best way possible. 

It doesn’t matter how you give your recognition. It could be verbally face-to-face, on the phone, or through videoconferencing. Then again, it might be by text-based, SMS, a handwritten card, or an electronic ecard. Whatever way you do it, I want to recommend that you put more time and care into how you say your recognition.

Your words could make or break the recognition you give people. I don’t think we fully realize the impact our words have on employees. Blogger and author, Rachel Wolchin, said, “Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don’t mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime.”

I want you to examine more closely the type of vocabulary you use. Check out the phrasing of your recognition messages more carefully. 

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