How Do You Want Your Company’s Recognition To Be Better?

I always love working with leaders on creating their Recognition Strategy documents.

After the organization has created their North Star of a Recognition Purpose and Philosophy statement, it’s usually time to take a look at a gap analysis of how they stack up against industry best practices.

Following that assessment leaders usually have a pretty good idea on the next steps they need to take to improve recognition for their organization.

That’s when it is time to develop a recognition plan to narrow down on four to six focus areas that can be worked on over the next 12 months.

But before I guide people on determining the focus points to work on I always ask people to narrow down on the overall goal for the company.

Thinking about your own organization right now, do you have an idea that comes to mind for your company?

Framing a One-Year Objective   

After determining your Recognition Purpose and Philosophy figuring out your one-year goal is the most important step you need to take.

It is like you have your North Star telling where North is so you can map out the coordinates that are right for your trip. After all, not everyone is going north.

And your all-encompassing objective is your end destination. This is where you are heading for over the next year.

I ask those in the strategy sessions to initially brainstorm as many elements as possible they would like to see improved.

Then it is a matter of narrowing down and refining the wording to fit the needs of overcoming the gaps and progressing the people, processes, practices and programs so you make the right changes happen.

I will ask these leaders, “What do you want to have happen with recognition or achieve within a one-year time frame?”

Some have asked why I don’t ask for a goal for a longer time frame. I used to do that.

The longer-term view never really happened. It works out best for one-year and then you can revisit and strategize a new objective for the following year.

You need to think about what your guiding objective should be to help those involved focus on, and improve, the quality of the recognition everyone will give this year.

Do you have an idea for what your one-year objective should be?

Examples of One-Year Recognition Objectives

Having done this for several years now I will share, with some no-name examples of sample recognition objectives:

• To increase understanding and awareness of recognition and integrate it into our everyday work.

• Effectively communicate our recognition strategy, processes and practices throughout the company and develop a strong recognition culture.

• To understand our colleagues roles in order to support and recognize them to be successful.

• To know what recognition is and what it is not, and how to give it the right way and establish our cultural values to drive recognition.

From these and other examples I have seen a common trend in the objectives established by corporate leaders, namely:

1. There is a universal need to know and better understand what recognition is and to increase the awareness of how important it is to people and for business.
2. People want a seamless integration of recognition practices and use of recognition programs so they are not seen as an add on or burden to do.
3. And people genuinely want to give recognition the right way and may need education and communication supports to make it happen.
4. There will be strategic and cultural elements of each organization that makes their objective tailor made for them.

Once determined, then it is a matter of looking at the gap analysis and identifying areas of focus that could support achieving this one-year objective.

Setting a one-year goal is the first step to making the improvements and progress you need with your recognition planning.

Question: What is your recognition objective for the next 12-months?

Roy is no longer writing new content for this site (he has retired!), but you can subscribe to Engage2Excel’s blog as Engage2Excel will be taking Roy’s place writing about similar topics on employee recognition and retention, leadership and strategy.