Tag Archives: Cost

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What Makes Recognition Different From Appreciation?

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A subscriber of our Authentic Recognition blog suggested I should write about the difference between recognition (more related to work) versus appreciation (more related to the person).

I asked them why this topic was important right now. It seems their organization uses the Gallup Organization’s Q12 engagement survey every two years. In the past year they focused on the recognition specific question/statement #4, “In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work”. 

Her research, like many of us have found, led her to see that “recognition in the workplace” has so many meanings.

She wisely observes that “people fundamentally want to be ‘understood and cared for’ or ‘appreciated’ and would prefer that over ‘recognition’”

She asked for my thoughts on the differences between recognition and appreciation.  Apparently, her organization will likely continue with using recognition. However, she wonders if more time should be spent on appreciation instead of recognition in order to improve the Gallup survey scores.

(more…)
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How to Put a New Spin on Your Recognition Strategy

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Michael Porter, the well-known strategist, and professor at Harvard Business School states, “the essence of strategy is in the activities–choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals.”

As I think on the final output generated from the process I used to help company leaders create their own written recognition strategies, each one is unique to their particular company. They have their crafted version of a recognition purpose and philosophy statement. Every company has a different overriding short-term goal. Their focus points reflect the needs and gaps for their organization. And the plans developed provide concrete goals and actions that will lead to better and more effective employee recognition for their company.

Porter also said, “The more benchmarking companies do, the more they look alike.”

Therein lies the dilemma for many companies. So often they want to know everything about what other companies are doing for employee recognition best practices and programs. Essentially, they want to duplicate what successful companies are doing and implement their ideas right away.

I will draw upon the thinking of INSEAD professors W. Chan Kim and RenéeMauborgne, who specialize in strategy and, specifically, Blue Ocean Strategy, to put a different spin on developing a recognition strategy. (more…)

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ROI to the Power of 3 on Employee Recognition

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If you’ve been running recognition programs and initiatives for a while, you have likely encountered the inquisitive, cynical, or perhaps challenging leader who throws down the ROI gauntlet for you to “prove” recognition is contributing to the bottom line.

My recommendation is to be careful about jumping too quickly or focusing solely on the money-sided ROI. Make sure you examine both below and above the bottom line to more easily convert recognition into an investment versus an expense.

Yes, there is a lot more to ROI than meets the eye, which is why we will examine ROI to the power of three. It’s much more than being financial.

You need to look at other returns that can come from recognition. (more…)