Find the nearest Chief People Officer or Chief Human Resources Officer and demand that employee recognition be included in their Strategic HR Plan.

This fancy, multi-page document, with charts and pictures, models, frameworks and goals, links the needs of your people with the business strategy and goals your leaders want to achieve for your organization.

Your Chief Financial Officer has already made sure the financial projections and plans have been laid out on how to reach those goals.

These days most mid- to large sized organizations have a strategic plan. It is becoming equally essential to have a strategic human resource plan.

Talent management, for example, is becoming a major issue with the aging workforce crisis and lack of educated and trained people to replace those retiring.

But too often employee recognition gets overlooked in strategic HR plans.