Posted on Nov 14, 2012

Values in Action – Recognition

I was having a bad day. Nothing seemed to be going well. No one was returning my phone calls. I was feeling all my current leads were dead ends.

Then a co-worker popped her head into my office and said “I hear you scored a meeting with the Vice-President. That’s awesome! How did you manage that?”

Right then, my mood changed.

I sat up straighter and even smiled – maybe the first time that day. I was being recognized by a co-worker. My efforts were valued.

As a differentiating value, Recognition can be a significant force for good. But to be effective, it matters how it is done and who gives it.

In the News: New Research Unlocks the Secret of Employee Recognition

In this article, Josh Bersin highlights the findings from his research on employee recognition – the good and the bad.

According to Bersin’s research, 87% of recognition programs focus on tenure – simply rewarding people for sticking around. What’s worse, recognizing employees for 5, 10 or 25 years of service has virtually no impact on organizational performance. So why are companies still doing this?

In addition, the research suggests peer-based recognition means a lot more to employees than receiving recognition from leaders.Go figure.

As I outlined in my personal experience above, receiving a little peer recognition is what turned my day around. It made a world of difference to me – and encouraged me to refocus my efforts to the benefit of the organization.

So what’s the best way to recognize employees in an organization?

When designing a recognition program, Bersin offers these 5 best practices:

Recognize people based on specific results and behaviors. Organizational performance is enhanced when people are rewarded for ‘doing the right thing.’
Implement peer-to-peer recognition – not top down. The impact is much more meaningful when a peer says “thank you” for your efforts versus politically motived top-down recognition.
Share recognition stories. When someone does something great, sharing these stories creates employee engagement and an opportunity for shared learning.
Make recognition easy and frequent. One suggestion is to give employees a budget of ‘points’ to give to others. Transparency is also important for everyone to see who is doing a great job.
Tie recognition to your own company values or goals. Similar to #1, this is about rewarding employees for behaviors and decisions that support the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

For the analytical behaviorists, Bersin uses Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to explain the importance of recognition. He suggests that our need to be appreciated (Esteem) and our need to belong (Love) can be met through peer-to-peer appreciation and well-crafted recognition programs.

What do you think?