| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines:Choosing an Effective Employee Recognition Program
This article relates to the Recognition competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of how one company found the right recognition program by paying attention to employee feedback. This competency also explores what type of behavior is appreciated and rewarded within your organization. Studies show that employees who receive regular recognition and praise are more likely to increase their individual productivity levels, increase engagement with their colleagues, and stay longer at the organization. Evaluating this competency can be especially useful if your organization is experiencing low productivity levels or ineffective teamwork. This short story, Choosing an Effective Employee Recognition Program, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It tells the story of how one company found the right recognition program by paying attention to employee feedback. Anonymous Submission I am currently working as a human resources associate at a medium sized manufacturing firm. I was recently assigned a new project - to set up an employee recognition program and procure the prizes to be awarded. Top-level management recently conducted an employee satisfaction survey and decided that a new recognition program (there had been one years ago, but it faded due to lack of interest) would spur lagging productivity and boost morale. When given the task of program development, I asked questions - how do we determine which employees get recognition? What kinds of prizes do we want to award? You'll receive all the details in a memo, I was told. The next management meeting yielded a memo instructing me to implement a program that included the following prizes ---a reserved parking spot next to the building for one month, a framed certificate of excellence, and a "top performance" ribbon, to be awarded at each monthly employee meeting, on the basis of supervisor recommendation. After the first monthly meeting, I tried to gather employee feedback. The response to the first round of awards at the meeting was lukewarm to downright chilly, and I was curious as to why. I checked the company suggestion box later that day, and quickly discovered the reason for the cool reception. It was filled with slips of paper, their messages basically summed up by the following: " We feel underpaid and unappreciated. A parking space, plaque or ribbon just doesn't cut it. We need more money." I put aside a few of the more articulate messages and passed them on to management. Although the company was not in a position to alleviate the employees perceived wage inadequacy (which, by the way, was a valid complaint when comparing our wages to those of similar companies) it was clear that the recognition program needed to be changed. The new version offered---two paid days off, a $200 gift card for a local chain store, and some smaller cash bonuses. Response to the new program was great. Our employees understood that large scale increases in salary were just not possible at the time, and the effort to provide some monetary incentive for excellent performance made a huge difference in both productivity and morale. © 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active. Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee satisfaction surveys. Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention. Launch your employee satisfaction surveys with AlphaMeasure.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Employee Motivation: It's More Than A Paycheck Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep my employees motivated? I pay them decently. What else is there?"Offering competitive salaries is certainly important. How to do SWOT Analysis for your Business SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how to improve their business.To have best SWOT Analysis we use below methodSWOT on Strengths that you can use for improving your business. Be a Leader - The Importance of Going Home Early! How you run your business is, of course your business. A little focus from your end will dictate the way your people act and behave. ISO 9001 Okay Now You Have It How Do You Market It? Marketing ISO 9001 2000.Lately we've been seeing a lot of press releases from wineries and suppliers touting their ISO certifications. Process and Procedures Investments - How to Get Money Back In September 2004, President Bush signed the $146 billion tax cut bill restoring the recently expired business Research & Experimentation Tax Credit. The 18-month renewal of the research and experimentation tax credit, which expired June 30 2004, was the most expensive item with an expected $7. Tap Employee Passion For Business Success Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's success before one single "employee" had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a communications culture that brought in the right prospects, then kept morale high and increased the productivity of those eventually hired. Building A Stellar Business One Employee At A Time Top businesses that continually lead their industry clearly understand a simple fact:People are their most vital assets.Every employee plays a key role in the company. Succession Planning for Your Business - 7 Key Benefits A core activity in many successful businesses, Succession Planning is simple and quick to implement - here are seven reasons why you will find it of great value in your business or organisation. But, you need to lead - it works only as well as the support it gets!TimeSuccession Planning creates capable people. Parenting Your Employees to Better Performance Have you ever worked for someone who was such a micro-manager that it drove you crazy? And have you ever worked for someone who was so hands-off that you felt like a lone warrior on the battlefield? These are examples of you working for leaders who did not adapt their style based on the employee's needs. I would venture to guess that you were not entirely motivated to put out your very best effort every time when you were feeling such frustrations. Agendas Make Meetings Productive Having an agenda template that works well for you, week in, week out, creates a consistency which gets your people bought into the process. Delivering an efficiency and effectiveness which makes the most of the valuable time you have together. Four Steps to Better Performance Reviews Direct reports-people who need direction and leadership-rely on their leaders to give them feedback and mentoring, not just management and evaluations. However, these people who most need their boss's help frequently lack the guidance that would enable them move to the next levels of success-theirs, their team's and the company's. Survival of the Fittest: The Road to Human Extinction I was watching a TV program some months ago about a biologist working in Central America who was dedicated to protecting the panther species from extinction. During the program I heard him make a comment that upon reflection I found had embedded in it seeds of wisdom that not even he was aware of. Your Biggest Problem in Business? Work Ethic US Work Ethic Issues and Lack of serviceWell many of us are getting upset with the lack of service these days and no one cares and somehow we have all lowered our standards to the fact that getting good service is not to be expected, but rather a nice surprise if it ever does occur. Many great companies have derelicts, under achievers, cry babies, and people which could really careless and this is causing a rift between the best customers and businesses. Cross Cultural Solutions for International Business Globalisation, the expansion of intercontinental trade, technological advances and the increase in the number of companies dealing on the international stage have brought about a dramatic change in the frequency, context and means by which people from different cultural backgrounds interact.Cross cultural solutions to international business demands are increasingly being viewed as a valid and necessary method in enhancing communication and interaction in and between companies, between companies and customers and between colleagues. Business & Family Safety and Health Rating For good reason, practically every endeavor in life is rated. I've seen ratings on who or what's #1 in business, industry, NFL, NBA, MLB, person of the century, athlete of the century, technology, restaurants, university, neighborhoods, travel destination, best looking, best movie, best book, etc. Is Your Employee Newsletter Management Propaganda? It should not be. If it is an effective newsletter, it will serve the needs of readers (employees) as much as it serves the needs of the publisher (management). Team Motivation - Tough Enough to Care Sir Alex Ferguson has just celebrated his 1000 game in charge of Manchester United, probably the world's most successful soccer team.I have a great deal of respect for Sir Alex as a man manager. The Top Three Problems IT Managers Face and How to Overcome Them Todays business environment has changed drastically from just a few years back. Rather than working exclusively with equipment, data, and systems, todays IT managers face issues such as cross training, personnel management, interdepartmental communication, and a widening job scope for all IT employees. Effective Meetings by Phone - Part 2, How to Hold a Teleconference Even a well-planned teleconference can go poorly. Some people treat any meeting as a casual social activity instead of as a serious business project. Leadership Styles - the Ten Top Qualities the Best Leaders Show Top leaders..
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
