RECOGNITION PROGRAMMES
Recognition myths under the microscope
Recognition guru Bob Nelson reckons that formal recognition programmes are an anachronism. Managers' reliance on expensive fictions about how to recognise people, and why, is laid bare by Nelson in a new study published by Workforce.com.
In Everything you thought you know about recognition is wrong, Nelson, author of a clutch of best-selling books on recognition, shatters a few myths about recognition programmes and takes a swipe at the $27 billion-plus incentive industry. His contention is that its focus on selling merchandise has only made matters worse. "The incentive industry has not picked up on what's really important to employees today and is more focused on continuing to move and customise merchandise, awards and plaques than on motivating employees or improving performance," says Nelson.
Nelson believes that managers are trapped in unproductive ways of thinking about recognition, which they find difficult to escape. "Companies tend to be reactive rather than responsive to what motivates today's employees, looking to change or improve things only when there's overwhelming evidence that what they're doing isn't working."
Getting it right
So, how can organisations get the most from their recognition programmes? Nelson concludes with his golden rules for rethinking recognition:
1. Break the bad habit of recognising employees only occasionally. As Nelson explains: "They must realise that for most employees, most of the time, how they're treated on a daily basis matters more to them and most effectively communicates that they are trusted and respected, and that they are important."
2. Shift towards less formal recognition because that is what employees today say they most value. The key challenge facing organisations is to ensure that recognition is "intangible, interpersonal and highly situational" -- the simple forms of sincere thanks mean the most while other top-ranked motivators are support and involvement.
3. Remember to ask employees what they value -- use a list that includes current programmes and practices and potential new items.
Want to know more?
Title: "Everything you thought you know about recognition is wrong", Workforce.com, January 2004.
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Posted 13 February 2004