Several weeks ago I shared a blog from Slingshot SEO’s CEO, Jay Love, about the advantages of a four day work week. He is back at it with another great blog about employee recognition. I would recommend reading the entire post but I have posted his five types of recognition below. What most companies do is maybe one or two of these. Why not do ALL of these, they should not cost that much and will have a huge impact on employee loyalty.
- Quarterly reviews. Mandate one-on-one feedback sessions between each supervisor and team member on a quarterly basis. To ensure these are effective, have each manager carve out one hour for each employee. (At Slingshot SEO, we review the status of each quarterly goal and career objective, as well as take the time to chat to know each other better. The goals and any progress are summarized in a simple feedback form.)
- Peer recognition. Each month, I solicit open nominations for Slingshot SEO’s Outstanding Team Member of the Month. Each employee with at least 60 seconds to spare can e-mail me with their recommendations. Although just two are publicly honored at each monthly meeting, many others are encouraged by this program: I always forward the e-mails of the remarkable kudos to all the nominees along with a few comments of my own.
- Team highlights. Insist on your department heads sharing stories from their departments and highlighting the achievements of team members at the monthly All-Company Meeting. Lively presentations that include photographs, videos and client comments make this one even better!
- Yearly awards ceremony. Hold an Annual Award Event for your organization. (We award a Rookie of the Year, Most Improved, Innovator of the Year and Employee of the Year, plus we invite our Customer of the Year and Partner of the Year to make the event memorable.)
- Spontaneous kudos. Insist that every supervisor works hard to catch a team member doing something right or special as they wander around or peruse communications. When they do, have them point it out in front of the person’s peers or via departmental e-mail. (The more often the better, but beware… large smiles might take over your office.)
Love, J. “5 Ways to Reward Your All-Stars”. Inc., February, 8, 2012. http://admin.inc.com/2012/02/08/5-ways-to-reward-your-all-stars/
Too many companies focus on the employees that are struggling or a “problem” and completely forget about the top performers. In fact, most companies would be better served giving time and attention to the top performers as they will have a greater return to the company.
