recognizing your colleagues - why, when and how to say thank you in the workplace
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
SAYING
WHY, HOW, & WHEN
THANK YOU AT WORK
PART ONEThe Preamble
When it comes to corporate recognition programs…
There are 3 types of employees in the wild
10% of you love corporate recognition, and recognize
often
80% are cool with the idea and recognize occasionally
(when you have a moment between fire drills)
10% of you think that it is a bunch of sappy, Dilbert-
office cr@p
Without wanting to bore the 90%...
I want to quickly address the 10% of you who personally,
sometimes secretly, hate office recognition
If you’re in that group
If you’re really sceptical about all this
appreciate that while you may not personally be
motivated by, or comfortable with, giving and receiving
recognition….
It works for others around you
It’s scientifically proven
(see Robert Cialdani’s book Influence)
whether recognition works for you, is not the point
the point is that recognition is a tool
that you use to manage types of people other than
yourself
up, down, and across
so to be effective
at managing many types of people
you need to learn how to use the tool effectively
so get on the bandwagon already and stop sniping
PART TWOWhy Recognition?
• It’s good for you• It’s good for business• It’s good for them• It feels good• It’s the right thing to do
Recognizing others is good for you1
Your mother was right all along
It’s just polite to say thanks
And as our pal Machievelli teaches us…
being polite is a great way to grease social wheels
Build relationship capital, guan-xi, personal brands, or
fund reciprocity pools
call it what you will
but recognizing your colleagues just makes everything run more
smoothly
From office politics, to project timeline
management, to motivating line staff, to just simply getting what you want
giving recognition is good for you
Recognition is good for business2
As shown in industry study after industry study
in firms where recognition is rampant…
retention is up
recruiting image is up
productivity is up
quality is up
interpersonal trust is up
engagement is up
attendance is up
collaboration is up
profit is up
and the daily reinforcement of corporate values and
behaviours
that underlie and drive strategic objectives
gets stuck in a virtuous loop
in other words
recognition is good for business
Recognition is good for them3
anyone who has represented someone in performance
roundtables for promotions or bonuses knows
it’s a meat market
and those with the right stuff don’t always win
given a limited pool of rewards
and the power of marketing
to give your people the best shot at the brass ring
you’ve got to be slick at promoting them
and this is where kudos from across the firm make a big
difference
recognition is not, in itself, enough
but recognition can give your case enough umph that it can make the difference to
anyone on the borderline
In other words, powerful, detailed, & relevant
recognition can make a tangible difference with
career advancement
If you want more on the topic of marketing your
people at roundtables, check out
http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/sample-talent-review-worksheet
Recognition feels good4
There is also a utilitarian angle
recognition also makes people feel good
research has shown again and again that primates feel good chemically when they
are thanked
and when they thank others
Don’t you feel good when someone thanks you?
Well, that feeling is mutual
Recognition is the right thing to do
5
thanking someone who has accomplished something or done something for you, is
just the right thing to do
that is, if recognition is deserved, then it’s deserved
end of story
Nothing embarrassing, self serving, or corporate
brainwashiness about that
PART TWOHow to Recognize?
• Be SMART!• Use multiple media• Share!
1 Be SMART
Recognition can be delivered in a number of
ways
Think about just saying “Thanks.”
It’s free
It’s easy
It’s fast
However, this doesn’t mean meaningless
“warm fuzzies”
Good recognition is SMART!
(See the works by Jim Brintnall)
SincereRecognition should be a genuine expression of
appreciation
MeaningfulAlign recognition with the
values, goals, & priorities that matter
AdaptableNo single recognition format
works for everyone.Recognition should be tailored
& valuable to the receiver.
RelevantRecognition should be personal
& specific
TimelyGive recognition when the
memory is still fresh
2 Use multiple media
consider any of these for your group…
(Greatly slimmed list taken from 1001 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson)
Public Acknowledgements
Mentions in Townhalls or other meetings, status-reports, Wall
of Fame, etc
Personal Thanks
Handwritten thank you note, plaque, phone call / voice mail from 1-up or 2-up (potentially
to family/spouse)
Silly Perks
Use the boss’ office for a day, Free parking spot for a week, a
skive day, gift certificate, training budget, mementos/gifts
3 Share!
Whatever the case, if appropriate, share praise
as widely as possible
For example, if you are thanking a peer, cc their
boss and other key stakeholders
Each point of distribution adds value to the
recognition
the person you are thanking looks good
and you look good
PART THREEWhen to Recognize?
If you are using the SMART paradigm, you should focus on recognizing things that
are strategically Meaningful
I would say, value-aligned behaviours in the workplace
so the behaviours that you recognize should be specific
to your strategic context
but here are some examples…
BEHAVIOUR REFERENCE
Software Engineering http://mastersinsoftwareengineering.net/2012/15-qualities-every-software-engineer-should-have/
Intrapreneurship http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/5155/34-Ways-to-Encourage-Intrapreneurship.html
Being a Manager http://www.phdinmanagement.org/25-qualities-and-characteristics-of-a-good-manager.html
Being a Leader http://www.examiner.com/article/the-25-most-important-leadership-behaviors
Collaboration http://amansingh316.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/top-10-collaborative-behaviors/
Integrity (about half way down the page)
http://www.wabccoaches.com/bcw/2008_v4_i2/print.html
PART FOURFinal Note
recognizing is easy to forget in the trenches of projects
It’s OK. We’re all human
just set yourself a KPI to recognize a colleague at
least once per week
that shouldn’t even be a stretch target
Heck. Schedule it into Outlook to make sure you do
it
but please stop letting opportunities slip by
SHARE THIS DECK & FOLLOW ME(please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please)
stay up to date with my future slideshare posts
http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/presentationshttps://twitter.com/eric_tachibana
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53
CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!!!