Recognition Tips

Recognition Tips and Tricks

1. Acknowledge important employee personal events: birth-

days, engagements, marriages, births, adoptions, family

illnesses and deaths. This shows that you respect them as an

individual.

2. Tell your superiors about your special employees. This

helps them get to know who may be ready for career ad-

vancement. It is also a testimony to your great management

skills!

3. Share messages of praise from customers or other employ-

ees. Show the message to the mentioned employee first, and

ask permission to post it on a bulletin board or to read it aloud

at a group meeting.

4. Ask your employees what they need from you to do their

best. Listen carefully. Explain that you will do your best to

support their needs, but only promise what you know you can

deliver.

5. SMILE. The more you smile and laugh, the more your

employees will too. Attitude is contagious both positive and

negative.

6. Acknowledge employment anniversaries at least once a

year. If you have a high turnover environment, send anniver-

sary congratulations monthly or semi-annually. Make sure

employees know you value their loyalty.

7. After you are confident that your employee has received

your e-card, stop by their work area and express your recog-

nition message again personally. A double message has ten

times the effect as a single one.

8. When writing a recognition card: - Make it personal: use

the employee’s name. - Be yourself: write as you would

speak. - Make it lively: use phrases like “you were awesome;

I was overwhelmed.” - Use correct grammar and spelling:

errors devalue your praise

9. Be sensitive to an employee’s personality when recog-

nizing in public. Some employees love being the center of

attention with lots of noise, others prefer a quieter interaction

with just a few people involved.

10. Have fun. Create a quirky traveling trophy for the employ-

ee of the day or week such as a pair of sunglasses for the

rock star of the day; or a crown for the reigning monarch of

customer service.

11. Periodically, pick one deserving employee for a surprise

30-minute break or longer lunch. Thank the employee saying I

appreciate all your hard work. Go take a 30-minute break or a

one-hour lunch. Cover their job yourself, if needed.

12. Not all employees come to you ready to be a star. Most

need to be created and developed. Use recognition to help

develop and bring out talent.

13. Show employees how much you respect them by sharing

key organizational measurements with them on a regular ba-

sis. Employees should know how their work impacts company

success.

14. Hold a brag session. Ask each employee to brag about

one great contribution they make to the company.

15. Recognize your Steady Eddies as well as your Stella Stars.

Consistent, dependable employees are as equally important

as over-the-top achievers for meeting long-term goals.

16. Ask employees to write down their answer to this ques-

tion: How do you like to be recognized for a job well-done?

You’ll get some great ideas and learn if a person prefers pub-

lic or private recognition.

17. Make someone great today. Each time you recognize an

employee you are encouraging them to continue their good

work and to find even better ways to get the job done.

18. Treat every employee with the same respect you would

give to a customer.

19. Use an employee’s name when you speak with them. Call-

ing a person by name is one of the most basic ways to show

that you respect them as an individual.

20. Recognize the simple as well as the grand. It’s just as

important to recognize a new employee for quickly learning

a task as it is to recognize a long-term employee for being a

great leader.

21. Use an employee complaint as an opportunity to get feed-

back on how things could be done differently.

22. At the end of the day, ask at least one employee what

went well for them that day. This gives you the opportunity to

give immediate reinforcement for good work.

23. Make it a priority to get to know at least one thing about

each employee on a personal level such as hobbies, volunteer

activities, pets, children, leisure pursuits, etc. This gives you a

wonderful way to open a casual conversation.

24. Ask for feedback. Simply seeking an employee’s opinion

on a work-related matter shows that you value their ideas and

trust their commitment to the company.

25. Greet each of your employees by name every day. Ex-

change a few pleasantries and show that you are happy to

see them.

26. Never give an employee a ‘gag’ gift. One employee may

constantly be spilling his coffee, but a reward gift of a travel

mug with a tight fitting lid will likely come across as a criticism

and border on ridicule.

27. Always select a reward/gift that reflects the recipient’s

interests/situation. It’s easy to choose something you think is

cool, but be sure your employee is on the same wave length.

Not everyone likes mystery novels as much as you do!

28. Be honest. When you make a mistake or can’t follow

through on a promise, make sure to communicate quickly and

clearly with the affected employees. Although they may be

disappointed, they will appreciate that you are treating them

with respect.

29. Ask employees about their current work in a way that

starts a conversation: ‘Tell me about what you are working on

right now.’ Listen carefully. Avoid yes/no follow-up questions.

Encourage a bit of bragging. End the conversation with a

‘Thank you.’

30. Encourage employees to recognize each other. At staff

meetings invite attendees to share a brief story of how a

co-worker recently did something noteworthy.

31. Help a good employee can develop professionally. Sug-

gest specific company training classes, additional education,

books to read or seminars they might attend to build their

skills.

32. When you implement a suggestion made by an employee,

make sure to let their co-workers and your managers know

where the great idea came from. Doing this gives you credibil-

ity throughout your company.

33. Only say positive things when you are recognizing an

employee, especially in public. If you need to discuss other

issues, schedule a separate meeting. Never combine recogni-

tion with critique.

34. Use the four B’s of recognition for maximum success: 1.

Be timely 2. Be specific 3. Be sincere 4. Be prepared

35. Be specific. Avoid general praise such as Good job. In-

stead say, I continue to be impressed by how you stick with a

problem until it is completely solved even when that requires

extra work and taking risks.

36. Write a welcome note to each new employee and mail it

to the home address a few days before the employee’s start

date.

37. Be prepared. Know exactly what the entire situation is

before recognizing an employee. You must be credible in your

praise for it to have positive impact on the individual and other

employees.

38. Be timely. For maximum impact, recognize performance

as quickly as possible after the actions have taken place or

the results determined.

39. Be the best listener you can. Hear the other person’s

problems; what can you do to solve it? And if there’s pleasure

you can add to their equation, focus on that.