Risk & Business Magazine Cooke Insurance Group Fall 2016 | Page 26

RECOGNITION MATTERS

“My question for managers this week:
What spontaneous recognition, that is
personally yours, do you do to show you
appreciate your employees?”

Recognition Matters
It’s the Simple Things

W

hen was the last time you
received a pat on the back, a
sincere thank you, or heard
the words “great job” from
your boss? Unfortunately, many managers
do not think of this as one of their top
priorities.
The reason people ’show up’ to work is of
course for the money. But after they show
up, the best way to motivate them, inspire
them, engage them, and make them want
to come back, is not the money. This has
been shown in study after study as well
as my own interviews with hundreds of
workers.
I am not saying that money is not
important. It is certainly a way to let
workers know their worth to the company.
However, for most people, it is not a
sustaining, motivational force. Salary raises
and bonuses are great, but these do not
motivate people to do their best on a daily
basis.
It is all of the intangible rewards that
engage employees and make them want to
stay for the long term. To most of us this
seems like such common sense. However,
I find it is not common practice in most
organizations today.
In PEI, at the DP Murphy Group, they
have annual recognition events where top
achievers are rewarded with expense paid
trips to Cuba and other places. As well, they
have formal recognition programs, which
are great for developing relationships, and
building a team.

Operations at Tim Horton’s “it is the little
things that really make the difference”. She
says “especially for the off-shift or night
workers who often get very little attention
and need it the most”.
For instance, just one of the spontaneous
things she did recently was pop into an
Atlantic Superstore and purchase large
boxes of fudgesicles. Then during her
store visits, she would hand them out to
each worker to enjoy on their break. Even
Danny, when he sees a crew who is very
busy or under stress, will often impulsively
order pizza for everyone.
Well, Lou has it right. These simple
acts of consideration, especially when
spontaneous, go further to raise morale
than any financial reimbursement.
According to a research study of 1,500
employees in a variety of work settings,
Dr. Gerald Graham, author of Lead: How
Effective Leaders Get Things Done, found
that personalized, instant recognition from
managers was reported to be the number
one motivating incentive.
His study found that more than 80 percent
of workers say receiving recognition from
their manager makes them more satisfied
with their jobs. But here’s the rub; the
survey also reported that 58 percent

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FALL 2016

So what are the implications for those
companies who do not have a culture of
spontaneous recognition? His survey
reported that 55 percent of the employees
who say they are not receiving positive
recognition are ready to quit their current
jobs − they would prefer to work for a
company where management recognized
their efforts.
So let’s get started, here are just a few
of the hundreds of ideas that you could
implement immediately:
•

Share lunch with them

•

Give them a movie pass

•

Write a complimentary letter to the
employee’s spouse or family

•

Arrange coffee with a top executive

•

Dedicate a special parking space for a
month

•

Create a “Wall of Fame” to honour
special achievements

•

Surprise them spontaneously with
fudgesicles or pizza

Joseph is a International Business Transformational Specialis.
Joesph has been Inducted to the Canadian Speakers Hall of Fame
and was the President Global Speakers Federation in 2007/08. In
2005/06 Joseph was also President of the Canadian Association
of Professional Speakers.

But, according to Lou (Lorena) Taylor, VP of

26

of employees seldom, if ever, received
personal, spontaneous thanks from their
managers!

BY: JOSEPH SHERREN,
CSP, HOF, AUTHOR,

Contact Joesph at [phone] (CAN), [phone] (USA),
or [phone] (P.E.I.). Visit Ethos.ca or Gatewayleadership.
com for more information.