Small Business Today Magazine APR 2014 MONTGOMERY ROTH | Page 18
EDITORIALFEATURE
Recognizing a
Job Well-Done
By aaron Kaplan
W
hat attracts employees to certain
businesses, makes them want to
stay, and keeps them working toward their greatest potential? In
many instances, extrinsic rewards such as
a good salary and a timely promotion are
the inspiring factors. However, extrinsic
rewards are not the only inspiring factors.
For many employees, intrinsic rewards
such as the satisfaction of performing
their job well inspire them. Unfortunately,
many supervisors either take for granted
or ignore completely the importance of
motivating and rewarding their employees
intrinsically. Descriptive studies in organizations suggest that the most effective
leaders regularly provide recognition to
subordinates for their achievements and
contributions and in a rare field experiment on the effectiveness of praise, researchers found that increasing the use of
praise by supervisors resulted in improved
performance by employees.
The following are several guidelines for
effectively recognizing and praising the
contributions of subordinates that address
such issues as what to recognize, when to
give recognition, who to recognize, and
the form of recognition to use:
sary to determine the factors consistent
with the values and mission of the organization that are necessary for success. One
might begin by looking for examples of
effective behavior to recognize.
3. Recognize improvements in performance. Some
leaders believe it is inappropriate to recognize performance improvements if an
employee’s performance is deemed to
be average or below average. However,
it is important to offer some recognition
to encourage and strengthen efforts toward additional improvement. This form
of recognition sends a message that there
is an expectation of continued progress
towards excellence.
4. Recognize commendable efforts that failed. Another misconception is that recognition
must be limited to successful efforts. Sometimes recognition is necessary for unsuccessful efforts to achieve an objective that
came with a low probability for success.
5. Do not limit recognition to high-visibility jobs.
Everyone has a desire for recognition and
appreciation; even those who may not
take compliments well. There is a tendency to provide recognition to individuals
whose performance and achievements
1. Recognize a variety of contributions and achieve- are highly visible while ignoring those
ments. Many leaders think of recognition as whose contributions are less visible and
appropriate only for major achievements. whose performance is harder to measure.
Recognition should be provided for a va- Recognition should also be given to those
riety of things including demonstration of in support functions as well as to those
initiative, extra effort in carrying out an whose performance can be easily quanassignment; achievement of challenging tifiable.
performance goals and standards, personal sacrifices made, helpful suggestions and 6. Do not limit recognition to a few best performers.
innovative ideas, and special efforts to help Some believe that recognition should be
others address challenges.
limited to a few best performers. However research has shown that effective
2. Determine contributions worth recognizing. Be- organizations recognize many performers
fore recognition can be given, it is neces- instead of just a chosen few.
16 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ APRIL 2014 ]
7. Provide specific recognition. Praise is more
likely to be successful if it is specific. Instead of a general comment commending someone, explain why you think the
person performed the task well. Explain
your rationale and offer specific examples
to support your position.
8. Provide timely recognition. Research on positive reinforcement suggests that it is more
effective when given reasonably soon after
the reinforcement is called for. However,
recognition for any achievement or contribution can be overdone. It is not necessary or effective to praise someone every
day for doing the exact same thing.
9. Use an appropriate form of recognition. There
is no simple, magic formula for determining the form of recognition to use. It all
depends on the achievement, the culture
of the organization, and the characteristics
of the leader. Ultimately, whatever means
employed must be sincere. Overusing
a particular form should be avoided because the effect can be diminished.
Motivating and recognizing achievement is as complex as the range of guidelines offered. However, there is one simple
“golden rule” that can be employed if all
else fails: recognize and appreciate others in the same courteous and respectful
manner in which you would want it extended to you.
Aaron Kaplan, Founder/Director of the Kaplan Project
LLC, can be reached by phone at 832-831-9451, by
email at AKaplan@thekaplanpr ڙX