Top Ten Ways to Teach Recognition from the Top Down, Part Two

Last week I covered the first five tips from IncentiveMag.com's article on how to teach recognition from the top down and this week I will examine the last 5 tips and provide more insight and advice to make sure your company's recognition program is a lasting success.

(The italicized text is from the IncentiveMag.com article with my comments below)

6. Don't implement recognition practices or programs alone. Create a well-oiled, brainy team that's prepared to make bold actions to ensure continuity of recognition strategies and programs.

By establishing a recognition program committee, responsibility for the long term success of the program is spread across several employees. Recognition committees are better able to manage and monitor a recognition award program because they are more insulated from turnover as opposed to having an entire program be administered by a single employee.

Unfortunately a couple of the recognition programs I have administered fall by the wayside temporarily when the person in charge of the program suddenly leaves the company. Often the person who replaces a key recognition program administrator has to take on a lot of information at once which can be overwhelming to a newly hired employee.

For small businesses, it is common to have a single employee in charge of the recognition program. However, by simply outlining the recognition program goals and the steps the administrator to gather information for reporting purposes, not only can small business insulate themselves from issues related to turnover, but they can also ensure employees are recognized while the administrator is on vacation.

7. Don't exclude senior leaders from accountability for recognition. Pull back the curtain and enlist senior leadership involvement and presence in recognition programs and award events.

For paper-based recognition award programs, including a personalized letter from a senior leader in a recognition package is a great way to show that the gift is truly from the top down. Alternatively, if you have a completely online recognition program, post the letter from a top leader of the company for employees to view when they log in to redeem their recognition award. Personalized recognition letters lend credibility and relevance to the recognition program, especially when they are written by a top leader.

8. Don't leave your recognition strategy without a leader. Following the right recognition path requires a recognition team having an executive sponsor along with manager and employee representation.

Another way to increase the credibility and relevance of the recognition program is to appoint an executive level employee, a mid-level manager and an employee to the recognition committee. Gathering input from employees at all levels of the organization will help to establish the recognition program and also comes in handy when it comes time to re-evaluate the program each year. Over time as an organization's environment changes, the recognition program should evolve too.

9. Don't ignore individual recognition preferences among employees. Recognize employees through providing knowledge, instilling courage in career development, and aligning their passion with work purpose beyond using company-wide recognition programs.

Individual preferences for public or private recognition and opportunities for career development and advancement should be accounted for in the recognition strategy in order to create and sustain employee engagement. The recognition program committee can help to provide some insight into what kinds of mentoring and training activities would be most appreciated by employees.

In addition, don't forget that employee demographics need to be taken into consideration when selecting the types of recognition awards that will be included in the staff recognition program. Lifestyle, brand name merchandise has been shown to be the most appealing kind of tangible recognition award for members of any demographic. A survey by AEIS indicated that 63% of employees feel their loyalty to an organization would increase if their employer offered recognition awards that they find personally meaningful.

10. Don't discount the fact there is no place like home. Recognition best practices from other companies are great to look at, but don't overlook developing your own homegrown recognition practices and programs.

Consulting employees and creating a formal staff recognition committee is an excellent way to ensure your recognition program is specifically designed for the interests and goals of your organization. Gather employee feedback and expectations prior to committing the organization to one type of recognition program. Employee feedback should be taken into consideration when it comes time to re-evaluate the recognition award program as well.