EmployeeRelations
Your best efforts are likely to fail if you don’t have strong, honest and consistent support from the very top. ees are quick to see through any signs of the company being disingenuous. Poor upper management involvement is the No. 1 sign that you’re using recognition as a manipulative lever, not an appreciation boost. To keep top executives intrigued, managers should show that program enhancements have significant and measurable results, not just emotional hype. Mistake 5 Not following through Any program—no matter how exciting, rich, well organized or effectively supported—will lose its momentum over time if it’s not fully integrated into
your company’s performance management system. This is by far the most overlooked weakness in many recognition strategies. A quality reporting system, along with an empowered team prepared to manage the information, are critical to keeping your program relevant, fresh, interesting and profitable. The true test of a well-functioning recognition strategy is that you can quantitatively prove to your chief financial officer that it’s turning expenses into profits over time. These five mistakes are quite common and costly, but relatively easy to avoid with some simple com-
munications training and the ability to look at programs with an open mind. Address each mistake in order, gain support and then develop a measurable set of initiatives that will make the best use of your company’s dollars. The good news is that today’s tools and technology make it easy to develop, measure and analyze an effective recognition strategy. BT John Schaefer is a consultant with more than 20 years of experience helping companies realize and react to what he calls the “employer/employee disconnect.” Schaefer is the author of The Vocational Shrink—An Analysis of the Ten Levels of Workplace Disillusionment and creator of The Vocational Shrink game and the management training program called “Why Should Supervisors Care?” For more information, check www.vocationalshrink.com.
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106 | BedTimes | December 2009
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