Maria had worked in the Quality Assurance
department for months. In addition to doing her job well,
she voluntarily came in early each day and had coffee
ready for the rest of the team. Making coffee wasn’t
in her job description, but it was something she wanted
to do and it made her feel good to help others. She enjoyed
her job and planned to stay as long as possible.
Her supervisor, Joan, was the type
of person who noticed things and always had a positive
word to say. Joan even would brag about her employees
in front of her district manager, Mr. Cramer.
At dinner, Maria would tell her family
that Joan was the reason she liked working there. Joan
made her feel good about what she did. She noticed and
recognized the little things people did and always had
something nice to say to them. Maria knew she could find
a better paying job closer to her home, but she planned
to stay as long as Joan was her boss.
Salonda had quite the opposite experience.
An administrative assistant, who had worked for a large
organization for 22 years, she had shouldered more and
more responsibility as her company downsized time and again.
She felt as if she had five times as much work.
When the company cut a temporary worker
who worked with her, it was the last straw. She told her
boss she didn’t see how she could keep getting all
the work done. Instead of acknowledging her work load
or seeking a solution, he casually remarked, "You
will figure out a way."
The next day Salonda quit. Now she’s
a floor clerk at a local homebuilding store. She makes
half the money—but has twice the fun, and feels
her efforts are recognized rather than ignored.
The moral of these stories? Money may
attract people to the front door, but something else keeps
them from going out the back. Although many people claim
they are quitting for a better paying job elsewhere, survey
after survey shows that a lack of appreciation and recognition
is a primary reason why people quit their jobs.
A survey I conducted for my book, Here
Today Here Tomorrow, showed when asked, “What causes
you the greatest dissatisfaction at work?” the answer
with the most responses was lack of appreciation.
Many managers are uncomfortable complimenting
others and making employees feel appreciated. In situations
like these, a nudge from the top can be very effective.
I know a hospital CEO who gives his managers five tokens
at the beginning of each weekly staff meeting. Their instructions
are to go out in the hospital and give the tokens to people
they catch doing something good. They may not come back
to the following week’s staff meeting until they
give away all of their coins.
Often, managers get so involved with
day-to-day business that they forgo the "soft" skills
that are so important to people. The tokens served as a
reinforcement to start this behavior.
Setting up a program to make people
feel appreciated is not difficult. A well-administered
program builds camaraderie, values, and makes people feel
good about themselves and their jobs. But the biggest
reason for the success of these programs is simple--they
allow people to celebrate success and feel good about
who they are and whom they work for.
Know what motivates – Before you
plan your program, find out what motivates your people.
Don’t assume you already know. In one organization
I worked with, management was absolutely certain that
employees would select money as its preferred form of
recognition. Turned out, money didn’t matter, but
parking did. While executives and certain top employees
could park in the lot next to the building, most employees
had to park several blocks away. With this information
in hand, we built a very effective program around parking.
Add variety – Another key aspect
of an effective program is variety. All programs become
a little boring after about six months. Add variety to
your program to make it new and interesting. Consider
friendly competitions between departments, or unusual
award items. At Miami-based Creative Staffing, the owner
offers employees a menu of rewards, which includes parties,
expensive dinners, chauffeured shopping sprees, spa sessions,
and cooking lessons with Paul Prudhomme. Employees decide
what they want, figure out how much their package costs,
and determine how much additional business they have to
generate to cover those costs. And they really enjoy choosing
their own reward!
Gregory P. Smith shows businesses how to build productive
and profitable work environments that attract, keep
and motivate their workforce. He is the author of the
forthcoming book called, Here Today Here Tomorrow: How
to Transform Your Organization from High-Turnover to
High-Retention. He speaks at conferences, conducts management
training and is the President of a management consulting
firm called Chart Your Course International located
in Conyers, Georgia.
