Tweet

Giving Thanks to Our Top Performers

Guest post by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: In honor of Thanksgiving, this edition of Astronology will examine how to identify, and more importantly, to thank top performers within an organization for a job well done. Considering the economic conditions that many of us are experiencing, thankfulness shown through monetary exchanges may not be feasible. No matter your budget, it is critical to acknowledge those who go above and beyond their assigned capacity. Such behavior demonstrates loyalty and dependableness…key assets for any organization!

Giving Thanks to Our Top Performers

In honor of Thanksgiving, this edition of Astronology will examine how to identify, and more importantly, to thank top performers within an organization for a job well done. Considering the economic conditions that many of us are experiencing, thankfulness shown through monetary exchanges may not be feasible. No matter your budget, it is critical to acknowledge those who go above and beyond their assigned capacity. Such behavior demonstrates loyalty and dependableness...key assets for any organization! Spot a Top Performer!

Sometimes controversial Jack Welch, the Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) from 1981 to 2001 stated, "Failing to differentiate among employees, and holding on to bottom-tier performers-is actually the cruelest form of management there is." This statement demonstrates for us the importance of making sure we recognize our shining team workers. Many organizations fail to acknowledge star performers because they lack an appraisal system. On Monster.com's HRguru site, one article noted, "Without a formal appraisal system tied to business objectives, organizations have a narrow chance of engaging and retaining their best workers." Simply put, an organization should make sure that they've invested in a sound appraisal system that meshes with the organization's culture and targets the organization's business objectives in order to get the best from its employees.

For example, Mr. Welch used an unorthodox method, called the "20%-70%-10%" ranking system. The 20% are the top performers. They are treated well and given much praise. The 70% are the middle performers who are encouraged to be like the 20% top performers. The 10% are the underperformers. These workers are either disciplined or removed from the organization. While many may view this method as harsh or cruel, this system apparently works well for GE's environment. The company went from $13 billion to $550 billion under Mr. Welch's leadership.

Astronology is not encouraging taking a no holds barred approach when creating or investing in an appraisal system. Implementing a core system will affect an entire organization's culture. Thus, it is highly important that you take caution when implementing such a system. Thorough research and perhaps creating a committee to discuss the positives and negatives of possible systems are best practice for any organization looking for success.

And The Reward Goes To...

One upside of having top performers in an organization is being able to reward them for their hard work and dedication. Such a gesture not only motivates the worker to continue their positive attitude and quality work, but encourages non-top performers to strive to become a top performer. Balance is essential when rewarding, as "over showering" a worker can lead to thoughts of favoritism within the workplace. Perhaps throwing an office appreciation lunch which can include all workers of different levels can make everyone feel included and valued. At such a lunch, top performers could receive a certificate or some other gift during the lunch so that they are highlighted for the extraordinary work they've done for some time.

Some other suggestions for rewards include the following:

• Giving necessary praise: As cited on Microsoft.com, one article noted, "a recent survey of office workers nationwide, conducted by Xerox and Harris Interactive, found that employees rated more money and more recognition as almost equal motivators." Plenty of workers just want to know that you appreciate them for their hard work. Simply saying thank you goes a long way as compared to the usual pay raise that they most likely would receive.

• The Gift of Time: This is usually helpful right around the holiday times. Workers may find themselves a little stressed out preparing for the holidays and thus, offering an extra day off, half a day of work, or even flexible scheduling could be helpful in alleviating such stress. Such a gesture also informs the worker you are concerned for their well-being. Everyone appreciate a break here and there.

• Gift Cards or tickets to cultural or sporting events: Everyone appreciates a gift card or free tickets every once in a while. Such gifts can be given on the spot, giving an instant boost of appreciation, especially if the tickets are for a worker's favorite team or show. It demonstrates that as a leader, you have taken a personal and professional interest in them. Such interest can really bolster someone's self-esteem.

An HR Magazine article entitled, "Reward Your Best Employees" suggested that reward programs also include a feedback feature so that rewards are given fairly and, more importantly, are appropriate to the recipient. There's nothing worse than giving a gift that confuses or upsets the recipient. It defeats the whole purpose of giving the gift!

This Thanksgiving, there is a lot everyone can be thankful for, especially during these challenging times. Within the atmosphere of your organization, we need to make sure that we are taking time to say and show thanks to our top performers. Although it may be difficult to give such workers a big bonus due to possible financial tightening, HR leaders can give smaller, more meaningful gestures of appreciation. Taking the time to invest in a proper appraisal system helps to identify such deserving workers. Being creative in demonstrating the organization's thankfulness for top performers' hard work is also helpful. Most importantly, such gestures motivate the top performers to continue their hard work, and encourage other employees to strive for top performance. By giving thanks now, you will reap the larger benefit of an increase in motivated employees later - something to give thanks for next year!

Related Articles
  Be A Top Performer
  Creating Deeper Client Relationships
  MANAGING NON-PERFORMERS
  You Must Work a Prospecting System
  Carol Quinn's Interviewer Tip #2
  Pay for Performance - in this Economy?
  How can we learn from our best sales performers?
  Cost-Cutting Actions Lead to Decline in Morale
  The Coaching Imperative
  2.1 Growth performance IV: Economic Report on Africa 2007
  Man always rises to meet up to his expectations
  TRUTH IN INTERVIEW - Part I
  A Management Challenge: How to Enhance Average Performance
  Lesson #5: “Our model is to increase employee freedom as we grow rather than limit it”
  Variable Incentive Plan: A Motivation & Retention tool
  Buying Help at Discount Pricing
  High Goals, Outstanding Performance and Success
  How Does That Work?
  Employees At Risk
  Second Best also Deserves a Chance

Article Tags: appraisal system, assets, astronology, business objectives, ceo of general electric, controversial jack, economic conditions, formal appraisal, general electric, leadership, loyalty, meshes, monetary exchanges, monster, star performers, targets, thankfulness, thanksgiving, top performers, unorthodox method



Related Forum Posts
Re: Quote of the Day - ?"If you want to stand out and win busine - Great post Evan, I agree 100% with GT, it's good to learn from others who have trodden the same path and found success but the time comes to branch off and discover ourselves and what we can bring to the business that others haven’t thought of. Giving extra value to a customer is a sure fire way to stand out and build your reputation as a unique service in an established market. regards, Mal.
Re: SES Toronto Next Week - In that case, how about the following? Track: Get Me Up to Speed * State of Search Marketing in Canada Track: Practical & Actionable * Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions Track: Advanced * User Search Behavior * Social Media Success * Web 2.0 & Search Engines * Giving Credit Where It’s Due: Which Campaign Sold What?
Connecting with Influential People - Thanks Martin! In "The Little Black Book of Connections", Jeffrey Gitomer suggests the following ways to connect with influential people (page 106): -Third-party introductions (best method). -Writing and publishing content. -Giving seminars/speeches so you can be perceived as an expert in your field and leader. -Attend social and business events. -Say or ask something powerful by doing research ahead of time. -Engage them by offering something of value first. Gitomer also stresses the importance of making more friends as well.
Your Intial Mistakes Business - Hi, When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those learnings have helped me time and again. Some of the mistakes I made were - i. Wrong Time Management ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct iv. Giving too much when it was not required...... I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow. Regards
Partnering for the wrong reasons - Well I guess the 2 biggest fears/mistakes are: 1.) Partnering with someone just because you trust them (i.e. a close family member or friend) and more importantly, need his/her money to implement YOUR unique idea. 2.) Giving away too much (in terms of company shares) too soon. For instance, let's say you gave away 50% of your company shares to a friend who was mainly just an investor who paid for more than 70% of the initial startup costs. You do more than 70% of the work, and the company becomes successful and you're able to repay all of your debts. Then going forward, you're stuck doing the majority of the work still, while you investor friend has been repaid in full and sits on his/her laurels because of the initial written agreement didn't require him/her to help out as much. What would you do then?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Leadership-A Daily Gift

Why We MUST Reinvent The Wheel

The Basics Of A Home Based Internet Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.