Leadership and Employee Recognition

When Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works was released in 2003, I reported that our organizations were spending 18 billion dollars per year and achieving 40 percent satisfaction with employee recognition. Recent statistics show that eighty-nine percent of organizations have recognition programs in place and spend an average 3.8 percent of payroll on these programs. (2005 NAER) According to a survey by Gantz Wiley (2005) showing 56 percent satisfaction, it appears there has been some improvement. However, by my calculations, organizations still aren’t getting their money’s worth.

Responsibility for poor ROI often falls directly with the leadership of the organization. While HR is typically tasked with responsibility for developing programs, leaders have ultimate responsibility for integrating them into the culture. Just as they determine the direction of an organization, they can determine the direction that recognition takes. Typically, the visibility and influence of the executive team makes them the most effective proponents of recognition within their organization. From their small personal gestures, to the recognition programs that they personally champion, the members of senior management set the tone for recognition. If the leadership values a program, then it's much more likely that everyone within the organization will value it as well. Members of the executive team are in the best position to weave recognition into the fiber of the organization. To better understand exactly how an effective leader does this, let's look at a couple of examples.


Showing Value through Action

What the executive team truly believes about recognition comes through in their actions. Do they take a hands-off approach and decide that recognition is someone else's responsibility? Do they declare that recognition needs to happen, and then stand back and expect results? Or do they roll up their sleeves and lead the way through their actions? The more willing the executive team is to get involved, the more employees believe their leaders are committed to recognition.

In a workshop years ago, a manager told this story:

"I travel a lot, and consequently have experienced a lot of flight delays. During a delay on American Airlines, I got to talking to the passenger seated next to me. It turned out that the guy worked for American Airlines, and was somehow involved in the repair of the planes. He went on to tell me that the last time he was on a delayed flight, the cause of the delay was fuel leaking from the jet. After a flight crew (not American Airlines) examined the plane, they determined that it required a part that would take four hours to arrive. Four hours. This was the only flight out that day and a four-hour delay would cause nearly everyone on board to miss connecting flights. The captain came back to ask this off-duty employee if he would please check out the problem. Even though he was dressed in a suit, he went to check it out. Soon he discovered that the problem was a simple gasket. It was quickly fixed, and the flight was on its way.

The airline employee didn't tell me this just to brag about how dedicated he was. Rather he was impressed by something else. It turned out that the pilot had sent a letter to the president of American Airlines. The president then sent a letter to the employee, thanking him for his dedication and extending a personal invitation. The employee seated next to me, telling me his story, was now on his way to have dinner with the president and his wife."

Because of their visibility, leaders are in an excellent position to model how important recognition is. When managers and employees see the presidents and vice presidents of their organizations recognizing people, they're more inclined to see the value in offering recognition, and are more likely to offer it themselves.

Also, gestures of recognition that come from the leadership of an organization can have a very big impact, no matter how small the gesture. Being noticed by top-level management is especially powerful.

Griffin Health, the fastest growing hospital in Connecticut, offers another example of the power of personal attention from the executive team. The CEO, Vice President and VP of Patient Care Services oversee a day-long orientation for new employees and volunteers. The day is crammed full of valuable information about the hospital and its service philosophy. When the executive team began doing this orientation, they expected that the knowledge that employees and volunteers gained would be what they valued most. Instead, when asked, employees and volunteers said that what they valued most about the orientation was "that the three senior executives spent the day with us." When Wendy Silver, R.N. went through her orientation she said, "I was impressed that the CEO spoke for two hours about the hospital's values and customer service focus to educate new employees." Deborah Gibber, a new Quality Manager said, "I felt truly welcomed and valued." Employees and volunteers know that the executives' time is limited, and they're impressed that this team would choose to spend the day sharing information and getting to know them. The people who work at Griffin Health know they are important from the moment they are hired.


Leading Recognition Efforts

Many organizations make the human resources group responsible for rolling out recognition programs and training managers on effective recognition techniques. They expect this group to create successful recognition without the assistance of the leadership. While the people in HR can do a great job developing the structure, it is nearly impossible for them to excite and motivate people to participate without a champion from senior management. Recognition must be led.

Without executive leadership results such as this is likely, “Our company offered the Terrific Employee Award. People didn’t know why they were being awarded. It became a joke. The CEO never got involved. No one but HR took it seriously. They solicited employees for nominations and got so few responses they eventually gave up and selected someone themselves.”

When there is commitment from the leadership success is much more likely.

John Mitchell, VP of Engineering at Pella Windows & Doors, believes that one of the best ways to reinforce your strategies and values is with recognition. Mitchell's approach to recognition isn't warm and fuzzy. He isn't focused on making employees feel good, and he rarely thinks about recognition as an end in itself. When asked about a traveling trophy award that he instituted, he said, "It grew more out of a desire to reinforce or recognize innovation than 'how do I reward employees?'" Mitchell's goal was to produce results.

Engineering already held a quarterly meeting where teams reported on how they were doing. Mitchell decided that it was the perfect forum to reinforce the importance of innovation. Now, each quarter, he asks the teams to prepare a presentation describing their most innovative idea of that quarter. As the teams make their presentations, senior management rates each idea. Before the meeting ends, the scores are tallied and the trophy, a 12" version of a Pella window, is presented to the winning team. They get to display the trophy until the next meeting when new innovative ideas are presented.

Many ideas are generated by the contest. Some are particularly noteworthy. A couple of years ago the Patio Door product team proposed the Patio Door Rolscreen, a screen that nearly disappears into the door casing when it's not in use. Building off the company's existing technology for casement windows, the team applied the Rolscreen idea to patio doors. The contest itself and the recognition that comes from receiving the trophy put the focus on innovation. Mitchell says, "People think the Innovative Idea Contest is a lot of fun. Even though many of the ideas will never see the light of day, it creates a lot of energy and spurs further idea generation."

Part of leadership is defining and reinforcing mission, values, and strategic plans. But leaders can't just tell people what is important and expect it to stick. They need to find ways to reinforce what is valued. Recognition can do that. When the executive team champions a recognition program, they give it credibility and visibility. When they personally offer effective recognition, they model it for everyone within the organization. By their words and actions, leaders can have a profound impact on the success of recognition within their organization.

Adapted from Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works (Berrett-Koehler)

Copyright 2007 Cindy Ventrice

Leadership and Employee Recognition - To learn more about this author, visit Cindy Ventrice's Website.

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