Motivating Today’s Knowledge Leader
What motivates today’s knowledge worker? Is it cash? No. It is more power? No. The answer is recognition. The right social recognition program can have hugely positive effects on employee engagement retention and attitude. Let me share how social recognition can foster collaboration and build trust in teams.
Benefits of Non-Monetary Recognition Systems
Non-monetary systems can range from a text message saying ‘thank you’ to paper certificates through points systems from which employees can select gift cards and other specific gifts. These are directly related to peer recognition of their effects to help others. Why does this matter? Everyone plays a part in helping others success in a company. It could be answering a simple question, providing critical information, delivering project work or providing input into organizational vision. Each of these are clear examples of giving your time. This is time you could be working on ‘your stuff’ but choose to help someone else in the company more forward on their initiatives while yours are on hold.
The main benefits of non-monetary recognition include:
- Provides Public Validation – this recognition by your peers makes you feel valued, and does so in a significant way.
- Increases Talent Retention and Productivity – If you believe that your efforts matter, then you’ll be less likely to leave and more likely to make greater contributions.
- Reinforces Corporate Culture –Peer-to-peer recognition programs build institutional memory, serving as a repository of stories that would otherwise go untold. The act of publicly celebrating these stories helps to shape the culture of the company.
- Improves Talent Spotting – When your peers recognize your contributions your successes are seen by the entire company. The sender also benefits by visibly demonstrating managerial skills.
- Fosters Collaboration – Allowing praise and recognition to be shared out in the open creates a rich gallery of stories that can be searched and browsed by anyone.
- Inspires and Energizes Employees –It doesn’t take much to say “thank you” for a job well done. Yet the impact of those two words can be astounding, changing the way employees feel about themselves and their work.
Moving From Silos to Collaboration
Over time, in even just a few years, corporate silos are naturally formed within organizations. Initially they start out with good intent. The initial intent is to improve processes and accelerate near term objectives by controlling the flow of information. However, over time these resources shift and that pure intent also slides. A shift is needed and ‘organizational renewal’ is required. How do we build collective knowledge and promote joint problem solving? We do this through recognition. This doesn’t mean we don’t have to make hard decisions, because rest assured we will have to do that. It does mean, that where you can, listen more often and share your time when you can with colleagues. It will help us all move forward faster on our collective objectives as an organization.
Ok, I’m Interested Where Do I Start
Use these easy steps:
- Create a vision – What do you want to accomplish? Where do you want your team and employees to access this information? Typically this has been done within an Intranet but that’s not practical with today’s remote workforce.
- Pick 3 Ways to Recognize – For example, sending points to a colleague for showing company values, a printable paper certificate or a gift card that is earned through an accumulation of points.
- Select A Group and Launch – Start getting some feedback on it immediately. Of course most change is resisted so assume you’ll need 30-45 days before any type of adoption occurs. Be public and use your staff meetings to highlight the importance of the initiative and recognize people that are star performers.
Give Me More
There are several good online products that also have a mobile application for iPhones and Android that help make this delivery much easier. With these products you can roll out a recognition program for your leadership in about 15 minutes.
Give a Wow! is a great mobile product that allows Peer-to-Peer recognition and can increase employee engagement up to 35%.
Download from iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/give-a-wow!/id390576590?mt=8
Globoforce Mobile is an employee recognition that lets you nominate colleagues for awards, approve pending nominations, receive awards, redeem awards, view and congratulate colleagues for recognition they’ve received via a social newsfeed.
Download from iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/globoforce-mobile/id388132078?mt=8
Recognition starts with great leadership.
Check out the below link for more information on Recognition Systems and their importance:
http://www.hrvoice.org/social-recognition-programs-why-they-matter/