Recognise This! – Employees want to know they and their efforts are noticed, appreciated and valued. They don’t want “party swag.”
Last week I wrote about global employee rewards and the importance of understanding local needs and desires. A reader of my post on HR Toolbox where my blog is syndicated responded to my question if any readers had been insulted by well-intentioned rewards, saying:
“Yes, I have had more than a few of those. Getting a box of chocolates even though I’m diabetic and morbidly obese can send a bit of a mixed message. The other case is what I’d call the automatic, courteous reward. Getting a message at Christmastime that says, “Thanks for all your hard work this year,” tends to give me that feeling of being just a cog in the wheel. It is so impersonal other than putting my name on it that I wonder, “Do you know what I really like? Do you know what would make this work for me? Could you even wonder if this ticks me off?” I’m not wanting my manager to spend hours writing my card but it would be nice to see something in it that shows some care or individuality is recognised.”
That’s a common theme over and over again – and why the handwritten thank you note simply doesn’t scale in growing organisations. If you’re going to the trouble of acknowledging employee contributions, you’d better go the extra step of making it highly personal. Good managers take the extra few minutes to specifically thank the person being recognised for what the employee did, how they did it in a uniquely valuable manner, and why that effort or behaviour was particularly desirable to the company. Exceptional managers go even farther and make sure such appreciation is expressed frequently and in-the-moment, not just at Christmas.
Rewards are also a critical point, as my commenter noted. That’s why it’s far more appropriate to let the employee choose the reward most meaningful for them – from endless options ranging from things to experiences – shopping, dining, entertainment, travel, adventure, even charity – anywhere in the world.
What’s not rewarding? Swag that looks like something you could have selected as the theme to your children’s birthday party. A favorite blogger of mine, Steve Boese of the excellent HR Technology blog, recently wrote about an “employee rewards” catalogue he received, commenting:
“But in only a second of looking at the swag laid out before me, I immediately thought that these pages could have been torn from your favorite party supplies catalogue, you know the section where the kid’s themed birthday party stuff is laid out. Where parents that really ought to know better end up selecting cups, plates, streamers, party hats, noisemakers, cake toppers, etc. – all with the same theme. Because we know every kid’s party has to have a theme, and heaven help you if you try and pair a Star Wars cup with a Spongebob plate.”
Too many employee recognition and rewards vendors put the rewards first. That’s why these programmes become the “flavor of the month” in companies – and why employees think of them as jokes. A member of my team told me she once received an engraved acrylic item as a reward. She calls it a “tombstone.” That was a bit foreign to my Irish sensibilities (she’s American), but she told me that’s a common term in the US for them.
Too often well meaning managers (and the HR pros backing the “programme”) give employees kids party favors and tombstones. Walk into any Salvation Army or Goodwill store and count the number of company logo merchandise items.
Rather, we should be focussing our attention where it belongs – on recognising employees for their contributions and behaviours that demonstrate your company values – on telling them, frequently and specifically, how much they and their efforts are valued and how they’re contributing to making the company/organisation successful.
Sure, there’s a place for meaningful rewards so employees can cement that goodwill in their memories for years to come – but you certainly won’t find those rewards in the pages of a catalogue.
What’s the most bizarre “reward” you ever saw on offer in an employee rewards catalogue?
