Q:  I’ve worked at large companies that had employee recognition programs that most of us thought were a joke.  Now that I have my own small business I want to find a way to give timely -almost immediate- recognition to whoever is doing a good job; and do it in a way that isn’t cumbersome like at a formal employee meeting.  One of the problems I saw with large company programs was the huge delay -some times months- between the achievement or good deed and the actual recognition.  Any suggestions?

 A:  Employee recognition is gaining popularity now that the economy is improving and there’s more effort by companies to keep talented employees.  A study cited in Forbes found that companies with highly effective programs improved not only their employee engagement, productivity and retention, but also improved their customer service and overall business performance.

These “highly effective” programs bear little resemblance to the traditional programs, which have a few problems you rightly want to avoid:

First, they focus on tenure or service, so employees are recognized not for achievement but for staying around.  Yes, longevity can be one component, but not the centerpiece of a program. Organizations should instead focus on recognizing employees for “demonstrating company values,” “displaying certain identified behaviors,” and “achieving company goals”.

Second, traditional programs are usually “top down”. Management decides who is recognized and they don’t always get this right.  We’ve all seen recognition being bestowed on someone who’s popular with management, over someone who quietly makes things happen.  More effective programs have open, transparent peer-to-peer recognition (on a social media style platform ala Facebook) which can be more meaningful than recognition handed down from management.  This way, you wouldn’t be the only one giving out kudos.

Yet another old problem is the time delay you mentioned, which is terribly ineffective if you’re trying to reinforce good behavior.  Luckily, we now have technology and apps that will enable you, and all your employees, to give each other recognition frequently and easily.

So how do you re-engineer an employee recognition program?  Tune in next week for tips and tools to do just that.

©Copyright Eva Del Rio