Moving the Needle

Dear Subscriber,

The hot topic for the 2011 Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference is HR's role and response to the economic recovery. As businesses seek to re-build and re-engage their tired workforces, HR will need to come to the table with an arsenal of tools to energize and bolster employees. Employee recognition programs will become even more important, and the question many HR pros are asking now is not, 'do we have an employee recognition program?' but instead, 'how effective is our employee recognition program at moving the needle of employee engagement."

Our feature article in this edition of the Recognition Insider takes a look at HR's role in getting c-suite buy-in for employee recognition.

Along with a blueprint for selling the idea of recognition up in your organization, you'll find strategies for integrating recognition and performance reviews and suggestions on ways to make sure you're getting everything you possibly can out of your recognition program in this edition of the Insider .

Bonus: Terryberry will be demonstrating new employee recognition tools at SHRM booth 3449. Don't miss it! Sign up for a free gift when you stop by.

Contribution Corner

Did you know that you can use "Stealth" recognition to get more punch out of your organization's recognition program without spending an extra penny on that same program?

It's true. And the "Stealth" concept is easy to understand. Instead of relying entirely on your formal recognition program (awards banquets, presentations at company picnics, etc.) and your informal program (monthly or quarterly recognition newsletters, lunches, team meetings, etc.) … try slipping into the company cafeteria unannounced at lunch time.

Now you can wander freely from table to table, while chatting informally with some of the associates in your organization.

Next step: Look for an opening in the chatter … and then create a "recognition moment" by praising one or more of your people for their contributions in recent days.

Pretty clever, huh? By using this "Stealth" approach, you can be sure that your comments will be spontaneous and genuine … while also leaving lots of good feeling in their wake!

Another way to add oomph to your recognition moments: Try doing a bit of research on your subjects before you praise them for a job well done. Example: "I hear you play a lot of tennis, Bill … and if you're half as good at hitting the ball as you are at running the Shipping Department, you probably have a shelf full of championship trophies!"

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Did You Know? . . .

During the last 15 months alone, the U.S. economy has added more than 2 million jobs.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor

As the economy continues to recover, up to 50 percent of workers will be looking around to see if they can find "greener pastures."
Source: WorldatWork

A recent survey by Global Workforce Mood Tracker showed that only about 33 percent of U.S. workers are now "fully engaged" with their jobs. One result: poor employee engagement can lead to a 32 percent drop in productivity among workers.
Sources: loyaltyworks.com; BlessingWhite

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HR Best Practices

Insights from top HR professionals

If you're like most business managers and HR professionals today, you've spent a lot of time thinking about ways to inspire and motivate your people via carefully designed recognition strategies.

You've also put lots of energy and planning into your organization's performance reviews.

Both of these initiatives are extremely important, when it comes to helping your people maximize their potential - so why not combine them in a one-two punch that will give your overall HR strategy maximum impact? Some suggestions:

Instead of limiting that monthly or semi-annual performance review to mere "evaluation," make sure you include some time for recognition, during which you note for the record just how your associate's contributions have helped accomplish your shared mission.
Avoid the "Receny Effect" by using data from your employee's recognition history to get a balanced picture of the individual's accomplishments during the review period.
Create a total rewards approach that includes fair compensation combined with recognition opportunities.

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Getting to the Top

How to convince your CEO to buy into the idea of employee recognition

By Tom Nugent

The scenario: It's Monday morning at "ABC Corporation," and the hard-charging HR Director is about to face what Ernest Hemingway used to refer to as "the moment of truth."

For Hemingway, the great American novelist (remember The Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls?), the "moment" takes place when the matador steps toward the fire-snorting bull, with his gleaming sword at the ready.

During the next few seconds (in a typical Hemingway story), the gutsy bullfighter will either succeed at dispatching the bull . . . or will end up lying face-down in the arena with a razor-sharp horn sticking out of his back.

Ole! Like that adrenalin-charged matador, our valiant HR director is about to come face to face with an enormous challenge: Finding a way to convince the CEO that investing in an effective employee recognition program is worth the cost.

It's not an easy assignment, to be sure.

For one thing, the HR professional understands that the case must be made quickly. As always, the busy CEO is running on a sprinter's schedule ... with eight meetings to attend and then an airplane to catch at four o'clock.

That's one challenge: Finding a way to quickly and convincingly make the case for implementing (or expanding) an effective employee recognition program.

But moving swiftly and keeping focus is only part of the challenge here ... because the HR guru also has to make sure that the boss is presented with the most relevant and persuasive data.

A formidable task? You bet. But our mythical HR Director has a powerful weapon.

The HR Pro has simplified the pitch to laser-like intensity.

"Mr. CEO, the best way to show you the value of an effective employee recognition program is to start by giving you a single number.

"That number is: 564 percent."

The CEO leans forward in her chair. She's listening carefully now.

"That percentage - 564 - is the Return on Investment. It's the amount of ROI that Delta Airlines earned a few years ago, after they upgraded and expanded their recognition program in order to make it truly effective - so that their people would dramatically increase their productivity and stay with the company for decades, instead of leaving as soon as 'greener pastures' beckon."

The CEO is smiling now. She likes this discussion. "Are you telling me," she asks, "that spending, say, $10,000 on employee recognition could bring in as much as $50,000 in ROI?"

Bingo! "That's exactly right," says the HR Director. "Delta's remarkable ROI was the subject of a recent, highly influential white paper that was published by the Human Capital Institute - and I've brought you a copy to read in your spare time."

This hard-hitting document also happens to be chock-full of data showing that:

Productivity typically surges by as much as 32 percent when an organization's staffers feel valued and appreciated as a result of effective recognition;
Organizations in which most employees are "fully engaged" with their jobs experience less than half of the "yearly turnover" that plagues so many enterprises where such engagement is significantly lower;
Study after study in recent years proves beyond a reasonable doubt that "customer service" improves rapidly in organizations where workers see themselves as valuable performers whose contributions to the organization's shared mission are frequently acknowledged.

So much for the data involved. Having presented the CEO with a stack of supremely convincing data about all the good things that can flow from an effective recognition program, our bold-hearted HR Director makes the move to clinch the deal.

"Ms. CEO, the bottom-line here is crystal-clear: Building a well-organized and effectively run recognition program is a win-win situation for everyone involved. It also makes excellent business sense - and that's what we're famous for, here at the ABC Corporation!"

So far, so good.

And now comes the best part. Having completed the pitch, the HR specialist steps back and gives the CEO an opportunity to conclude:

"Why ... this decision is a total no-brainer - let's go for it!"

Ask recognition expert, Terryberry Managing Partner Mike Byam, for some helpful advice on how to convince your organization's leadership about the value of employee recognition, and this longtime workforce consultant won't hesitate.

"The key words here is engagement," says Byam. "The guys in the C-suite 'get' engagement. They crave engagement and realize that no matter how engaged their employees are, their businesses require a more engaged workforce in order to be successful in the future. The question to ask yourself is, 'are your programs moving the needle?"

"An employee recognition program today should look different than it did 10 years ago," says Byam. "Give your CEO the evidence for a recognition program that will impact employee engagement, and the case will probably be well-received."

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Tips & Techniques

Suggestions from readers and practitioners like you.

Achieving Effective Recognition: The Three Commandments

First Commandment: Thou shalt never leave anyone in your organization feeling like "The Lone Ranger." To make sure all your people get appropriate recognition (or access to peer-selected awards), make a comprehensive review of every position in your enterprise. Did you remember your remote workers? How about the guy who cuts the grass and waters the azaleas? It's absolutely essential that you include everyone - so take the time to make sure your recognition roster is complete.

Second Commandment: Thou shalt make sure your recognition program does not become humdrum and predictable - and eventually lifeless as a result. How to do that? One powerful strategy is to keep the surprises coming. Example: Interrupt that next regional sales meeting with a sudden round of on-the-spot gifts (free movie passes? Bowling alley gift cards?) for all eight of your sales associates, along with your thanks for a job well done. If you keep surprising 'em, they'll remember being recognized much longer.

Third Commandment: Thou shalt endeavor to put a little suspense into the "recognition moments" you provide for your people. Instead of handing out the same gift certificates you unveiled last time, issue each member of that sales team a number code. Then suggest that they go online to find out what they've earned. With each recognition prize, you can also include a personal email message that will underline the one you're conveying with your online gift.

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