Why is it so tough for managers to give Recognition?

While working with an organization that is new to broadbased recognition, we realized that giving Recognition is a skill, a huge behavioural change that is required on the part of managers. In the last 6 months that the Recognition program has been active in the company, the budget usage has been less than 20% of what is available to managers.

We undertook an effort to talk to all the managers who could give Recognition and asked them if they had used the program. 70% of the managers responded saying that they didn't know who and what for to recognize. 30% said that they were worried that they were setting an expectation if they recognized their people - i.e anyone they recognized would invariably expect a good annual performance rating. So they wanted to be very conservative with Recognition.

Now this is a classic case of managers not truly understanding what Recognition is and how fundamental a need it is. The Rewards, the gifts that come with Recognition are simply a manifestation of the Recognition experience and you can practice Recognition even without the rewards. So I probed a few of them on why they didn't send the employee even a thank you card - this costs nothing, probably won't set expectations. The response was "If I give anything, I will be setting expectations. So I would rather not do anything".

Now here is a case of a firm which has invested in building a recognition culture, has provided the tools and the money required for managers to practice recognition and is yet, struggling to implement the program. How many companies are riding this boat?

The only solution I can think of to this problem is to educate the managers on what Recognition is and help them practice Real Recognition.

Normal is Boring ? Really?

As people, we crave for something that is not normal, something that is different and this always excites and energizes us.

But when it comes to Recognition, organizations get mixed up between what is normal and what is different/exciting. Recognizing the top performers is "Normal". The same folks who get the recognition are also typically the poster boys / poster girls and are expected to be recognized. While the audience may clap when these folks get recognized, do they really get excited? It's like saying that I reached the office today in 30 minutes, the same time it takes me everyday, and I am excited about this.

So how do we use Recognition to really excite/energize employees? The simple answer - when you recognize employees who are not typically expected to get recognized. Wn you do things that are not normal. Now this does not mean you recognize someone for nothing. If you just look (not even hard), you will find that most people do afew things well once in a while that could merit some recognition (maybe not the big award, but a mention in a team meeting with a voucher thrown in). If the recognition is given genuinely for a specific activity/task the individual has accomplished or a behaviour the employee has demonstrated, it will be very meaningful to the employee who receives it. If it done in a manner that is impromptu (or seemingly impromptu), say at 11:05 AM amidst the cubicles, it will snap everyone out of their desks and excite them (simply because it is not normal) and create a charged up work environment.

Image Credits:
1) http://www.lendio.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bored-employee.jpg
2) http://g-square.blogspot.in/