Bollywood and Employee Recognition

There was an article in the Economic Times not too long ago about how training managers in Indian corporates were incorporating clips from Bollywood movies into their training programs to make the programs more engaging and enjoyable - Shah Rukh’s speech to the team in “Chak De India" as an example of motivational speeches, Aamir’s comments in “3 Idiots" on how professors need to teach, or the power of team work and the impact on the team of an individual moving in a different direction in “Lagaan."

I recollect a scene from Munnabhai MBBS – where Sanjay Dutt or Munnabhai talks about the power of “Pyaar Ki Jappi” (“Hug of Love”) and demonstrates its power by hugging an old worker (a floor cleaner) and thanking him for cleaning the hospital floor for the last 30 years or so. Relating this to the contents of the CRP (Certified Recognition Professional) course, I had recently taken, I wondered about the positive impact “Day-to-Day” recognition could have on an organization. This old worker is clearly at the bottom of the corporate pyramid at the hospital and can be replaced easily with another worker, but the work he does is quite valuable in the true business sense – which patient would choose to get treated in a hospital which can’t even manage to keep its floors clean. If the worker’s manager or better still, one of the senior doctors, chats with him for a few seconds while passing him, tells him the work he does is very valuable to and explains why, I bet the floor will be sparkling clean for the next few weeks at least.