Top 10 Articles of 2022

Each December, I check the year-end statistics to discover which articles posted to my blog attracted the most readers during the previous 12 months. Doing so provides insight into which topics have most appeal to Briefly Noted readers.

For the fourth year in a row, the top article was one written in 2017 in response to a question asked by a Briefly Noted reader: “How do I discover if the candidate is a fast learner?” In this article, I suggested how to incorporate required competencies into your advertising and how to consider them when reviewing resumes, when writing and asking interview questions, and when checking references.

Every issue of Briefly Noted includes a link to the second most popular article of the year from a feature titled, “A question that may help you hire the right people.” First published in 2015, Grab the tool to navigate your way through the interview journey suggests preparing to assess responses to interview questions by identifying answers you would typically consider as outstanding (top performer), acceptable and unsatisfactory.

The most recently posted article appears to resonate with readers, having reached #3 on the annual list in just over a month. The gist of this article is pretty much captured in its title, 
 “No recognition, please,” said no one ever

The title of an article from 2018 that is fourth on the list asks a question and foreshadows the answer, Who Is better prepared for Interviews? Hint: It’s usually not the people who are hiring. While job seekers invest time and money preparing to be interviewed, most managers and supervisors have little training on how to conduct interviews. Learning more about interviewing would lead to the right people being hired more frequently.

Researchers discover that the impact of thank-you notes is greater than writers imagine was inspired by research that confirmed that people value the thank-you notes they receive, no matter their age or gender. Receiving a thank-you note also has a positive influence on how the recipients view the person who wrote the note. This article from 2019 was the fifth most frequently viewed post of 2022.

At #6 on the list is an 2016 article that suggests front-line leaders could Encourage peer recognition with a pass-along award. This article outlines ways to introduce a pass-along award and encourage its use.

Next on the list, at #7, is an article inspired by a 2017 visit to the Lambert-St. Louis airport. Looking for more reasons to recognize staff? Ask customers and use their words includes several suggestions on how to collect and use feedback from the people your organization serves as part of your staff recognition strategy.

The oldest article to make the 2022 Top10 list, at #8, was written in 2013 and suggests 7 questions to ask to recognize staff appropriately and ways to use what you learn about the people with whom you work.

Appropriate ways to recognize staff was the theme of the article in ninth place on the list. Appropriate — Making staff recognition personal was written in 2020 as part of a series of articles exploring the five ingredients of meaningful staff recognition—Genuine, Relevant, Explicit, Appropriate and Timely.

Related articles: 

Genuine: Making staff recognition authentic

Relevant: Making staff recognition strategic

Explicit—Making staff recognition specific

Timely—Making staff recognition prompt

Tenth place on the list for 2022 an article written in 2014. The main message of Advice to hire slow and fire fast is incomplete” is that having done the hard work necessary to hire the right person, a similar effort is required to influence the newcomer to commit to your organization.

Related articles:

Some old, some recent articles are among Top 10 blog posts of 2021

In 2020, an article inspired by a reader’s question topped the most viewed list for the second year in a row

Staff Recognition Tips from 2022 Conventions — Part I

Those who participate in my staff recognition programs always amaze me. They are so creative in the ways they find to recognize staff.

This was evident during programs titled 97 Staff Recognition Tips in Just Minutes and Crowdsourcing Staff Recognition that I presented at conventions earlier this year.

With the exception of session for the Awards and Personalization Association Expo, held in Las Vegas in February, the events were all online. The challenge of sharing tips  in a virtual world was overcome by using virtual bulletin boards on the padlet.com platform. Participants posted their thoughts about staff recognition with descriptions of how they recognize or plan to recognize their staff and colleagues.

After reviewing what they posted, I realized that publishing these posts would create an opportunity for Briefly Noted readers to learn from others in leadership and non-leadership roles who share your commitment to using staff recognition to engage and retain the right people.

For this article, I’ve combined and categorized tips that are similar. There are also links

to previous blog posts that relate to the ideas contributed by convention attendees.

As you read the input of program participants, keep the 4As of staff recognition in mind. “Adopt” the ideas that resonate with you. “Adapt” others to fit your workplace and “Avoid” those which aren’t right for you, your staff or your workplace culture. Finally, consider whether some of these techniques could replace your current practices that should be “Abandoned” because they no longer work as they once did.

Because participants shared so many staff recognition tips, there will be a second article with more tips from program participants in a week or so.

Serious, But Still Fun

Recognition is important and should be taken seriously, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be delivered in fun ways. Some people enjoy silly, playful awards that depend on puns that make you laugh or groan. 

• A tea bag with a label on a ribbon: “You suit me to a T.”
• Mento candies: “You ment-o so much to us.”
• Notes to brighten their days (e.g. card with eggs that say, “Have an egg-cellent day.”)
• Excel gum with the message, “We have an Excel-lent staff!” or “You Excel!” (with a note to recognize their great work).
• Golden Apple awards. Recognizing each staff members for positive contributions.
• Staff morale bingo
• Bag of popcorn: “This may sound corny, but we just wanted to pop by and say thank you.
• A soft drink: “You’re soda delightful.”
• “Butter you up, Buttercup” bulletin board in the staffroom. Staff also receive peanut butter cups when recognized.
• At the end of the year, ask teachers to share their funniest/most embarrassing teacher memories of the year. These stories lead to a good laugh and make everyone realize they’re not alone in their mistakes/failures.
• Have a five-minute dance party on a Friday afternoon

Making Recognition Personal

Several participants described how they prepared to recognize staff in Appropriate ways by first learning about staff members’ non-work activities, interests, goals and recognition preferences.

• Ask people at the beginning of the year how they like to be recognized (publicly or in private).
• Create a list of “our favourite things” with a wide range of topics. We pull ideas from it when we give small treats to staff.
• A spreadsheet with each staff member’s favourite treats for random surprises during the year.
• A form with “a few of my favourite things” for staff to complete so they can tell you what they actually like and how they like to receive recognition (public, private or no preference).
• Love file—questionnaire for people to fill out so when you want to recognize someone you know their favourite things.
• Ask staff what fills their bucket. We all need/feel love in different ways, so ask. And then, act!
• A getting-to-know-you sheet to learn how staff like to be recognized, as well as treats they like. On the first day of school, surprise them with their favourite treats and continue to surprise them throughout the year.

Related article: 7 Questions to Ask to Recognize Staff Appropriately

“SP” Programs

Besides providing information that frontline leaders can use to personalize recognition, the answers to getting-to-know-you questionnaires can be  a starting point for SP (secret pal, special person) programs. The virtual bulletin boards included several suggestions for implementing  SP team building and peer recognition programs.

• Secret messages/deliveries. Leave a brief note or treat in their room before they arrive.
• We have wellness buddies at our school. Much like the secret peer recognition. This gives us an opportunity to acknowledge one another throughout the year.
• Seasonal “secret pals”—change up for the season: Secret Santa, Secret Cupid, Secret Bunny.
• We do Secret Pal for those who want to. It’s my favourite thing to be able to buy a small treat for someone. Especially after a hard week.
• Have staff hand in “about me” sheets, then have everyone draw the name of someone to recognize anonymously. Sort of a Secret Santa but can occur any time during the year.

Variations on Pass-Along Awards

In their posts, participants identified different ways to implement pass-along awards to encourage peer recognition.

• Recognition Journal—Start on page one. Write a letter to someone. They write on page 2 and pass it along. Everyone can see what was written along the way to celebrate everyone.
• Challenge Coin—A symbol that represents your workplace to pass around with a special note. Once received, the coin is passed to the next person that the current holder feels is deserving.
• Tim Hortons gift card—not so much about recognition, but more for staff morale and connectivity. The (school) administrator started with one $10 gift card. The card had to be passed on to anyone who came up to you and gave you a high-5. If someone high-5ed you and you had the Tim’s card you had to give it to that person. If you didn’t have the Tim’s card, all they got was a high-5 from you. Another rule was that once you passed the card on to the person who high-5ed you, you could not high-5 them back immediately (you had to be one person removed). The game ended at the last bell of the day and the name of the person who ended up with the gift card was announced to the staff.
• Engagement Pig—Pass around the stuffed animal and have staff give it to others with a note. Have them pass it once a week.
• “You Rock” rocks—We have treasured and artistic rocks that colleagues can use to honour the work of others. Staff were put in groups at the beginning of the year and decorated/painted a rock. The rocks are now passed among staff members to recognize times when “You Rocked!” The rock sits on your desk for a few days and then is passed on.
• We have five trophies that we present to staff each week. If you receive it one week, you present it to someone else the next week.
• Weekly hero awards.

Recognition on Display

From low-tech to high-tech, participants find ways to publicly highlight ways staff contribute and achieve.

• We have a TV in the main room at school for announcements. We could include thank-yous with the announcements.
• Staff shout-out bulletin board/wall
• Post notes on the staff room board
• Thank-you letter on the classroom whiteboard
• Interactive bulletin board in the staff room
• Words of affirmation in the staff room board dedicated to staff
• Whiteboard space in staff room to write appreciation
• Thank-you wall in the staff room for anyone to add to
• Post-it thank-you board in staff room
• Our school has a Google slide set up last year with one staff member bitmoji on each slide. Every staff member commented on/praised every other staff member in the school by writing on the slides. It was a nice pick-me-up in the middle of the pandemic.

Peer Recognition

Participants described ways in which they are unleashing the power of peer recognition in their workplaces. 

• Peer recognition gratitude board
• Monthly Google form for staff to nominate each other for a prize. Includes an explanation of why the person is nominated.
• Above and Beyond Awards—Nominated by peers for going above and beyond to help a fellow staff member or customer. Used to be awarded at Christmas dinner but after today we’re going to do on a regular basis
• Monthly themed peer recognition cards printed and cut out and put on the staff room table
• Staff can nominate peers by putting their names in a draw. Once a month we draw a name for the monthly prize, but we post all the kudos on a recognition board in the staff room.

The way these Rotarians acknowledge contributions could be adapted to enhance workplace peer recognition

Here’s a twist on the concept of a pass-along award, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Whyte Avenue. It’s a way club members acknowledge the contributions of individual Rotarians.

The Whyte Knight Award is presented to, “a Rotarian who demonstrates outstanding service within the Old Strathcona community,” Rotarian Kristin Jennings explains.

Club president Kathy Strobl adds that the award is used to recognize “members who have made a valuable contribution to the projects we undertake as a club and for their dedication to ‘Service Above Self’ (Rotary International’s motto).”

A pass-along award is a tangible symbol of on-the-job success and appreciation, and a simple way to facilitate peer recognition in the workplace. The award is passed from one staff member to another. The recipient holds the award for a brief period of time, usually no more than a few days, before becoming responsible to pass it along to a deserving co-worker.

The Whyte Knight Award departs from this model for peer recognition in two ways. First the award stays with the recipient for a few weeks, rather than a few days.

Secondly, it’s not the recipient alone who identifies to whom the award will be presented next. He/she is expected to consult with one or two other members to decide who will be next to receive the award. This makes more members conscious of the need to recognize the contributions of other Rotarians.

The Whyte Knight Award concept may represent an enhancement that could be applied in most workplaces. Requiring recipients to work with colleagues to identify the next recipient reinforces the organization’s commitment to peer recognition. The discussion of who and what behaviour deserves to be recognized could focus more people on recognizing their peers.

To provide time for the recipient and others to consider who next to recognize and to reach their decision, it may be necessary to extend the time the current recipient possesses the award. Perhaps one week would be appropriate. A specific day could be a designated each week on which the next recipient is announced.

Suggested Action: Does your organization have a pass-along award? If not, maybe it’s time to create one, following either the Whyte Knight model or the more traditional approach. Click here to read tips on how to implement a pass-along award.

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A pass-along award is one technique included when the power of peer recognition is discussed during the Staff Recognition: One Piece at a Time program. Email nmscott@telus.net or call (780) 232-3828 to learn more or to schedule a workshop for members of your leadership team.

7 steps to unleash the power of peer recognition in your workplace

From the moment a few years ago when a primary school teacher told me how good she felt after she received a compliment from a colleague, I have understood the value of peer recognition. This may be the most powerful type of recognition that staff members will ever receive.

“I really appreciate getting students who have been in your class,” the colleague said. “They are so ready to learn and excited about school.”

What made this recognition so meaningful to the person receiving it was that it came from someone whose opinion she trusted—a respected colleague. This gave these comments instant credibility.

Source: Thanks! GREAT Job!

Peer recognition has the potential to strengthen the relationship among staff members and to contribute to building a culture of appreciation in the workplace, creating a place where people want to be and where they are inspired to work harder. In this environment, turnover will be low and employee engagement high.

The reason that peer recognition works is that unlike recognition from the boss, who is expected to recognize staff, recognition from co-workers is unexpected. A requirement to “Recognize colleagues when they do a good job” is never part of anyone’s job description. Often what a colleague says is more credible, because it comes from someone who understands what is required to do a good job because he/she does a similar job.

Encouraging peer recognition in a workplace is not as simple as announcing that staff members should recognize their colleagues more, which was illustrated in a previous article. On other hand, following this seven-step process is an effective way to unleash the power of peer recognition in your workplace:

1. Be a recognizer yourself –– Peer recognition will never thrive in a staff recognition vacuum; it will flourish in a recognition-rich workplace. As a manager, you can’t just preach staff recognition, you need to practise it. You need to become a staff recognition role model. Staff will follow your example. Those who have felt the impact of recognition are more likely to recognize others when they observe behaviour they believe is recognition-worthy. The more you acknowledge staff for what they do, the more they will recognize their peers.

2. Schedule time at staff meetings –– Schedule time for recognition during staff meetings, preferably early on the agenda. Prepare staff ahead of time by telling them what will be happening so they can come prepared to acknowledge the contributions of colleagues. You can also “prime the pump,” by approaching a few individuals before the meeting to help them identify reasons to recognize their colleagues. These will be people who you can rely upon to get the ball rolling.

During the meeting, limit the time devoted to peer recognition to ensure that the reasons to recognize colleagues are not exhausted before the time allocated to this activity expires. You never want to be in the position of having to beg for more peer recognition. Before moving on to the next topic on the agenda, acknowledge that there wasn’t enough time to recognize everyone and encourage staff to recognize co-workers between meetings.

Related Article: 7 Dos and 7 Don’ts of Staff Recognition During Meetings

3. Make it fun –– Here are a couple of fun ways to encourage peer recognition:

Give Your Meetings a Recognition Bounce: Set aside a few minutes at staff meetings to toss around a “recognition ball” (always a soft sponge ball, never a hard baseball!) Start by inviting those staff members who wish to recognize co-workers to raise their hands. Throw a soft sponge to one of these people. After expressing appreciation to a co-worker, this staff member tosses the ball to someone else, who then recognizes another staff member. Continue this process until several people have had the opportunity to hold the recognition ball, but stop before everyone has had a chance, to avoid a situation where someone will feel left out because no one thanked him/her. Remind staff they can always recognize their peers anytime—not just at meetings.

Create a pass-along award: This could be a new or repurposed trophy, a stuffed toy, or an item that reflects what your organization does. This symbol of success is passed from one staff member to another. Each recipient becomes responsible for passing it along to a deserving co-worker within a specified time period, such as two to five days.

Related Article: Encourage Peer Recognition with a Pass-Along Award

4. Introduce the tools of peer recognition –– These may include greeting cards (thank-you, congratulations, etc.), sticky notes, access to small gifts, etc. Make these available where it’s easy for staff to access them. Remind staff to use thank-you notes by distributing them at staff meetings or including two or three cards with their paycheque or pay advice.

For additional ways staff members can recognize their peers, check out Peer Recognition cards available from the SEA Consulting bookstore.

5. Observe Peer Recognition Day –– When I discovered the power of peer recognition while gathering material for Thanks! GREAT Job!, I proposed one day a month—the third Tuesday—be designated as Peer Recognition Day, to remind us of the importance and value of this form of recognition.

6. One-on-One Conversations –– One-on-one meetings can be a valuable way to strengthen the relationship between you and members of your team, and for you to keep in-touch with what’s happening. These conversations are also opportunities to encourage peer recognition. Ask staff members to identify a colleague whose contribution the staff member appreciated. Follow up by asking, “How did you let Howard know that you appreciated what he did?” Based on the response, either congratulate this person for recognizing a colleague or encourage him/her to do so. Perhaps you can suggest or brainstorm ways to express appreciation.

7. Recognize the Recognizers –– Recognition is about encouraging more of the behaviour that you want to see. Because peer recognition is about increasing the amount of recognition, whenever you become aware that they recognized colleagues you should let them know that you appreciate them for doing this.

Encourage Peer Recognition with a Pass-Along Award

A pass-along award is a tangible symbol of on-the-job success and appreciation and a simple way to facilitate more peer recognition in the workplace. Here’s how to introduce a pass-along award:

Select your award: Find something that will stand out on the recipient’s desk. It could be a

An inukshuk (an Inuit word meaning “in the image of man”) would be an ideal pass-along award. Originally, inukshuks were built as landmarks to point the way and aid navigation in the Arctic. Today, the inukshuk has become a symbol that reminds us of our dependence on others and the value of strong relationships.

stuffed animal, a cartoon figure or a trophy (environmentally friendly hint: this is an opportunity to repurpose an old sports trophy, which was destined for the landfill). Consider selecting a pass-along award which will reflect what your organization does: an apple for teachers, a small globe for a travel agency, or plaque-mounted eye glasses for an optometrist’s office.

Introduce the award to staff: This could occur at a staff meeting or via email. “Next week, we’ll be introducing a pass-along award. This is another way for you to recognize someone you work with for doing their job well or helping you do your job, or for a co-worker to recognize your contributions. It’s not an award to keep forever. In fact, once you receive the pass-along award you will have 48 hours (or whatever time limit you set) to find another team member who deserves to be recognized. Deliver the award to your co-worker, along with an explanation of what he/she did that you appreciate. You could do this in person, or you could leave the award with a note on his/her desk.” [Suggestion: name your pass-along award—the “green apple,” or “grateful giraffe” or “travelling trophy”]

Suggest reasons to recognize colleagues: It could be for calming an upset customer, providing information and resources you needed to complete a task, lending a helping hand, or cleaning out the staff-room fridge (Ugh!) Better yet, brainstorm with the team to identify reasons to recognize co-workers. Post the resulting list, with a reminder that it contains only a few suggestions. “When you look for them, you will discover many other reasons to recognize the people with whom you work.”

Prime the Pump: Approach a staff member to be the first to present the pass-along award. You may need to discuss who could be recognized and why. [Suggestion: Follow up with a brief note thanking this person for “getting the ball rolling.”]

Beware of recognition gone stale: No staff recognition techniques have an indefinite shelf life. Over time, every one will lose its effectiveness. Anticipate this by predetermining when the pass-along award will disappear, or plan to monitor how well it’s working.