Recognition is like a glass of Coke. Wait too long and the fizz is gone.
Recognition is best if it is Timely, delivered soon after the action that triggers it.
This can happen in several simple ways: a smile, nod or a thumbs-up; an expression of appreciation spoken at the time; or a few words on a sticky note.
It takes little time to compose and send a message that will appear on the recipient’s smart phone just moments after you witness behaviour you appreciate. And you can be assured that your words will be seen.
Recipients read text messages. A study found that 98 per cent are opened. Nearly 60 per cent are read within five minutes. By comparison, only 20 per cent of emails are opened.
Want to do more? You can always follow up your text with other, slightly less Timely recognition, selected with the recipient in mind to ensure that the recognition is Appropriate.
Thank-you cards are one way to say, Thanks, Again!
Thank-you notes have more “trophy value.” Recipients frequently hold on to handwritten thank-you notes and reread them from time to time. What makes thank-you notes particularly powerful is that because they are handwritten, they convey that you feel what the recipient did was important enough that you invested some of your time to pick up a pen and write the message.
While thank-notes may be better tool—I call them staff recognition’s number one tool—they may not always be the most Timely way to recognize staff. It is easy to procrastinate, putting off their writing until “there is more time.”
When it comes to providing recognition that is Timely, texting trumps most other ways of expressing appreciation—before the fizz is gone.
At the end of each year, I review the stats related to my brieflynotedonlince.wordpress.com blog. I want to know which articles received the most views so I can provide Briefly Noted readers with more of what the numbers suggest you want to read.
This year’s top 10 list divides into two broad categories: half the articles are related to hiring and the others are about staff recognition as a tool to engage and retain staff. At least three articles were inspired by changes resulting from the pandemic.
For the second year in a row, an article inspired by a question from a Briefly Noted reader first published in 2017 has proven to be the most popular blog post.
Over the years, questions from readers and participants in my programs at conventions or during workshops have enabled me to publish articles that you want to read. If you have a question about hiring, engaging and retaining the right people, let me know.
I will respond directly to your question and it may lead to a future article. Chances are that others have similar questions and by asking your question you are providing information they want. Email your questions to nmscott@telus.net.
Even after writing more than 100 articles about hiring, I discovered I have overlooked the obvious — a list of the tools managers need to have with them when they meet with candidates.
On an Asian cruise in February, we witnessed discrimination directed toward people because of where they came from, not because of who they were or what they did. Similar biases can influence hiring decisions if we don’t guard against it.
Even before COVID-19 had its impact on workplaces, some people were already working remotely, which meant different staff recognition techniques were required.
Most conversations about recognition focus on how leaders can express appreciation to staff members, which ignores the reality that everyone needs and deserves recognition, including leaders. Written nearly seven years ago, this article suggests ways in which staff can let bosses know they are appreciated for what they do.
Looking at photos from our trip to Iceland several years ago, I remembered a server in Reykjavík explaining why their language doesn’t include any equivalent to “please.” But there is a word to express appreciation.
As important as it is to ask the right questions during interviews, it’s also necessary to compare what you hear to what your top performers do. Here is a template for identifying which answers are unacceptable, acceptable or outstanding (top performer) quality.
Watching the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC one evening inspired me to write this article. When the guest responded with a single word, which was all that was necessary to answer the host’s question, it left Maddow speechless.
How quickly has life changed in many workplace across Canada and around the world in just a few weeks.
People who have always gone to offices or other workplaces every day now find themselves working from home. Managers, supervisors and other leaders who made a practice of stopping by staff members’ work stations to say, “Great job,” are struggling to find ways to recognize staff with whom they no longer have face-to-face interaction.
Back in January, when I wrote an article listing nine ways to recognize off-site staff, I never imagined how relevant those suggestions would become for so many.
Rereading that article, I also realize that it was written with a different work environment in mind, on in which only a few worked remotely. Most who worked from home, at a library or in a coffee shop, rather than in more traditional settings, did so by choice.
Frequently, those who worked off-site visited traditional workplaces to consult with colleagues and supervisors or to attend meetings. Remote and onsite workers might also have had face-to-face meetings in other locations. Most did not work in complete isolation.
Those were the circumstances I envisioned when I wrote that article two months ago, before many who had always worked in traditional workplaces were suddenly told to pack up and head home for the duration and avoid contact with anyone other than those with whom they lived.
Recognition techniques that might have worked then don’t fit the work situation in which many now find themselves, which leads me to revisit this topic and suggest other ways to show staff members who suddenly are working from home—both as individuals and as a team—that they are valued and appreciated for what they do under difficult conditions:
Many newly working-at-home folks will be without the resources they need to do their job, which are readily available in the workplaces they have left behind. Provide them with an allowance to purchase the supplies they need to do the job.
Convey messages of appreciation in different ways. Do rely on thank-you emails. Text staff members. Teleconference. Pick up the phone. Send e-cards.
Never underestimate the impact of a handwritten thank-you note that arrives in the mail.
Remember the families of staff members. Unlike off-site workers back in January, today’s off-site workers must care for children who can no longer be sent off to school or daycare. Consider ordering books or games online to be delivered to the children of your at-home staff so they have something to do while their parents focus on their work. Send thank-you notes to children, expressing gratitude to them for giving up time with their parents so that your employees can do the work that is assigned to them.
Order lunch to be delivered to staff members’ homes. A delivery of flowers would also work well. Not only would staff members appreciate the gesture, but it will also help struggling local businesses remain afloat during this time.
No matter the circumstances, recognition is best when it’s Explicit. Be specific in describing the behaviour for which staff is being recognized. It shows you notice and value their contributions, which is what staff members want. This is no time for generalized messages thanking people for “everything you do.”
Your workplace is a community. Maintain that feeling by encouraging people to connect, such as during virtual coffee breaks.
Use service anniversaries and birthdays that occur when staff is away from the office as times to reflect on staff members’ contributions and achievements over the past year.
Express appreciation by extending opportunities for professional development through online courses or by providing how-to books that will enable working-at-home staff to learn new skills.
Show you understand the stress everyone is experiencing by reminding your working-from-home staff to take care of themselves. Remind them to take regular breaks, just as they would if they were still in the office.
Eventually, we’ll all get through this and everyone will be back to where they were. Prepare for that day. Plan to celebrate their return.
Andrew Johnstone, the graphic artist who designed my books, websites and many other documents, recently reminded me of a line from the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that we might all do well to keep in mind. The proprietor says, “Everything will be all right in the end … so if it’s not all right then it’s not yet the end!”
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Now it’s your turn. What are you doing? If you are a leader, how are you recognizing staff or colleagues caught up in this change to their work lives? If you’re someone whose work life has been turned upside down, what are you doing to recognize colleagues? What has your supervisor done to express gratitude for how you are handling these circumstances?
Email a description of how you’re showing staff members who are now working from home that they are appreciated to nmscott@telus.net. You can also leave your thoughts in the comment box below.
Following my presentation in a northern Alberta town, a participant approached with a question.
He was a branch manager who was looking to advance his career in the bank. This would involve moving into a position where he would be supervising the work of a number of workers who worked remotely. He would only occasionally see them face-to-face.
How could he use staff recognition to ensure they felt valued as part of the team and remained engaged?
It was a good question that will become increasingly relevant. Today, only a small percentage of staff members are so called “teleworkers” or “work-from-home” employees but that number is growing, particularly among people aged 25 to 44.
The opportunity for flexible work hours or to work off-site are among the most popular employment benefits, according to different research sources. For some, avoiding the cost of commuting to work and associated parking fees is like receiving a pay increase.
There is no single definition of what telework looks like. Some employees will work from their homes, others in non-traditional settings such as coffee shops or libraries, or in satellite locations that you visit infrequently. There is also the flexibility to work on a different schedule than those who are in the office everyday—early in the morning, late at night, or on weekends.
Traditional staff recognition practices will not work for employees who work at remote locations or from home and are only seen in the office occasionally. You can’t simply drop by their desks to say thank you or involve them in spontaneous celebrations of team successes.
Other approaches are required to make them feel valued as part of the team or appreciated for what they do:
Use frequent email and voice messages to demonstrate that you are aware of and appreciative of what they are doing.
Be accessible to remote staff members. Schedule “office hours”––times when you will be available to take their calls.
Schedule time to meet with remote staff when they do visit the office.
If your travels take you near where they work, invite them to meet you for coffee or lunch.
Schedule telephone one-on-one meetings with off-site staff at least once a month. Deal with the topics on your agenda but leave sufficient time to acknowledge staff members for what they do and to discuss any questions, concerns or suggestions they have related to their work.
Encourage on-site staff to recognize their off-site peers. Remind them to thank their colleagues who work remotely, on whom they depend to be able to do their jobs well.
You really can’t beat face-to-face conversation but when in-person meetings aren’t possible with remote employees, teleconferencing may be the next best thing, utilizing any of several simple, inexpensive conferencing websites and apps.
Need reasons to recognize off-site staff? Ask your on-site staff members to identify reasons to recognize off-site staff.
Consider this list as just as starting point. Whenever you read a book (such as Thanks! GREAT Job!) about ways to recognize on-site staff, or when you discuss recognition with other participants in programs such as Thanks! GREAT Job! or Staff Recognition: One Piece at a Time,consider how tools and techniques for the recognition of on-site staff could be adapted for the recognition of off-site staff.
Back in January, when I wrote an article listing 
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