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Written by: Roy Saunderson | Rideau
Let’s stop doing the trite and tried and true acts of recognition giving. Get out of the boring recognition ruts and make your next recognition experience a stand out occasion.
Read, ponder, and do the following:
1. The recognition you plan to give has to be a total surprise. When you get recognition right it is the most fun and thrilling thing to do for someone else. Recognition should be a surprise and never expected. Rewards are earned and naturally anticipated. You can make your recognition stand out simply by not letting the cat out of the bag ahead of time. Surprise them!
2. Give recognition from your heart and not from your pocketbook. Recognition is a relationship-based skill. The more positive relationship you have between one person and another the more meaningful recognition will be between you. Not a good relationship? Then the recognition won’t be good either. Share your feelings about what they did using great adjectives to express your recognition to them. Emote recognition!
3. Think how you can make recognition special in some small way. It can seem cliché to say, it’s the little things that count. But, guess what? It is the little things that count. Know your staff inside out from demographic to psychographic details. And then demonstrate your genuine caring by the note card you buy to thank them; or perhaps it is a small, but uniquely personal, item you find as a token of appreciation. Special care!
4. Connect whatever they’ve done to the contribution they’ve made. We all want to make a difference in our work but not many of us actually experience that. If some action or result merits being acknowledged then some contribution has been made by the recognition recipient. They can’t always see what they’ve really done. So tell them. Tell them specifically how their contribution has made a difference to you, a customer, a team or the company. Contribution connection!
5. Deliver recognition in such a way that both of you feel it emotionally. I’m not talking about having a sappy, tears in the eyes experience every time you express appreciation to someone. You have got to be real – be authentic, meaningful and caring for the person being recognized. It’s about respecting them enough to know how they like to be recognized and carrying out those wishes. You will know it when you feel it. Feel it!
Q: How do you make your recognition actions a stand out experience for the recipients?