The principle of giving appreciation is basic to all the work I do. As a member of Recognition Professionals International, I have been reading an interesting dialogue about the issue of rewards and recognition for managers. One member shared about a fun, immediate reward that has been instituted for employees in her company called “You Rock!” The idea is that when an employee does something special for a colleague, they receive a rock from that person to put on their desk as a symbolic reward for having done good work. Then, they are to pass that rock on in the next week to someone who serves them in an extraordinary way. Although this was not designed to include management, one of the employees gave his rock to a senior person who had not completely bought into the idea — this manager had thought it was a bit silly. After receiving the rock, however, he expressed how good it made him feel and that he now understood why this small bit of praise and recognition DID make a difference.
In his “KnowHR” blog (and reprinted in the Fall 2009 issue of the “Conference Board Review”), Frank Roche spoke succinctly and brilliantly on this point:
“I don’t remember what age I was when I noticed that people no longer told me that I was doing a great job. It’s not like I stopped doing good work — it’s that people think that once you get to a certain age or certain place in life that you don’t need praise anymore. … But what I do realize is that people need praise throughout their careers. Senior managers like to hear that they’re doing well as much as they did when they were junior functionaries. It applies to everyone — the price of praise is free. Tell someone today.”
So, no matter what our level, our age, or our job, we all need to be appreciated. Who can you appreciate today?
NEED IDEAS TO APPRECIATE PEOPLE? Each of Barbara’s books with “CARE” in the title, “CARE Packages for the Workplace,” “CARE Packages for the Home,” “Handle with CARE,” and “CARE Packages for your Customers”, all have a whole chapter on “Appreciation” filled with low cost or no cost ideas you can use every day. Also, you will love “The Simple Truths of Appreciation — How Each of Us Can Choose to Make a Difference.” It is filled with stories of ways people have appreciated one another in all walks of life.
To order any of Barbara’s books, go to . www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books/.
