Inspiration Conversation

I learned this mantra in my high school journalism class and, on many occasions since then, have offered up silent thanks to Ms. Mabry for diligently drilling it into my head and forcing me to develop it as a writing habit. It’s an incredibly effective tool to use when trying to describe events on paper or organize coherent thoughts to be delivered in a presentation. I’d suggest it’s also a useful formula to apply as you prepare to develop a recognition system within your organization. Allowing for a small change in the order of the “5 W’s and an H”, here’s a brief description of how it works:

WHO are you trying to recognize? It’s important that the answer to this question be, “Everyone!” Realistically, it’s not possible to get to every job description and level of performance within your organization with a “one size fits all” program – and that’s good news. Forcing your organization to think about each person in the company and the various jobs they occupy is a great exercise to remind management why each person is important. Don’t be the company that only recognizes “Top Performers” – what would happen to your organization if, one day, only the “Top Performers” showed up for work?

WHY are you recognizing someone? Have you identified specific behaviors that relate to each job description? Can everyone in your organization reasonably expect to be recognized when they perform well? If you can’t easily name recognizable behaviors related to each job description, then perhaps that job shouldn’t exist within your organization. Also, does everyone in your organization understand why the company operates a recognition system? Far too many companies spend money on recognition and then do nothing to communicate expectations to the intended audience – its employees.

WHEN will recognition occur? Recognition is most powerful when it is given immediately after the behavior happens. The impact diminishes as time lapses. Certainly, it’s not possible to manage the logistics of recognition in a way that creates perfect scenarios in all cases. The point is to design your system to allow recognition to happen as soon as possible. The most powerful program within a system is peer-to-peer recognition where all employees are empowered to immediately recognize daily behaviors that improve your company.

WHERE will recognition happen? You’ll want a mix of formal and informal (another article for another day) recognition in your system. Along this spectrum you will have to make decisions about the locations and logistics related to recognition. Events can be exciting rallying times for your company. Are the right people “on stage” at these occasions? For recognition that does not happen at an event, does everyone understand how to manage the logistics of the recognition moment? Make sure that the power of the moment is not wasted because thought was not given to logistical details.

WHAT will be the recognition? Within a well designed recognition system, a range of recognition awards exists. Every company is different and the “range of awards” will be different, but generally, awards will run from no cost “Thank You” notes or emails to elaborate merchandise or travel. The key to choosing awards is found in the word appropriate. It’s very important that the impact of the recognized behavior matches the perceived value of the award.

HOW will you know your system is effective? Perhaps the most important component of any recognition system is the answer to this question. There are multiple ways to measure effectiveness and the exact method will depend on quite a few variables. Keep in mind that the best way to address this issue is to begin with existing measurements of corporate health – retention, productivity, absenteeism…

I pretty much just hit the “tops of the waves” on each of the segments, but hopefully, there’s some information here that will help you as you think through the best way to recognize the people within your company. If it’s helpful to you, then thank Ms. Mabry…

Tom