It is pretty obvious, but still bears mentioning, how important it is to recognize and celebrate your employees’ desired behavior whenever you see it demonstrated, and then, to reward it appropriately and publicly.
The rewards don’t have to be expensive, but they do need to be public, timely, and delivered with heartfelt appreciation. Small gifts can still be a “WOW” in the eyes of your employees.
Sometimes it takes a lot of extra work and critical thinking by an employee to deliver high value to a client or discover a new advantage for the organization. Unless reinforced, employee and volunteer motivation to demonstrate those desired behaviors may erode and they may regress to just putting in time.
These desirable behaviors probably will not automatically happen, and they certainly won’t repeat themselves unless everyone knows just how critical client focus really is. Too much reinforcement is probably better than too little.
At our company, ee used several tools to thank people. Among them:
- small yet meaningful “spot bonuses”,
- special dinners, with spouse, at upscale restaurants
- public recognition at regular staff or special meetings
- and of course, salary increases
What types of recognition would work in your organization?