Effective recognition is key to engaging your team in the increasingly tough work we ask them to do. Luckily, we have an expert to guide us. HR鈥檚 senior director of employee experience, Christian Sherwood shares how you can better recognize your team 鈥 starting today.
By Christian Sherwood | 2 minutes
"HOW TO" RECOGNIZE GREAT WORK
There is so much great work happening all around us. Now, more than ever, our staff need to know how much their extra effort means to us! We鈥檝e added to make it a little easier for you to show your appreciation.
Your success depends on your team. Of course, your leadership skills play a role, but success doesn鈥檛 come from leadership alone. At U of U 亚洲自慰视频, success means that patients get great care, and that takes teams of people. As leaders of teams鈥攂ig or small鈥攊t鈥檚 your job to let your team know their work matters.
RECONGITION TAKES MANY FORMS
Just as there are many , recognition can and should take many forms.
High-level, system-wide recognition is valuable. For example, a national acknowledgement or an employee-of-the-year nod is high-level. However, this type of 30,000-foot recognition is not accessible to most of our staff. It may seem impossible to achieve, and even if achieved, it can feel impersonal if not handled in a personal way. It鈥檚 kind of like the 30,000-foot view of this sparse desert landscape. Without context or specific details, it seems uninviting, even unattractive.
FROM 30,000 FEET, YOU DON'T SEE MUCH
As the direct leader of a team, you have the benefit of proximity and context. You are involved in the day-to-day details of a staff member鈥檚 work because it affects you, too. You are best equipped to bring recognition down to ground level with specific, meaningful acts. With your insights, you bring texture and true color to what could be seen as generic and bland at 30,000 feet. With a ground-level view, even this same desert expanse has color and texture.
THERE IS TEXTURE AT THE GROUND LEVEL
EFFECTIVE RECOGNITION IS
- Frequent (not once or twice a year).
- Reflects organizational (and your) values.
- Appropriate to the achievement.
- Tailored to the individual.
(Adapted from )
TAKE WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY DOING, AND DO IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER
You鈥檙e likely already taking time to recognize your staff. Here鈥檚 how to do it a bit better:
1. GET ORGANIZED
It鈥檚 easier to provide timely recognition when you are organized.
- Set up a monthly, recurring 30-minute meeting on your calendar to recognize your team. Have a big team? Make it weekly. Once in the habit, you'll see opportunities you didn't see before.
- Use opportunities that already exist!
- For Hospitals and Clinics leaders, make a plan to use the $75 per FTE in your budget.
- Use the Hospital leaders鈥 tool to write a personal, specific email and give $20 to a member of your team.
- If you receive emails from other people recognizing your staff members via Pulse鈥檚 Recognize Great Work or the Hospital leaders鈥 Reward Great Work tool, make a folder and save the emails. Use these during one-on-ones, annual reviews, and team meetings. Multiply the recognition that someone else already did for you!
- Take a minute to remember years of service anniversaries. Hospital HR sends reminder emails to leaders of full-time staff with an upcoming service anniversary; print out the certificate.
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE
While extravagant recognition has a place, simple and sincere is also effective. Add recognition to what you already have in place.
- Add a 30-second shout out to staff meetings or huddles.
- Highlight great work on break room bulletin boards.
3. MAKE IT PERSONAL
It doesn鈥檛 take a lot of effort to make a simple 鈥thank you鈥 a personal gesture.
- Use real words that mean something. Use specific examples of a project or action that made a difference.
- Recognition feels like an afterthought when it isn't timely, so don't delay.
Have questions or a particularly difficult situation for recognizing your staff? Write it in the comments below. Let鈥檚 figure something out together!
P.S. That desert is the landscape of my 亚洲自慰视频hood home... warm, colorful and inviting when at ground level.
This article was updated May 18, 2020 to reflect new information. It originally appeared January 24, 2019.
CONTRIBUTOR
Christian Sherwood
Chief Human Resources Officer, 亚洲自慰视频 of Utah 亚洲自慰视频