Acceleration to Business Results

As our book The Carrot Principle illustrates, the greatest challenge for leaders in growing their organization is not introducing a revolutionary strategy but engaging employees in executing their current strategy. The foundational element of our Recognition Effectiveness Model stems from the research - that goal setting, communication, trust and accountability are the Basic Four elements of effective management.

So to boost engagement and create the results you're going for, recognition must have:

ALIGNMENT with what matters most in an organization - whether it's the culture, values, mission or business objectives.

IMPACT through recognizing people the right way - having inclusive programs and creating human and personal recognition experiences that are meaningful and performance based.

Is your organization seeing a positive change in the culture and meeting their mission, values and business objectives?

Do your recognition moments have ALIGNMENT and IMPACT?

Building a rewards & recognition program: One size does not fit all

Remember the baseball movie epic Field of Dreams? In it, Kevin Costner’s character, Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, hears a voice saying, “If you build it, he will come” with the accompanying vision of a baseball diamond. Heeding the call, he plows under his cornfield in favor of the turf and “he,” Shoeless Joe Jackson, and later “they,” others from the 1919 Chicago Black Sox, do come.
Hoping that life imitates art, many HR managers and leaders hypothesize that a recognition program is as easy as 1, 2, 3: sign up with a gift vendor, put your company logo on the standard web template and begin dispensing points, gifts or other awards. That works…if your only goal is marking 1, 2 & 3 from the to-do list. In reality, once it’s built, not too many come, not too much is accomplished and sooner or later senior management starts asking, “So why are we doing recognition again?” Effectual, strategic employee recognition, like other lasting and essential objectives, is not quite that straightforward.
Having seen companies go through this for over two decades, my first piece of advice: don’t pre-suppose that you or your vendor know what solutions are best for your organization without first doing your homework. In addition, don’t let your unique circumstances be pressed into a standardized program. Your focus needs to be on working with your vendor and stakeholders to design an employee recognition solution that produces the maximum impact within your unique business environment and truly effects staff morale. But how do you do this?
A good way to start is by working through a solution design process. Do a thorough assessment of your current recognition state by reviewing relevant employee survey data, conducting focus groups and executive interviews. Next, conduct a facilitated design session where you bring all your key stakeholders together. Find a seasoned facilitator/design consultant either internally or externally who will work with you to answer a few questions like:
What are our objectives and key success factors?
What recognition program criteria will reinforce our desired objectives and goals?
What guidelines should we consider to ensure consistency and fairness across our organization?
What award currencies–cash, gift cards, points, merchandise–and what value should we use in our programs? What are the pros and cons of each?
What should be the approval process for each program, i.e. peer-to-peer vs. manager to employee, or team recognition?
How do we communicate to and train our managers and leaders so they understand the what, why and how of recognition?
How do we measure our return-on-recognition-investment (RORI)?

A key deliverable from the design session is a recognition blueprint. A good blueprint includes plans for:
Alignment and impact – Your recognition reflects your organization and aligns with your goals, objectives, mission, vision, and values.
Leadership development and training – Train your managers. Companies who invest in training deliver on average return on equity three times higher than those who don’t.
Communications – Keep recognition top of mind and bolster what’s most important at your company. With effective communications your recognition takes off; without, it pancakes.
Measurement and assessment – Focus on metrics to drive RORI and validate to your key stakeholders that strategic employee recognition is good business and can improve your bottom line. A Towers Watson study on global recognition showed that a 15% improvement in your employee engagement scores can lead to a 2% improvement in operating margin.
Awards – What award currency works best for you? How often should your people be recognized (frequency) and what percentage of your employee population should be recognized (reach)? How much should you plan to spend on awards in Year 1, 2, 3 and so on?
Ongoing impact management – After implementation and launch, you need to ensure that your solution continues to meet the ongoing goals and purposes of your strategy. Continually review and fine-tune to meet your changing needs.
Technology – Technology is important and an assumed component of any recognition program–dashboards to track activity and results in real-time, social appreciation tools to extend the reach for the recipient and great fulfillment systems. Technology will be most effective as it supports the key strategies outlined above.
Whether you develop a recognition program internally or work with a vendor, look for a stable software platform that is customized to your brand, is easy to use, and has recognition tools and reporting to assist your users, managers and administrators in their unique recognition roles.
Build your employee recognition solution the right way and they will come. You can drive sustained, positive culture change and lasting business impact.

Chris Vyse – O.C. Tanner
www.octanner.com/blog

The Carrot Principle Training Seminar - 6/3/2010

Corporate America’s most valuable training program is now offering open enrollment with limited seating!

The Carrot Principle Training Seminar teaches Managers how to engage employees and accelerate performance through purposed recognition.

Greater Washington DC Metro Area

Date: Thursday, June 3rd
Time: 9 am - noon
Location: Capital One Headquarters, 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN

• The science behind recognition's impact in an organization (based on the New York Times bestselling book The Carrot Principle and it's 10-year, 200,000 person study)
• Why aligning recognition with your organization's core values, goals or strategies can immediately engage employees - initiating immediate results.
• How recognition done right can accelerate performance, increase productivity and impact you bottom-line in a down economy.
• How and when to most effectively recognize employees, along with countless low- and no-cost ideas to help you personalize recognition efforts to your team or organization.
• How to form an action plan and implement a recognition strategy today.

All registered participants receive the A Carrot a Day Recognition toolkit, a copy of the New York Times bestselling book The Carrot Principle, educational videos, stationary, and more!
All this for only $199!

* plus taxes and shipping

REGISTER NOW! Call our office at 410-661-5668 or email Ellen.Sparks@octanner.com

"The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit."

Save the date - June 3, 2010: Carrots are coming!

By Natalie Limneos
O.C. Tanner - Baltimore Office

I just got back from a week at our Home Office in Salt Lake City. Not only was I wowed by the picturesque scenery and fresh mountain air, I was overwhelmed by the whole O.C. Tanner experience. I consider myself well and truly a Carrot Convert.

I've only been with the company since July 2009 so this was my first trip out to our home office and my first experience with Carrot Training.

Now I know my testimonial may come across as biased to some, after all I am an employee, but make no mistake, I suddenly experienced an 'AHA Moment' as I witnessed a glimpse of The Carrot Principle Training Seminar hosted by the wonderful Andrea Gappmayer.

The training resonated deeply with me which is why I felt compelled to write something on a personal level. I feel that so many employers don't actually realize how important appreciation is.

Before joining O.C. Tanner I was with my last employer for 7 years. Leaving was possibly one of the hardest things for me to do, but I honestly felt that I had no choice, as I felt so unappreciated.

In this economical climate it is exactly the same for employees everywhere!
There have been cutbacks, and people are working harder without the incentive of that once annual bonus or pay rise. Employees are shouldering extra responsibilities, many of which are not what they signed up for and are anything less than pleasant. This is where, just like in my case, morale hits rock bottom and good people end up moving on.

This is exactly why recognition is so vital for all companies, regardless of their size. The Carrot Principle Training Seminar teaches employers just that. It demonstrates the effectiveness of employee recognition and how appreciation has such a positive effect on company growth and productivity.

I highly recommend this seminar to any employer, no matter the size of the company. This training just puts companies back on the right track. It teaches employers the value of their people, how to keep them engaged, and ultimately how to grow, especially in these troubled times.

We are very excited to announce that The Carrot Principle Training Seminar is coming to the DC area. Don't miss this opportunity to participate ‘in America’s most valuable training program’.

The Carrot Principle Training Seminar
Date: Thursday, 3rd June 2010
Address: Capital One, 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102-3407

More details will be posted soon, but please feel free to call our office for more information - 410-661-5668. We look forward to seeing you there!

Don't forget to appreciate!

Five Tips for Effective Employee Recognition

How to Reward, Recognize, Award, and Thank People Successfully
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.

When you consider employee recognition processes, you need to develop recognition that is equally powerful for both the organization and the employee. You must address five important issues if you want the recognition you offer to be viewed as motivating and rewarding by your employees and important for the success of your organization.

The Five Most Important Tips for Effective Recognition
You need to establish criteria for what performance or contribution constitutes rewardable behavior or actions.
· All employees must be eligible for the recognition.
· The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded and recognized.
· Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward.
· The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behavior the employer wants to encourage.
· You don't want to design a process in which managers "select" the people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed forever as "favoritism" or talked about as "it's your turn to get recognized this month." This is why processes that single out an individual, such as "Employee of the Month," are rarely effective.

A Working Example of Successful Recognition
A client company established criteria for rewarding employees. Criteria included such activities as contributing to company success serving a customer without being asked to help by a supervisor. Each employee, who meets the stated criteria, receives a thank you note, hand-written by the supervisor. The note spells out exactly why the employee is receiving the recognition.

The note includes the opportunity for the employee to "draw" a gift from a box. Gifts range from fast food restaurant gift certificates and candy to a gold dollar and substantial cash rewards. The employee draws the reward, so no supervisory interference is perceived. A duplicate of the thank you note goes into a periodic drawing for even more substantial reward and recognition opportunities.

More Tips About Recognition and Performance Management
· If you attach recognition to "real" accomplishments and goal achievement as negotiated in a performance development planning meeting, you need to make sure the recognition meets the above stated requirements. Supervisors must also apply the criteria consistently, so some organizational oversight may be necessary.The challenge of individually negotiated goals is to make certain their accomplishment is viewed as similarly difficult by the organization for the process to be a success.

· People also like recognition that is random and that provides an element of surprise. If you thank a manufacturing group every time they make customer deliveries on time with a lunch, gradually the lunch becomes a "given" or an entitlement and is no longer rewarding.In another organization, the CEO traditionally bought lunch for all employees every Friday. Soon, he had employees coming to him asking to be reimbursed for lunch if they ate lunch outside of the company on a Friday. His goal of team building turned into a "given" or an entitlement and he was disappointed with the results.

· There is always room for employee reward and recognition activities that generally build positive morale in the work environment. The Pall Corporation, in Ann Arbor, MI, has had a "smile team" that meets to schedule random, fun employee recognition events. They have decorated shop windows, with a prize to the best, for a holiday.They sponsor ice cream socials, picnics, the "boss" cooks day, and so on, to create a rewarding environment at work. Another company holds an annual costume wearing and judging along with a lunch potluck every Halloween.

Rewards and recognition that help both the employer and the employee get what they need from work are a win-win situation. Make this the year you plan a recognition process that will "wow" your staff and "wow" you with its positive outcomes. Avoid the employee recognition traps that:
· single out a few employees who are mysteriously selected for the recognition,
· sap the morale of the many who failed to understand the criteria enough to compete and win, and
· sought votes or other personalized, subjective criteria to determine winners.

Take Action Against Low Morale

If you’re feeling that morale is running a little low around the office this New Year, you’re not alone.
Almost 25 percent of U.S. employers say morale among workers at their companies is low, according to a survey released by CareerBuilder. "Low morale levels are an unfortunate side effect of this recession," says Jason Ferrara, vice president for the company. Employees reported:

• Having trouble staying motivated at work in the last year

• Not feeling loyal to their employer

• High stress levels and increased work levels in the last 6 months

To give employees a much needed boost Ferrara suggests taking measures to help address negative workplace sentiment and motivate employees. Whether you step-up communication, offer more employee recognition programs, or provide flexible work opportunities—the time to act and engage your employees is now.

Incentive Magazine’s 2009 Platinum Partner Awards

More than 40,000 buyers of recognition and incentive programs voted O.C. Tanner as the standard of excellence in the incentive industry and made us the winner of Incentive Magazine’s 2009 Platinum Partner Awards’ Corporate Gift Services category--for the fifth year in a row. Your business and support have helped us succeed.

Your ideas and desire to appreciate great work in the best ways possible push us to elevate recognition practices and drive improved results for you. As our partner, this prestigious award reflects your success and hard work as well. Many thanks to all of you!

Employees Report Low Morale & Motivation

Nearly one-quarter of employers rate their employee morale as low, 40% of workers say they have had difficulty staying motivated at work in the last year and 24% say they do not feel loyal to their employer, according to a CareerBuilder survey of employers and workers. “Low morale levels are an unfortunate side effect of this recession,” said Jason Ferrara, vice president of corporate marketing for CareerBuilder. “As a result, employers are taking measures to help address negative workplace sentiment and motivate their employees. Whether it’s through stepping up communication, offering more employee recognition programs or providing flexible work opportunities, organizations are doing what they can to proactively manage low morale.”