Recognizing People. Inspiring Greatness.
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People respond to something that costs little or nothing, and that something is called recognition. Ed Lawler
Click here for recognition quotes archives Click here for Mark Twain recognition quote archives RECENTLY READ
ABOUT ME Peter Hart, Rideau President and CEO Transformative. That single word defines the adventurous career of Rideau President and CEO Peter Hart, and the indelible impression he continues to leave on organizations because of his original approach to recognition. A recognition pioneer, Peter spearheads the vision of integrating recognition as a definable, measurable process that makes an impact on employee engagement, retention and performance. As a business leader, Peter has transformed Rideau and led the development of 5 separate corporate start ups. The approach has positioned Rideau among the world’s best recognition providers. FOLLOW MESUBSCRIBE
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Where Everybody Knows Your Name!Who can name where today’s topic came from?
Here are a few hints... - It was a famous tune Of course it came from the long running TV show "Cheers." Company managers should catch up on Cheers reruns because the show’s basic premise provides a simple but powerful lesson in employer engagement. “Employer” engagement is the prerequisite for “employee” engagement. In other words, don’t expect employees to be engaged if your managers aren’t engaging them. This seems pretty basic, but as common courtesy goes, this is the first step to actually feeling like a valued part of anything. For example, when you enter a restaurant and the maître d’ greets you with a, “Heeey Norm!” You feel like you’re a part of something: you feel respected and appreciated. However, what if the maître d’ can’t remember your name? Even though you eat lunch there five times a week and have put the owner’s four children through college. What if all you get is an awkward look? But you know he remembers you, he knows who you are. You realize he may be just having an off day, maybe his hamster fell off the wheel temporarily. Nevertheless, you can’t help think he just couldn’t be bothered to retain your name. It’s a situation neither of you want to be in and nobody feels good about. So what can “Cheers” reruns teach us? That it’s important to have a company culture “Where everyone knows your name!” Recognition starts with a name!
Monday, November 21, 2011
It’s Not Just About the Money… Maslow is Outdated!Every HR practitioner learns about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow first outlined it in a 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”. His theory was fully detailed in his 1954 book “Motivation and Personality”. The pyramid on the right illustrates the basic theory.
.jpg) I believe Maslow needs updating… at least when it comes to North America, it needs updating.
Let me explain. Maslow did have a time and place in North America. For that matter, it still does in many other parts of the world.
But things have changed here in North America since 1943.
According to Wikipedia, in 1945, almost 36% of American workers belonged to a union. That number has declined steadily since the end of the 1940s. In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the national average was only 12.1%.
Why the precipitous drop?
I think it is because society changed and government enacted legislation that reflected the will of the people. Unions lost ground when governments created unemployment insurance, social welfare, Medicaid, old age security, government pensions and a whole host of other programs that covered most people’s basic needs. And many of these programs applied whether the person was working or not.
Yes, in certain parts of the world, basic human needs are not being met and Maslow’s Hierarchy still applies. But in my opinion, in North America today, it is not just about the physiological needs that are at the very foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy. It is about something more…it goes back to existentialism.
René Descartes was a French writer who lived from 1596 to 1650. He is often called the “Father of Modern Philosophy” and his writings on existentialism are still studied to this day. His most famous statement which was written in Latin and translated into English goes something like: “I think, therefore I am”. Nice thought, but not terribly relevant to a majority of people through the centuries.
But things have changed in North America. To the point that Descartes’ statement now has teeth. Employees want to be respected, appreciated and recognized for what they think and who they are. And today, they can afford to quit an organization that doesn’t provide these basic individual needs; confidence in the knowledge that our social programs will catch them if they fall.
Ask yourself if you would stay with a company that disrespected you or didn’t appreciate or recognize you for the work you did? Statistics show that most people today leave regardless of how much they are being paid.
Circumstances have changed. I believe Maslow needs updating by adding on a new foundational layer that deals with these most basic individual needs.
Monday, November 14, 2011
We Are Not All The Same!Some people are so internally driven and have no need for external recognition. For others, it is the exact opposite.
From my perspective, most business leaders fall into the former category. Their intrinsic drive to succeed propels them ever higher up the corporate ladder. If they are driven by external factors, usually it’s money and fame.
That shouldn’t be a problem… as long as they realize that many of their employees are different. But all too often, this is not the case. They look at their employees and wonder why they too aren’t as driven as themselves.
Successful business leaders differentiate themselves by understanding that we are not all the same. What drives one person doesn’t necessarily drive another.
That’s where extrinsic motivators such as recognition and reward programs come into play. Successful leaders use these external programs as strategic tools to drive the type of behavior they want from their colleagues.
Remember, we are all not driven by the same forces. What turns you on, doesn’t necessarily work for the next person.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Do You Only Recognize Performance?I recently read an article about service awards that basically said “Don't reward presence only recognize performance.”
How idiotic!
First, if a company can’t celebrate an employee’s presence and tenure, I’d submit there is something seriously wrong with that company.
Relationships make the world go round. I don’t care if it is in our personal or corporate lives; relationships are the key to success.
So how do you build relationships? At Rideau, we use the following formula…
 My senior management team and I do our very best to try and treat our 250 employees as we would like them to treat ourselves. I personally meet and greet every new hire a few days after they are hired. I’m not talking about a handshake… I’m talking about a sit down meeting where I learn their names and their stories. Where they come from, where they would like to go. A few months later, I meet them again in a small group and go over the history of our company, where we are today, and our vision of tomorrow. I then give them a tour of the entire company. I treat them just as I would a client for those few hours we are together.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the hallway outside my workspace, at a meeting, or at a company event… if I have a chance to recognize the person’s presence I will do it.
Stephen R. Covey says that “Little kindness and courtesies are so important. In relationships, the little things are the big things.” He is so right! It doesn’t take a lot and most of the time it is simply based on the lessons we learned from our folks. And these lessons apply to us all. It doesn’t matter what generation you come from.
So before answering the question, “Is it important to recognize years of service in the workplace?” ask yourself “Why do I recognize birthdays or wedding anniversaries at home?” The answer should be the same. And just as in our personal lives; certain anniversaries are more important, so too in our corporate lives.
We make a big thing about a child’s early birthdays, why? One of the reasons is that we know that the values we give to our children in those early years are so important. It sets the tone for the rest of their lives. Likewise, the same thing applies to those who have just joined our companies.
We know we should treat our family elders with respect. We need to do this for our corporate elders, too. It is a matter of respect and courtesy.
I do agree it is important to recognize performance.
But just recognizing performance is pretty simplistic.
Smart companies place far more emphasis on recognizing behaviors and activities that lead to achievement rather than just the performance itself.
Why?
Because they know that if they can modify employee behavior and activities it will lead to sustainable performance.
Don’t get caught up in believing that performance recognition is the be all and end all.
I’ll close by paraphrasing Tony Robbins…
“The quality of your company is the quality of your relationships.”
Monday, October 31, 2011
We Are Precognition Providers!I have to laugh every time I hear suppliers in our industry say they are “recognition providers”.
The truth of it is that only our clients can provide recognition. We, as suppliers, can only facilitate it by providing what I call “precognition”. “Precognition” is a term from the Middle Ages. It comes from the Latin word praecognitiōn which means to ‘see things ahead of time’. The dictionary defines it as “knowledge of a future event or situation, especially through extrasensory means.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think modern day recognition programs should operate “through extrasensory means” but I do believe technology does give us knowledge of “future events or situations”.
For instance, precognition technology allows us to know when an employee will be celebrating a birthday or a service anniversary. It can tell us when an employee passes or is likely to pass a specific achievement-based level. It can be triggered when a certain amount of points have been accumulated or when a certain threshold has been obtained triggering a status change.
Rideau’s advanced technology solutions manage all aspects of our client’s data. Sophisticated algorithms “precognize” our clients so that they can recognize their employees.
I have to admit, I got a few raised eyebrows when I told our IT department they were in the precognition business.
But they “recognized” what I meant immediately!
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Millennial ChallengeMy sister-in-law Carmela and brother-in-law Marcellin are both elementary school teachers in their early 50s. They have literally helped thousands of young children to read, write, count and learn about life’s most valuable lessons. Both of them are hard working. Needless to say, they are great with kids. At family gatherings, all the young children gather around Marcellin and he entertains them with games and stories. Clearly, these are people whose work has become a lifetime vocation.
Both of them teach in the Quebec school system. The system has a great program whereby qualifying teachers can opt into a program whereby they only collect a portion of their salary and bank the rest. Once the bank is full, teachers can take a year sabbatical and still get paid.
Carmela and Marcellin both entered the program a number of years ago and last year took a six month trip around the world. They visited Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Egypt, Greece, Italy and other European countries. They came back recharged and energized and ready to apply the things they saw and learned in the classroom.
So what does Carmela and Marcellin’s trip have to do with the millennial challenge?
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about “Me versus We” leaders.
I think Carmella and Marcellin embody “We versus Me” employees.
Contrast their story with an article CNN ran this summer on 27-year-old Grant Gadoci. Grant works for a company called HotSchedules. Last year he said he needed to take a year off of work. His rationale was simple… he loved travelling and apparently his company allows employees, indeed encourages them, to take time off. So off he went. The article went on to say as long as an employee’s work was done they could have unlimited paid vacation along with other benefits such as massage chairs, a Ping-Pong table and a gaming suite along with other company events. Grant is indeed lucky to work for a company that can provide these types of benefits.
Grant represents many of today’s new generation workers… one that places “Me” ahead of “We”.
I believe, the real millennial challenge is to figure out how to reach and engage Grant and millions of others like him.
To be frank, I’m not sure the vast majority of the companies out there could afford to do what Grant’s company is doing from an economic or from a customer service perspective. Business is tough today and not everyone has Google or Microsoft’s high margins. We need to create an all-weather model that all companies can use.
It starts with understanding our past.
In North America we value individualism and that is a good thing. However, over the last few generations, we have placed far too much emphasis on individualism as opposed to the greater good of society. Business hasn’t helped… loyalty to employees went out the window and the new message was basically “you are on your own”. This resulted in more workplace self-reliance and much of this attitude was brought into the family home.
Leaders need to re-establish trust and credibility with ALL generations in the workforce. They need to be open and transparent. They need to teach the virtue of patience and engage their employees. Most important, they need to inspire millennial’s. Leaders need to help millennial’s feel part of something bigger than themselves, which is good not only for them, but for all.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tweeting for CharityI’ve written about my colleague, Max Brown, in the past. Max joined Rideau in 2009 and is the Principal of Leadership Initiatives for Rideau’s Recognition Management Institute. Max writes a blog for us and has been Tweeting since September 2009. Twitter is a perfect forum for Max, given how busy he is responding to the needs of our clients all over North America and the world. I’ve traveled with Max and when we’re sitting at an airport and there’s a lag in the conversation he pulls out his phone and sends a thoughtful Tweet.
Max recently found himself on a Huffington Post list recognizing 40 leading Tweeters who champion their favorite non-profit to their followers. “I was completely surprised in being selected,” Max told me, “but, of course, I will happily accept any and all publicity for my favorite charity, Love146, whose mission is to end child sex slavery and exploitation.”
.png) Max uses his Twitter platform to share his philosophies, ideas and thoughts with over 30,000 followers! That’s an impressive number of followers in just two years. He recently received a Klout influence rating of 72 and a Twitter Grade that lands him in the top 10,000 of over 10 million Tweeters!
Max recently posted a graphic to his blog indicating Twitter’s incredible growth. Amazingly, the number of tweets per day grew 252% from 2010 to 2011 to over 92 million. Just more evidence of how social media is changing the way we communicate. I’m certainly glad that, with Max’s help, Rideau is part of this revolution.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Sometimes You Get Lucky!A few posts ago I wrote how Dan Ruiz and U2 could teach us a thing or two about rewards. Basically, I said that rewards come with a price. And usually that price is hard work and patience.
My daughter Veronica read the post (she is one of my few readers) and said it wasn’t always true, sometimes you get lucky... and then she asked me if I remembered hearing “Sting sing”!
Let me explain what happened.
Our recent cruise ended up in Venice. We sailed into Venice early on a Thursday morning. It was truly one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Veronica, Francine and I were alone on deck as we glided by Piazza San Marco.
.jpg) Later that day we visited La Fenice, Venice’s beautiful Opera House that was destroyed by fire in the 90s. It was the subject of a great book by John Berendt called City of the Falling Angels. Afterwards, we visited the Penny Guggenheim Museum. The museum is situated right on the Grand Canal in her former home. She is buried in the garden along with all of her beloved dogs. Penny Guggenheim was a big patron of the arts and helped bring artists like Jackson Pollack to the attention of the world.We had a great day and walked slowly back to our ship for our last night on board. Veronica stayed out till the early hours with all the new friends she made on the cruise while Francine and I had a quiet evening. The next day, we disembarked and took a water taxi back to Piazza San Marco because my wife, Francine (who should have been a travel agent) had arranged things so we had one more day and night in Venice. We spent the day exploring Venice. We walked walked and walked some more! We did the obligatory gondola ride and had lunch in a quiet piazza watching all the people go by.
During the day, we noticed posters publicizing a concert that Sting was giving with La Fenice Symphony Orchestra that night in Piazza San Marco. The concierge at our hotel laughed when I asked if tickets were still available for the concert. Apparently, they had sold out within a few hours. He did suggest that we go to back to Piazza San Marco and see if we could make a dinner reservation at one of the restaurants as you would be able to hear the concert.
So around 5pm we did just that. We went to Piazza San Marco. The orchestra was on stage rehearsing for the evening’s show and we watched for a few minutes. Then Francine started making the rounds of the restaurants. Most were fully booked but one wasn’t and she started negotiating with the owner in Italian. Veronica and I did what we normally do when Francine starts negotiating with someone - we walked away!
 Suddenly, the music swelled up and we heard someone who sounded like Sting singing an “Englishman in New York”. At first Veronica and I thought it was a recording but then we realized, no, it was Sting! There he was, dressed in a blue jogging suit rehearsing from center stage before the orchestra! Francine joined us and for the next 90 minutes we had a command performance with Sting only 25 yards away!
I told Veronica she was right, sometimes you can get lucky with a nice reward! But then I reminded Veronica about the morning after Sting…
Francine had really wanted to visit the Doge’s Palace and San Marco Cathedral. But the line ups were horrendous on Thursday and Friday. So we decided to get up really early on Saturday morning and be first in line. And we were rewarded… there was virtually no one in Piazza San Marco... not even the pigeons!
So I rest my case… most of the time you have to work for the things you want!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Force Rank Companies… Not EmployeesWe never saw my youngest daughter, Veronica, after the first couple days of our recent holiday cruise. You see, she signed up for the ship’s youth program. The choice was hang out with Mom & Dad or her friends… we lost!!
The ship had an open dinner seating policy and it was fun to see Veronica dress up almost every night to go out and dine with her dozen or so friends in the formal dining room!
My wife Francine and I usually keep pretty much to ourselves when we go on cruises but not this one. We couldn’t! As we went on port tours, Veronica kept bumping into her many friends who were with their parents. Thanks to our young socialite daughter we ended up meeting some very interesting people from all over the world!
Veronica became good friends with one very nice young girl from the UK who was living with her parents in Geneva. We spent quite a bit of time with this girl’s parents. The father was a corporate lawyer who worked for a large US multinational. We exchanged stories about working in foreign countries… him in the USA and Switzerland, myself in Ireland and England. He told me that about a third of his caseload revolved around HR issues, specifically, performance management.
It turns out that performance management in the European Union (EU) is quite controversial, especially forced rankings.
 Forced rankings are when companies make managers evaluate the performance of their employees and assign a numeric value to each person. GE’s Jack Welch was famous for making his managers divide talent into three groups: the top 20%, the middle 70%, and the bottom 10%. And many of the bottom 10% were shown the door.My lawyer friend told me that in the EU it is perfectly legal to evaluate and take action against someone who is not doing their agreed upon job. However, problems start occurring when you take action against an employee simply because he or she falls into the bottom part of the forced ranking scale.
The reason is simple…
When an employer hires the employee, it is to do a defined set of tasks as outlined in a job description, not to compete against other employees, which is what forced rankings are really all about. My friend also said that many of the cases he works on come from employees who feel they were discriminated against because of their age.
To me, this is another nail in the coffin for a fundamentally flawed way of treating people. Employers in North America may have been able to get away with forced rankings in the past, but this will change as we adopt Europe’s more progressive outlook.
Companies should focus on improving the performance of ALL employees. I believe the coming talent crisis is going to “force rank” companies; those that do not have enlightened HR policies and work cultures that attract, retain and engage employees will be left holding the short straw.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Are You a “Me” or “We” Manager?My wife Francine, youngest daughter Veronica, and I just returned from summer vacation. It was an amazing trip. We flew into Rome and stayed there a few days. We then took a 12-day Mediterranean cruise that ended in Venice. We stayed there a few days and ended our vacation in one of our favorite cities, Paris. We walked hours and hours each day and saw the most amazing things. We returned home physically tired but mentally refreshed and recharged. The cruise was good but there were surprises. Normally, we visit the Caribbean but we decided to try the Mediterranean and visit places we had never seen before. Because the ship left from Civitavecchia, the port of Rome and was calling at other ports in Italy, as well as Monaco, Greece and Croatia we expected it to be very multilingual…after all, our last Caribbean cruise made announcements in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. You can imagine our surprise when the only language used on this ship was English. Most of the ships we have sailed on had Scandinavian, Dutch or Italian Captains. This one was from the UK and when he addressed his passengers he went on and on and on! But the strangest part was what he said; all good news was delivered in the first person, i.e. “me”. Any negative news, such as a missed port or a late departure was delivered in the third person, i.e. “we”. Francine and I noticed that his written communications to passengers were delivered exactly the same way. At first, we thought it was just us, but it wasn’t. We overheard other passengers remarking on the same thing. We probably won’t sail with this line again simply because, although the ship was supposed to be top of the line, the service did not reflect that. You could see that there was tension amongst the crew. It made us wonder if the captain’s “me” vs. “we” management style affected his crew. Could the crew’s negative attitudes be a result of never being given credit by their leader for the positive things that the passengers experienced? Real leaders share responsibility with their crew or even give all credit to them when things go well. Likewise, a real leader takes responsibility when things aren’t working out as intended. This Captain did neither of those things and his team suffered as a result. Management is all about “we” and seldom about “me”. 
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Do I recognize their presence? 