Recognizing People. Inspiring Greatness.
Roy Saunderson's blog
ABOUT ME.jpg) Roy Saunderson, RMI President and Founder Roy Saunderson is a leading North American expert on employee recognition. He is president and founder of the Recognition Management Institute. A professional speaker for over 20 years, Roy founded the Recognition Management Institute over 12-years ago to address the difficulty managers have giving effective recognition to their employees. He has consulted and presented to clients across North America such as Bell Canada, Boeing, Ceridian, Disney Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, and 3M Canada as well as government departments and professional and trade associations. MEET MEFOLLOW ME
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
“See Something. Say Something.”I was recently at the Seattle, Washington airport and heard the usual TSA security announcements. You know the ones I’m referring to: don’t leave your luggage unattended or if you see anything suspicious or notice any unattended luggage, please report it to security. You’ve heard them all before. You can almost zone them out.
Except this time, I heard something “new” to me.
See something. Say something.
This was the catchy line they used to direct people’s attention to airport security procedures.
In my case, it reminded me of recognition. If you see something that merits recognition or appreciation…simply say something about it right away. Don’t wait. Say something!
From airports to our offices, from our homes to our children’s school playground, recognition should extend beyond our professional lives and into our personal lives. Be on the lookout for the positive things that can be reinforced with recognition!
See something. Say something.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Recognition is for...Prisoners?I stumbled upon an article in the March 23rd copy of The Globe and Mail relating how prison officials in Wuhan, a city in Central China, use awards to recognize prisoners to help them feel better about themselves. This was reported through Orange News U.K.
Context: This is a high security jail in Hubei province and the convicts are given prizes and awards for:
Awards: Event: Prison staff holds what they call an “Olympic Games-style ceremony” where they present recipients with their awards. Award: From the limited information given to the media, prisoners who merit the awards receive a red flower – the picture above reveals this to be a chrysanthemum – a small gift (which was not described), and a certificate. Results: While this is certainly a media relations story, a prison spokesman said, “It’s good for morale because it gives inmates something to aim for and shows them that hard work gets results. These are important lessons for people who will one day leave prison and go back into the real world.”
The Chrysanthemums flowers given to prisoners are of ancient Chinese origin before their exportation to Japan and the rest of the world. Rich in historical meaning, the flower is often associated with compassion, cheerfulness, rest, loveliness, optimism, abundance, wealth, friendship and secret love.
It is interesting to note that the red colored flower shown in the picture symbolizes love…and isn’t that the real meaning behind every act of recognition…even in prison.
Getting Recognition Right Get recognition right where you work. Contact us to conduct an assessment, create a written strategy or simply educate you on the art and science of giving recognition right for the right reasons. Give Roy Saunderson a call at 877-336-9601 or email RoySaunderson@Rideau.com
Thursday, February 9, 2012
10 Mistakes in Designing a Rewards Program Just setting up and implementing a rewards program doesn't necessarily lead to instant success unless it's done right.Below are the Top 10 Mistakes leaders and practitioners make in companies when designing and implementing their various employee rewards programs.
Are you ready?
Mistake #1: Ignoring your history
Don’t create a rewards program without knowing your company’s past history with rewards. Rewards can be misused and misdirected, and if a negative view is held, you need to correct that image.
Mistake #2: Neglecting to measure before you apply
Do not select the financial/tangible rewards or incentives without first identifying the appropriate behaviors to be rewarded. Some results require financial or tangible rewards and some behaviors can be changed only with social reinforcement.
Mistake #3: Basing KPIs on assumptions
Don’t presume you know what behaviors should be rewarded to produce the desired business results. Observe and speak with the frontline manager and employees and observe their performance to identify the behaviors you need to address.
Mistake #4: Ignoring objective metrics
Know both the objectives of your rewards program and how you will measure them. Make sure you look at objective metrics, as well as subjective measures of effectiveness.
Mistake #5: Rewarding the wrong behaviors
Don’t reward the wrong things. Is it safe practices you want, or on-time safety reports with reduced accidents? What you reward is what you’ll get.
Mistake #6: Not getting feedback from employees
Reward programs work best when they incorporate employee and manager input. Find out if the reward makes an impact with the employees. Ask the recipients what is or is not working and apply these key principles to correct for the future.
Mistake #7: Not paying attention to results
Don’t create a problematic reward system. If you are not getting the behaviors you want, you are not using the right rewards or awarding them in the right way.
Mistake #8: Not connecting the dots
Provide individuals who earn rewards for exceptional performance with the specific reasons for the rewards. Knowing why you received a reward encourages future positive behavior.
Mistake #9: Not giving recognition uplift
Don’t forget to provide meaningful, sincere recognition with rewards. Tell the recipient specifically what they did and how that made a difference.
Mistake #10: Not presenting rewards well
Don't just make rewards a transaction. Take the time to honor the recipient publicly or in person to build relationships.
Do you have a Mistake you would like to correct with your rewards program? Contact us to get a clear answer to your problem or goal. You can call Roy Saunderson at 877-336-9601 or email RoySaunderson@Rideau.com
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Can you give employees too much recognition?Quite simply the answer is “No”.
You can’t give employees too much REAL Recognition – that is, meaningful acknowledgment or expressions of appreciation given in an authentic and genuine manner.
REAL Recognition™ is any thought, word or deed towards making someone feel appreciated for who they are and recognized for what they do. It’s about appreciating people and recognizing actions.
However, I do think you can give too much of the WRONG Recognition. You know the kind: the phony attempts to say “thanks”, patronizing comments, insincere gibberish, unspecific generalized expressions, belittling tone, inconsiderate gestures, and uncaring words and actions.
I can assure you there has never been a research study administered or an organizational employee engagement study conducted where the results came back and all employees unanimously said, “Will you PLEASE tell our managers to stop giving us so much recognition!!”
Never seen it. Never will.
In fact, the far opposite is more often the case
Now, as for rewards, which get misconstrued and misinterpreted as “recognition” – that’s another story.
Can you give too many rewards? Of course you can – just like you can eat too much candy. And like any living thing there is a saturation point for rewards. For rats it is 48 hits of the food pellet machine. You can figure out what your limit is later on.
When rewards are not properly understood and not administered correctly or in a meaningful way, you can certainly end up where tangible rewards has a negative impact on intrinsic motivation.
But more on that topic for another day.
Just don’t stop giving people recognition. OK?
Monday, November 7, 2011
Shared FeelingsIt hit me.
Recognition – the act of expressing verbally, in writing or tangible form our appreciation and value for people and recognizing them for what they do – is all about feelings.
 First, you felt something for someone:· Admiration
· Respect
· Gratitude
· Thoughtfulness
· Thankfulness
· Relief
And off course many other possible attributes and feelings probably come to mind. These are “feelings”.
Those feelings motivated you to “share” them back with the person or individuals who inspired you to have those feelings or emotions in the first place.
Shared feelings. That’s what “REAL” Recognition is all about. FEELINGS EXPRESSED = FEELINGS FELT.
…which makes Real Recognition a felt phenomenon.
“Mary, I really appreciated you making time to call the Jones company representative about their delayed delivery. They just emailed me and thanked me for the heads up. You showed initiative and demonstrated we value our customers. Thanks for making a difference!”
Can you “feel” that kind of expression?
Make sure you share some feelings with others today. You’ll be giving the people you work with and serve “Real Recognition”.
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Power of Recognition at Your FingertipsSocial Recognition is upon us.
Social Recognition is simply the ability for people to recognize other people online and through all the mobile tools now available. Whether it is on a laptop, iPad or Smartphone or using Facebook, Twitter or other social networking tools.
Not only can you give specific congratulations, express appreciation and thank people for their help, you can encourage and reinforce the statements of others through posted comments, “likes” and other annotations.
Social Recognition is the next step up the pyramid from face-to-face verbally expressed recognition and handwritten or emailed written praise and appreciation. And since it is so immediate it can become viral around the organization. You can give recognition privately and publicly as well as acknowledge and recognize the many things that are going on throughout your organization by people you don’t normally see or hear about.
The concerns for using Social Recognition through the current social networking mediums are genuine realities, namely:
· Concerns for Wasted Time
· Risks to Reputation & Confidentiality
· Disruption to the Working Environment
· Security Vulnerabilities
Except now imagine having your company with a customized Facebook-like program to connect your employees and catch them doing things right and sharing this with others inside your own company.
Rideau’s new Social Recognition platform mitigates the risks and puts Social Recognition right at your fingertips.
As a Saas solution with secure internet hosting you can assure company executives that:
1. Security is now internally managed.
2. Inappropriateness of comments can be self-monitored and regulated.
3. Peer-to-peer and manager to employee relationships will be improved.
4. Insights are gained on innovative projects and developments organization-wide
5. And… a deeper recognition culture will be fostered
With a Social Recognition program recognition becomes much more visible throughout the company because everyone has access and can add comments to praise given to someone.
The dialog in written comments shows more positive feedback and giving encouragement to others for what is expected in the company
Social Recognition starts moving recognition beyond the silos of just the employee’s department – it breaks down barriers and shows the whole company ALL what is good that is going on here.
And finally, Social Recognition provides you with powerful information and data. You can search who is using the Social Recognition, who is receiving recognition and why.
Let me know if you want to learn more about Social Recognition and experience the Rideau difference and we’ll put you in touch with the right people.
Email: RoySaunderson@Rideau.com Twitter: @roysaunderson OR call tel: 877-336-9601
Friday, August 26, 2011
Can Symbolic Awards Elevate and Motivate Performance?Here’s a question:
Many leaders think such awards are purely “nice things to do” and minimize their usage in their company recognition practices. Similarly, there is very little scientific evidence to support giving a symbolic award alone would actually impact workplace performance.
Drs. Michael Kosfeld and Susanne Neckermann believe awards can do just that.
Kosfeld and Neckermann reveal some fascinating outcomes from a study they conducted in collaboration with a Swiss international non-governmental organization. Their findings appear in the American Economic Journal: Micro Vol. 3, No. 3, August 2011 The set up: Students were hired online without identifying the employer with the task for doing a 2 hour data entry job at acceptable student wage rates. The job required searching the internet and identifying contact information for assigned municipal communities. Wherever possible they were told to locate presidents and administrators of communities to use in communications because leader information generated better donation request rates. Of course, there were the usual control groups. For the award treatment groups here’s what happened for them: These students had the managing director explain ahead of starting work how they would like to reward the two people who put in the most effort with an award and that the database software would indicate these names at the end of the session. The managing director also explained they would personally congratulate and thank the winners. Interestingly, students were shown the award prior to commencing work (award was a congratulatory card signed by the organization) to ensure everybody understood the award had no material value. No money. No gift. No tangible - just a card award. The award from the organization simply stated words of congratulations to the students for their dedication in creating the community database and how it allowed the organization to systematically mail contribution requests to each municipality. Was there any impact on individual performance? Results showed students in the award treatment outperformed students in the control treatment by about 12 percent on average - a modest gain. These students were able to enter a higher number of data points for communities than control group students – especially leader data. Quantile regression analysis certainly indicated awards had a particularly strong effect on individuals with better than average ability, as they are more likely to actually win the award. Kosfeld and Neckermann feel this research provides strong evidence for the motivating power of status and social recognition in labor relations Awards make a difference. Even without monetary, incentive or tangible association - awards motivate those most able and most motivated. Given by leaders in a genuine and authentic manner appears to certainly impact performance levels. Why not try it in the real world and let us know.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Once More - With Feelings "If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic." – Dale CarnegieHere’s another important, short and sweet tip to keep in mind when giving recognition to people.
Recognition is a felt phenomenon. If you ask employees how they know if the recognition they’ve just received is genuine and authentic, they’ll tell you something that amounts to the following expression: “You’ll know it when you feel it.”
What I want to pass on to you for you to put into practice over the next week or so is this:
When giving people face-to-face or over the phone praise or recognition…make sure you give it with emotion!!
Smile. Be enthusiastic. Put some excitement into your words of expression. Be positive. Have some energy in your body language. Demonstrate you care.
If you want people to feel recognized, express it and show it with feelings.
I am not talking about over the top or extreme display of emotions. Just be yourself with perhaps a greater awareness of the warmth, genuineness and way in which you come across to people when you appreciate someone.
In reality, not only should the recipient of recognition “feel it” – you as the giver should feel positive emotions as well.
Recognition Re: Action: Over the next week try giving recognition in a more enthusiastic and felt manner at least a couple of times.
Would you please email me about your experiences? (Send to RoySaunderson@RealRecognition.com Thanks everyone.
I look forward to hearing your enthusiastic results. Email me when you can.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Say It ForwardThe one good thing about visiting your doctor’s offices is having a chance to read magazines you don’t subscribe to or have a chance to read very often.
I became intrigued by Lisa Bendall’s article on “The Science of Being Nice” in the December 2010 Reader’s Digest.
The article tackles “doing good” from the social scientist perspective of an innate sense of altruism or self-interest.
 Quoting Marylène Gagné, a social psychologist at Montreal’s Concordia University, ”Theres’s evidence that people are likely to reciprocate when someone helps them. They might not reciprocate with the person who helped them, but they pay it forward. People feel they owe something. The society becomes more cohesive, and everyone benefits.” The thought that Lisa Bendall posits is that “good deeds connect us to others”.
Bendall summarizes the research used in the article by stating “we feel good when we do good”.
“It’s why we get this fuzzy, warm feeling when we hold the door for someone,” says Gagné. Performing acts of kindness produces a positive attitude and enhances well-being and self-esteem. It motivates us to do these things again”’
What really peaked my interest was when Gagné pointed out that verbal expression of thanks are also a good deed.
“Thanking people is a good deed. You might be the recipient of help, but just by saying thank you, you’re giving back.”
Whenever you can, initiate random acts of kindness. Genuinely ponder the kindness shown to you and pay it forward to someone else. And always say thank you to people who do nice things.
Let’s Say it Forward.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Just Add Words I am not the best cook, as my wife can attest, so I love making those pre-mixed pancakes where the instructions simply say, “Just add water.” It’s an easy action…and it works!It’s identical with acknowledging positive actions and behaviours in the workplace. Except, in this case all you have to do is this…“Just add words!”
Let me give you a quick insight gained from social science that shows the power of adding the right words.
Doctors Adam Grant and Francesca Gino worked with college students on an experiment. The experiment required sample students to receive a cover letter from a mock student with a request to critique it, and then to return it by email. They never met the requesting student.
For the experimental methods half the students received what we will call a “neutral” email from the mock student. All the email said was they received the feedback on the first cover letter and wondered if they could critique a second cover letter for them. Only 32 percent of the students agreed to do another cover letter for the mock student.
The other group of students received a more “gratitude” oriented email. Their email was worded “I just wanted to let you know that I received your feedback on my cover letter. Thank you so much! I am really grateful. I was wondering if you could help with a second cover letter I prepared and give me feedback on it. The cover letter is attached. Can you send me some comments in the next 3 days?”
The emails were identical except for the added words, “Thank you so much! and “I am really grateful.” So did it make a difference?
It seems 66 percent of this second group of students agreed to critique the second cover letter. That’s double the response from the first group.
The only difference… was words: “Thank you” and “I am grateful.” Those appreciative and kind words created a higher level of positive, pro-social response to help someone.
Imagine what would happen with requests you make of others if you sincerely thanked people and expressed your gratitude.
Next time you send an email to a colleague or direct report take time to add some genuine words of appreciation in there.
And if you send someone recognition or send a reward through your recognition and reward system, make sure you add some verbal or written words of thanks…and gratitude. You may never know how much you will impact the performance of your employees.
It’s easy and it works. Try it…Just add words.
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