Creating a Culture of Recognition

[Amy]

I'm leading a team of folks who's charge it is to guide a division of a large company's effort to increase employee engagement. One of our focus areas is to identify factors necessary to create and sustain a culture of recognition and then to start to build that culture. We have plenty of programs at our individual locations as well as at a division level so I don't want to end up with another program.

Does anyone have some suggested resources ideas on how to focus this team on the cultural elements rather than purely create more hard to maintain programs?

[Terrence Seamon]

Excellent question, Amy.

A few thoughts...

To change any aspect of an organization's culture, it helps to start with the Change Formula, D x V x F > R, described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_for_Change

A way to bring focus to the cultural elements of an organization is to establish a framework that fits your situation. This website offers tools for such an exercise: http://www.managementhelp.org/org_thry/culture/culture.htm

The foremost expert on Recognition is Dr. Bob Nelson. At his website, you'll find some good stuff related to your question, e.g. http://nelson-motivation.stores.yahoo.net/crcuofre.html

Best of luck!

Terry

[Jennifer Schulte]

I think anything to do with creating, or changing, real living and breathing 'culture' in an organization is very difficult! The culture that exists is reinforced by many factors: by the behavior of senior leaders, by what is rewarded and how individuals are measured, and also by 'how things really get done around here.' A great quote I heard a senior manager say was "people watch our feet - they pay close attention to what we do, who we talk to, how we interact, much more than they pay attention to the words we use in a speech."

On your quest (many of us are with you), I think the best place to start is to be clear why the change is important. Why recognition? How will it help your organization achieve it's strategies for success? What is the consequence of not recognizing others? The "what's in it for me" factor is important the farther down the line you go. Get senior managers aligned on the importance and believing it first. What does the desired recognition look like? Once they are clear, they begin acting with belief, really doing what they are asking from others - the first step on the journey. People see it, hear it, and understand what they're being asked to do. Is it a once-a-week "thank you," or a large formal recongition program? Make sure your senior managers are thanking, nominating, recognizing, and relentlessly asking their direct reports what they've done to recognize others. They will get the message and pass it down.

I'm also a firm believer in individualizing recognition as a key part of a line manager's job. A couple of theories that help with this approach are Situational Leadership by Hersey and Blanchard (link to more info: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/situational_...), and the Carrot Principle by Gostick and Elton (link to more: http://www.carrots.com/index.php?page_id=104&page_cat_id=2).

No matter what, culture change tends to be slow ... more like evolution ... so focus on a few small things that have potential to make a 'success' story you can celebrate and gain momentum from!

[David Zinger]

Wow, I love how this network is so helpful so quickly. I know Tim Wright might want to get in on this as he focuses a lot on the culture of engagement.

[Fraser Marlow]

Hi Amy,

Excellent question. I would be curious to hear your definition (or more importantly, your company's definition) of 'recognition' and 'engagement'.

There has been a lot of hyping of "recognition programs" and their impact on contribution (by contribution here I mean people delivering progress against the company's goals and objectives.)

What we find is that while recognition in the sense of incentives or awards works in the short term or allows companies to highlight specific deliverables/behaviors they are after, the true recognition that creates sustainable engagement is meaningful, challenging work and development opportunities. In certain economies (such as right now in India) we see a focus on financial progression, but this is symptomatic of a heated economy with wage inflation.

So trying to change the culture is a great ambition - but rather that focus on recognition programs, we would recommend building a culture where people are clear on their role, what is expected of them and where managers are equipped to have meaningful and engaging conversations with all of their direct reports.

I hope this helps.

Fraser

[Roy Saunderson]

Hi Amy:

There is a great article in this month's WorldatWork Journal, 1Q, 2008 by Frank Giancola on "Linking Rewards with Organizational Culture". The references are very good and should give you a rich source for research and insight.

I have to admit that "creating a REAL Recognition culture" is something I am always striving to achieve with leaders and to help them implement. Visit http://www.RealRecognition.com and explore the articles and the E-zine back issues. My article on "The 3 Factors for Giving Real Recognition" http://www.realrecognition.com/article3.htm highlights the need to examine the values, skills and awareness of the importance of recognition in order to make recognition a way of life.

Another key factor for making recognition "stick" is having a solid recognition strategy where the philosophy, purpose and plan behind recognition is clearly articulated, communicated, and aligned with the culture and the business strategy.

It is more an art that sceince but the payoff is huge.

Let me know if I can help further.

Roy

[Randy Mayeux]

These two books deal with the need to, and ideas for, personalizing recognition. The classic is Encouraging the Heart by Kouzes and Pozner. The newer one is Results That Last by Quint Studer. Here is a key quote:
"What is the one tool, reward, or benefit that would empower and inspire each employee to do a great job – an even better job than they’re doing now – for you, your company, and your customers? In short, what is the what for your employees? Once a leader discovers what the what is for his employees, he’ll be able to deliver it – at least to the best of his abilities. And that’s the real key to employee satisfaction. Deliver on the whats and employees will be happier and more productive than ever. We all have a what."

[Jay Cross]

1. A commitment to transparency. No one can recognize what they cannot see.

2. Candor in conversation.

At Training Directors Forum 2005, Pfizer won a Training Magazine award for, naturally enough, its training. Bob Hathaway described a program entitled Courageous Conversations that struck me as more a culture change than mere training. Most of the organization participates.

The foundation belief is that "An essential competency for line leaders is the robust ability to engage in highly skillful conversations around challenging issues."

Conversations are shaped by the ancient defense mechanism known as the fight or flight response that�s hardwired into every human brain. The fight conversational style is competitive; Pfizer calls this a "win" conversation. The flight style is accommodating, which often involves evading tough issues; this is the "min" style.

Business conversations at Pfizer are no longer knee-jerk emotional responses because people have a means of critiquing the quality of the conversation process. They ask, "Is the information valid? Are we making an informed choice? Are we exercising mutual control over the conversation?�"

Participation in Courageous Conversations is voluntary. Most senior managers have participated. This strikes me as invaluable. Examining the quality of the conversation gives employees a way to conduct more rational decisions.

Craig Weber designed the Courageous Conversations program at Pfizer and elsewhere. Weber Consulting Group, Craig Weber; weberconsulting®earthlink.net.

jay

[William Johnson]

Hello Amy~
Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 of the book Human Sigmadiscusses engagment and the act of engagement. Another great resource on the art of engagement is 12: The Elements of Great Managing. Over the years I have found strong relationships, between leader and reports, to be at the foundation of successful engagement. Additionally I have found the most successful form of recognition, recognition that results in re-recruitment, retention and hightened engagement, is personal recognition between leader and report. A hand written thank you card sent to the report's home is much more powerful than any pin or certificate. Good luck and best wishes in your efforts!
Bill

[Derek Irvine]

Amy, I’m in the business of establishing cultures of appreciation through global strategic recognition programs. Please download my recent white paper -- Designing Your Company’s Social Architecture: Five Steps to Build a Culture of Appreciation across Borders. http://www.globoforce.com/corporate/eng/whitepaper.html It deals specifically with the challenges you face and discusses how a culture of appreciation is the best path to increased employee engagement. This will take you through five critical steps and is specifically targeted to large, global organizations such as yours.

You may also want to read an earlier white paper -- Global Strategic Recognition: Driving the Bottom Line Results through Employee Engagement. This paper covers the recognition best practices we’ve learned from and implemented at the world's largest and most complex companies.

Please get in touch with me directly at [e-mail] if I can advise you further. Or check out my blog at http://globoforce.blogspot.com/.

[Stephen Smith]

Thanks for the link Derek, I am starting a new job with a big company and I need to get folks engaged. I will be participating more fully shortly.

[Derek Irvine]

Anything we at Globoforce can do to help, just let us know. Check out the blog, check out the white papers noted above. We also have some recorded webinars available on our website that you may find useful -- all on the engagement/recognition topic. We are passionate about engaging employees to the fullest extent possible so that they are energized in their everyday efforts.

[Amy]

UPDATE: My team is progressing nicely. I've been helping them to stay on track by focusing our conversation around what's possible not "what is". That said our 1st step was to design what a culture of recognition looks like - in non-programatic terms. And we did it!! Now, we're working on solutions to get us to that state over time. So far, the team has not come up with the typical recognition program or rewards structure. Like many organizations we've been down that path with limited success. I'll post more as we go.