December
Greetings!
 
It's not enough to have "top down" recognition for accomplishments.  As we seek to build strong "teams" we have to recognize the importance and value of peer recognition.  Such recognition instills a sense of team spirit, motivates employees to cooperate with one another and promotes strong. open communications.

I work on building collaborative relationships every day through my consulting work.  Understanding the basics of humor nature is key to obtaining the best results.  My focus working with such groups is the importance of relationship building first.  When we have strong relationships, we trust, we become loyal, we aim to please, among some benefits.

Working with employee groups, it is important to stress that when their peers do something they find helpful, kind, difficult, of high quality, conflict resolution, transparency, etc, they too should express their gratitude and recognition of the "job well done". 


 
The Importance of Peer Recognition
 
Working well together is important no matter what your business The teams I work with are successful because of the focus on respect among one another and fully engaging employees at all levels empowering them to assist in making strong, positive changes in their workplace.  Building in systems that promote and reward positive behaviors among co workers and naturally the "customer" base are very important.  While formality isn't always necessary, it might be a good idea to formalize this desire to continue building strong teams and collaboration through a formal program.  We all appreciate feedback on our performance.  It is especially effective when we know our peers were positively effected and they too appreciate our efforts as well.

Consider developing a formal Peer Recognition Program. Like any formal program you have to establish clear, objective guidelines and measures. 

What should you consider when developing such a program?
  • Define what you are focusing on that meet your strategic goals and fit your mission and vision
  • Consider objective measurements and clearly define those 
  • Keep the program current so that it represents new goals and actions
  • As with all that I do and express to my clients...Involve your employees in developing this program and all of the components
  • Keep on track with evaluating the effectiveness of this program once in place
  • Set clear criteria to all incentives or tangible awards

For my clients, the notion of ongoing communication related to the unit plans we create through my work with employee teams is built into how they do business through the leadership development tips and coaching that I provide.  Keeping track of goals accomplished and ensuring employees realize the accomplishments are recognized  is so important for leaders to make as a priority. 

Many formal programs fail or are not as effective as they should be because they are not clear enough, not perceived as "fair" enough and criteria may be in conflict with what employees are "seeing".   Role modeling desired behaviors are key from all levels of management.

 

In the end, when we "put our money where our mouth is" we see the results we desire.  We make it clear that our organization values are in practice.  We see stronger retention, performance and employee engagement overall. 

 

For my clients, this idea of effective, sustainable change, by fully engaging employees and building strong teams while instituting effective methods and processes of collaboration, are obvious and results are clear.  Consider the manner in which you engage your staff to obtain optimal loyalty and the highest quality of performance!
 
Warm regards,

 
Jeannine Brown Miller, MA, SPHR
 President, Organization Development Consultant
 
JBM HR Consulting Inc.