Do We Need Employee Recognition?

Do We Need Employee Recognition?

The Perils of Doing Nothing

TRICIA MIKOLAI
Managing Director - Oceania BI WORLDWIDE

Every organisation has a set of goals to achieve, and it's a constant challenge to reach them. Competitive forces are greater and margins are smaller. Customer expectations are higher and room for error is lower. Organisations face significant Pressure to achieve financial targets, but nothing can be accomplished without the right people taking the right actions at the right time.

Success is all about your people: what you need them to do more of, what you need them to do differently and what you need them to stop doing altogether. It's exactly like being the captain of a rowboat: if you've got a boat filled with rowers, you need them all rowing In sync to reach your destination.

Unfortunately, in the real world. leaders can't step out on deck and see how all the rowers are performing at a glance. In the real world, it's easy to assume everyone is 'rowing' together because the company keeps growing. The big questions are: could it be growing higher, with less cost and with better customer experiences? Could you be gaining market share at a faster rate, launching more innovative products or expanding globally?

To continue with the rowboat metaphor, every organisation has several kinds of rowers.

• Top performers: they have natural talent and are intrinsically motivated to succeed. Point them in the right direction, give them the rhythm and let them go to work.
• Middle performers: depending on the day, they might feel like rowing hard but they might also get distracted. They know that the top performers are going to keep the boat in motion, so they aren't too worried about the consequences if they let go of the oar now and then.
• Bottom performers: some have never been in a boat before. some are still learning the rhythm and others know that they aren't meant for the sea but have nowhere else to go.
• Disengaged performers: these people may be so unhappy that they're rowing in the wrong direction just to slow the rest of the boat down.