Been reading about employee engagement, retention and recognition and it got me thinking.  All too often, I think organizations get it wrong. Groups come together, conduct surveys and wheel out the treasure chest of recognition.  This has a shelf-life of about 3 weeks, and that’s if people really work at it. 

In the times of budget crunches and work force reductions, I doubt too many managers have extra cash – or time – to be doing recognition programs.  And if programs had been in place you and I both know that these are the first programs to feel the purse strings tighten.

Try this on…Recognition isn’t a program – it’s a way of being.

There is no start.  No implementation planning committee.  It’s going to end when the last Kudos bar is gone. 

There is just you (and me!) and the way in which we choose to show up in the world.  Simple.  Hardly easy.

To incorporate recognition into your way of being there needs to be a commitment.  Every commitment starts with a belief.  A belief that it’s going to make a difference.  Think about that diet or workout program. To change my current habits, or way of being, I need to have a belief that going to the gym is going to make a difference.  Out of that belief grows commitment. So, do you believe recognition makes a difference in employee satisfaction? How about employee performance? (Hint:  the research says yes!)

I know, you’re thinking “people stop going to the gym everyday and fall back into old habits.”  You’re right, they do.  I do. This is due to my own BELIEF that this (working out) isn’t really going to make a difference. I lose my belief long before my commitment. This lack of belief, then, shows up in me sleeping in, driving thru, and not getting out to exercise. 

If you want to make a difference in the lives of those you work (and live) with, be different. It’s not any more you have to add to the to-do list.  It’s about your way of being. 

A simple thank you. A new and exciting work assignment. A time to spend with the kids. It’s the simple things that we can do every day to recognize.

What ways can you recognize someone today?