While I spend a fair amount of time reading non-fiction in an attempt to learn new things, I mostly watch trashy TV shows—among them Survivor, What Not to Wear, and The Office. I learned that my esteemed colleague and friend Murray Levitt also has a soft spot for The Office which we leveraged a few years ago when we led a series of workshops at an HR conference in Palm Springs (it was grueling work, but someone had to do it). Among an array of best practices we examined with our group a belief that there are no neutral transactions in recognition. Either you do it right, or you do it wrong.
We used the The Office to illustrate this point. In the episode “The Dundies,” Michael Scott, the highly irreverant and hilariously inappropriate manager of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton office, hosts the company’s annual recognition event which takes place at Chili’s (red flag number one). Throughout the ceremony, Michael presents awards to various members of the team. In true Office fashion, the event is a disaster that leaves everyone insulted and/or humiliated. The Dundies are an extreme parody of recognition gone wrong, but they do reinforce the premise that recognition can more than fall flat, it can backfire. In other words, if you’re not going to do it right, perhaps don’t do it at all.
Who defines “right” when it comes to employee recognition? There are tried and true best practices that don’t go out of style (i.e., consistency, commitment, control, communication, choice, cultural alignment, etc.). Most of the mistakes seem to be centered around budget, (in)sincerity, and initiatives or reward structures that are off-target.
Companies that view recognition as a cost versus an investment run the risk of underfunding their programs. Think about it. Recognition is a form of communication—you’re telling employees what you value. If you value them to the tune of a $5 gift card a few times each year, they are likely drawing alternate conclusions (e.g., I’m not valued, Seriously?, Keep your $5 gift card, etc.). Underfunded programs are indeed a cost on the books rather than an investment that will pay dividends.
When it comes to sincerity, this is free. Employees can spot a fake a mile away. On the flip side, there is nothing as powerful as being thanked in a heartfelt, genuine manner. Some managers are naturally better at this than others. When you break sincerity down in real-life, is sending a single Thank You to a large group of people sincere? Could we do better?
Finally, recognition programs that haven’t evolved with changing business demographics are likely to flop. While our industry and clients have successfully moved past toasters and TVs, we are still learning what makes the younger generations tick. Should today’s recognition program be centered around retention/years of service or around innovation and getting the most from these bright, future leaders while they happen to be on our payroll? One could argue that we need both types of programs, at least in the near future. What we DON’T need [except for on TV which is still funny] are recognition programs like The Dundies. The most benign and therefore meaningless Dundie was the “finest work award.” Most other categories were unsuitable for a blog of this nature but can be found if you know where to look.
P.S. In the Chili’s parking lot after The Dundies, Pam and Jim share their first kiss. This was truly a groundbreaking episode.