Well, November has snuck up upon us, and now not only are we
almost half way through the month, but we’re only twenty-nine working days (give or
take) away from one of the most anticipated times of the year.
Many see the next few weeks as a work deadline, many see them as unproductive
due to all the various vacations, but all see them as busy in one way or
another - HR professionals included. Wrapping up open-enrollment, sending out
communications around annual performance review processes, finishing outstanding projects before the New Year, setting 2012 budgets, etc. – this is an extremely busy time of the year.
With all that being said, there is always room for
improvement, room for growth. And that is what this blog challenges you to
think about – “How can I take small steps every month to ensure that I’m developing,
and that my department is growing in a positive direction? Am I executing best
practices in my industry?” November is a great time of year to do that, because
many are already inclined to do so on a personal level due to the holiday
season – many begin to think about what they are thankful for, whether they have thanked their families enough, what this year has brought them, and what they
are looking forward to in the coming year. By extending this line of thinking
into a human resources perspective, the answers may lead you to some
developmental areas. What would you say your employees are most thankful for?
Do you thank your employees often for their contributions? Do your managers?
What has this year brought the business that you are most thankful for, and how
was it communicated to employees? What is coming in the following year for the
business that employees should be made aware and seen as a positive for them?
Would your employees see your contributions as positive and be thankful for
you? How do you show thanks to your employees?
Most research has shown that engaged workforces can be
substantially more productive and thus profitable, but the elusive part is how
to engage those employees. I suggest, along with an extensive amount of research
by Towers Watson, that implementing a recognition program for employees is a critical
area to drive engagement, especially in companies where areas for opportunity are
low1. Depending on your employee base, you may look to external
vendors for a plug-and-play model, or you may be able to implement a program organically, as long as you understand the basic premise that you need to be
able to reward your employees in a timely, relevant manner, and make sure the
rewards are justified by the action – bigger rewards for better performance / actions. Either way, you’ll need to establish the program’s objectives,
budget, how the program be administered, who can nominate employees for awards,
what the criteria will be used for award levels, etc. Include formal and
informal rewards, as research shows people need to be rewarded every seven days
in order to remain engaged; embrace peer-to-peer recognition, as it will not
only increase the amount of overall recognition taking place, but ensure that
employees will feel engaged longer. You’ll also need to create a communication
plan to roll-out the program, so that is comes across as sincere and that the
senior leadership is fully engaged in this endeavor.
By letting your employees know that you are thankful for
them and their efforts, especially in times where they may not be getting all
the same “perks” they were once enjoying and are working harder and longer due
to leaner departments, you will not only gain more engaged employees, but
reduce turnover and foster an environment of team-building through peer-to-peer
recognition.
Until next month, Be Inspirational!
