One of the most pervasive problems I encounter in working with managers is getting them to find time to practice employee praise and recognition. Managers are often too busy focusing on what's urgent--such as dealing with daily crises in their jobs--and as a result don't have any time left to focus on what's important--namely, the people they manage. This situation is unfortunate, as extensive research on employee motivation indicates that the most motivating incentives reported by employees are ones that are personally provided by one's manager--the most important of which is a personal thank you for a job well done. Yet in one study some 58 percent of employees report that their managers seldom, if ever, thank them for doing a good job when they do so.
The situation is made worse by the false perception on the part of many managers that they are, in fact, providing employees with plenty of praise and recognition. According to Aubrey Daniels, a leading authority on the topic of performance management, "Those managers who feel they do it (positive reinforcement) the most, in my experience, actually do it the least." That is, managers may have learned along the way that they need to be positive, but on a day-to-day basis they often are doing very little to catch their employees doing something right.
Worse yet, often the positive reinforcement they are practicing is incorrect, for example, providing individual feedback that is nonspecific or insincere, praising some employees while overlooking others that have also done good work, being overly general in their praise, or having their facts wrong about specific performance they want to acknowledge.
How can managers start praising their employees more? Like any behavioral change you have to find a way to make it habit--a natural part of your daily routine. For example, I've been successful at getting analytical, task-oriented managers to start praising employees more by getting them to think of their people part of their things to do list. I recommend that managers list the names of each person that reports to them on their weekly "to do" list and cross each person off the list once they have given him or her a praising based on that person's performance. For some managers, such a specific technique helps make the activity from being a general, intangible activity to a specific, finite action item--thus much easier to complete.
In another example, Hyler Bracey, president of The Atlanta Consulting Group, knew he wanted to praise employees more, but found his good intentions did not often translate to daily behavior. To correct this situation, he started putting five coins in his jacket pocket each morning and transferring a coin to another pocket each time during the day that he gave positive feedback to an employee. Within a few weeks the new habit took hold and praising employees became second nature to him. Says Bracey: "Praising employees truly works. There is so much more energy and enthusiasm in a workplace where praise has become ingrained in the manager."
Every manager needs to find forms of recognition they are willing to do. For some managers writing personal notes works; for other managers being visible and "managing by walking around" is the ticket. Still others might sanction a group celebration as is warranted.
The power of positive reinforcement can only occur as managers find time to put the principle into practice on a daily basis with each of their employees. Remember: "Good thoughts not delivered mean squat."
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