Page 118 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Recognition

remember him ever telling me that he really appreciated my
efforts.”
Peter contacted me shortly after we spoke. He had decided
to call one of the many clients who had offered him a job over
the years. When he submitted his resignation, his boss was in
complete shock and said, “I don’t understand. You’ve done so well
here. You’re such a great asset to this company.” Peter’s company
lost a great employee because his manager failed to engage in the
most basic tenet of the RESPECT Model, namely, to recognize and
acknowledge employees for their contributions.

I Don’t Praise Because . . .
Despite the overwhelming evidence demonstrating the impor-
tance of recognizing employees, supervisors and managers con-
tinue to have a plethora of excuses for not doing so. Here is a
list of common excuses given by supervisors for not recognizing
employees and my responses to them:

1. “I don’t have the time.” This is by far the most frus-
trating response because people that say this fundamentally
don’t understand the impact of praise. Effectively recogniz-
ing an employee typically takes a few seconds or perhaps a
minute. How long does it take to write a note or an e-mail
that says, “Tom, I just wanted to say really great job with that
presentation this morning”? If you went all out and stopped
by an employee’s office space to thank her in person, how
long would that take? If you’re really concerned about saving
thirty seconds, you can make your feedback a stop on your
way back from lunch.