Page 120 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Recognition

not. Do these different responses impact you? Of course. You
can call it manipulating others if you like, but the point is that
we are constantly affecting others’ thoughts, behaviors, and
feelings based on what we do and say. Wouldn’t it be better
to understand the impact of your actions and use them stra-
tegically to make your employees feel more appreciated and
respected?
5. “I don’t see my employees enough; we are at different
locations.” You don’t need to physically see your employees to
praise them. Use the phone, send e-mail, or write a short note.
Your efforts will mean more because the employee recognizes
the challenges of connecting in person. Sales representatives
who cover physical territories are particularly prone to feeling
disconnected and unappreciated; they need extremely com-
mitted supervisors willing to be resourceful and do what it
takes to connect with and recognize these employees.
6. “I have too many employees.” Being able to regularly
praise more than twenty-five direct reports is challenging.
In such cases, you need to enroll and train foremen and team
leaders to recognize and reinforce good behavior. Encour-
age all team members to bring to your attention an employee
who goes above and beyond. Use highly efficient methods of
praise, for example, morning or afternoon huddle meetings
to praise individuals or teams publicly. My personal favorite
is to use my travel time to call and thank employees.
Another suggestion is to focus your energy. For example,
you could select one particular theme to reinforce over the
course of a month, such as safety, and just be on the lookout
for behaviors related to that theme. Obviously, having many
employees is a challenge, but you can still be effective at
recognizing good behavior. By the way, when you do praise
employees, they will be especially appreciative because they
realize how challenging it is to manage such a large staff; it