Employee Recognition: 6 Tips for Rewarding Employees Effectively

Executive Summary By Nick McCormick

Many managers struggle with recognition. Most err on the side of not recognizing their team members enough. Very few provide too much recognition (
Make Their Day!: Employee Recognition That Works). Here are a few tips to help guide you toward recognizing well, and benefiting from the results.
1) Just Do It – You need to make the time to recognize. Make a commitment to recognize at least one person per month. Set aside time in your schedule to do it: assess who might deserve recognition; determine what the recognition will be; acquire the recognition item(s); and deliver the recognition. The process is time consuming. It’s little wonder that it is neglected.
2) Match the Reward with the Accomplishment – Don’t give an employee 2 movie tickets for saving the company thousands. If an employee does something great, reward them accordingly. If they achieve a minor accomplishment give them something small. Mismatching rewards can really confuse recipients and their peers, and ultimately it can do more harm than good.
3) Get Personal – Normally people tell you not to get personal. The opposite is true with recognition. It shows that the manager has enough interest to put in the time to find out about and remember your interests. Also, you actually get something for the person that they enjoy. After all, that’s the whole point.
4) Timing is Everything (almost) – Recognize team members shortly after the accomplishment. If there is too much time between accomplishment and recognition, the impact of the reward can be decreased dramatically. First of all, the person goes weeks or months without the much deserved positive feedback. Imagine what they are thinking? “Doesn’t my manager realize what I just did? Is he/she too busy to realize the importance of my accomplishment? I spent so much time on that. Why do I even bother?” Second, it implies that the manager didn’t see the recognition as being very important, which doesn’t send the correct message.
5) Be Specific – Don’t reward someone for being a wonderful employee. Their compensation should cover that anyway. Rather, point out exactly what they did to merit the recognition – completed xyz project, received a client letter, etc. Recognition should reinforce the behavior. So, be specific about the behavior that warranted the recognition.
6) Make it Public – People like to be recognized by their peers. It is further validation of their accomplishments. In addition, recognition is not just about reinforcing the behavior of the individual(s) being recognized; it also affects the behavior of others. Don’t miss out on this ancillary benefit.

Tips in Selecting the Best Employee Recognition Gifts
Executive Summary By Janet Verra

Employees are one of the many vital people that comprises a business organization. To show a great appreciation to them, an employee recognition gift would be best. You help them also increase their work interest and confidence to continuously do their work efficiently.
However, choosing the best recognition gift for your employee is not easy. Probably, an employer must save an amount of money for the recognition gift for his employee. Find a simple recognition gift to your employee that she/he will like it. For instance, one of your target employee that should be given a recognition gift is interested with books, then you should buy him a book.
Just don't get tired of recognizing your good employees, appreciate them!

A Lot Of Positives With Employee Recognition Awards
Executive Summary By Rama Krishna

Employee Recognition Awards
There has been one or two past experiences where Employee Recognition Awards have led to feelings of jealousy.
The above mentioned situation can very well arise if the awards are not planned and executed well or are infrequent. The other two parts of the forms are saved in company records and will contribute towards the award that the employee may receive.

A Look at Extrinsic Motivation

Executive Summary By David Peters
Sometimes extrinsic motivation can be of the positive kind while other times it can be negative. Positive extrinsic motivation (
Motivation for Success - Successful Motivation) can come by way of incentives, money, discounts, etc.
Many workplaces offer promotions, cash incentives or trips as a form of positive extrinsic motivation in a tangible way. Other forms of extrinsic motivation that are commonly found at offices are intangible forms such as public commendations or praise for a job well done.
Extrinsic motivation has its negative side as well. Negative extrinsic motivation can also be used to push people into doing something.
Negative motivation often takes the form of threats, blackmail, bribery or pressure in one form or another. Extrinsic motivation is very much a part of many workplaces. Intangible rewards work as extrinsic motivation, which include praise for one's accomplishments and/or a public acknowledgment of work that was well handled or well done.

A Clear Explanation of What is Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation
Executive Summary By Frank De Sousa
Motivation is a driving force. Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivators are not as effective as intrinsic ones, so being self-motivated gives you a better chance at succeeding. Motivation is intrinsic (internal); it comes from within based on personal interests, desires, and need for fulfillment. However, extrinsic (external) factors such as rewards, praise, and promotions also influence motivation.
It is an individual matter and one needs to know and understand the individuals that are to be motivated because most individuals have their own goals and aspirations.

Apter Motivation - Understand Its Intrinsic And Extrinsic Forms
Executive Summary By Abhishek Agarwal
Hobbies undertaken by students, such as fishing or camping are examples of intrinsic forms of motivation. They undertake these tasks for the pure joy of the task itself.
So how do you know when you experience intrinsic motivation? With the work scenarios as they are today, company managers are constantly looking for new ways to motivate their employees to work harder, by offering various fringe benefits and rewards, and this is again an example of extrinsic motivation at work.

Learning How To Learn

Executive Summary By Ken Fields
We go to school to learn; but, did we ever learn how to learn? How do we learn arithmetic? How do we learn to communicate? How do we learn to respect, trust and love? How do we learn anything?
Learning how to learn {
How To Learn To Love Yourself (healograms Series 2)} is important because if we don't or can't learn, we're in big trouble! Obviously, we did learn. We learned many behaviors and a fair amount of knowledge. Simply stated, learning is a process of creating, arranging and re-arranging neural interactions and neural program structures within the brain. We're actually pre-programmed and hard wired for learning and we really don't have to learn how to learn. But, we can learn how to enhance and magnify our capacity to learn. All learning is in the brain. Even if we are learning a physical dance movement with our feet, the learning is taking place in the brain where neurological "magic" is happening. Depending on how that date comes in can greatly accelerate, or impede, learning. Also, a process called "synaesthesia" is often referred to in learning theory. Specifically, an environment that induces relaxation was optimal for learning. The proper rhythms used alternatively, either from background music or sound, is also highly conducive to accelerated learning. Gee, kids might even like coming to school to learn! Want to learn to fly an airplane? Subdued lighting, soft background, trance inducing music and relaxation are a highly effective environment for learning and visualization.
Ever wonder why it's so hard to learn new behaviors?

Learning Styles Affect Teamwork - Insights For Leadership
Executive Summary By Ken Long

Published by Experience based Learning Systems, Inc (2005). Homogenous groups perform equally, regardless of quadrant. Mixed groups are shown to outperform homogenous groups on a wide variety of problem types. Training students and group members on LSI and ELT theory will improve their learning and their group performance in problem solving. Notes on research on ELT (Experiential Learning Theory)

The Word - Personality
Executive Summary By Pedro T Gondim
Life is a learning experience. What is Personality?
Overview of the Personality Framework
Personality psychologists within each approach emphasise different aspects of personality, favor different research methods, and use different standards to evaluate sufficient explanations.” (Peterson 1997)
Understanding personality involves not only analysing the individual as a whole, but considering individual behaviour in a particular social context. Culture plays a major role in defining the variants between individuals. Theories of Personality
(Peterson 1997)
Psychodynamic Theory
Encouraged by Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, psychodynamic theories emphasise motivation and emotion as the major dictators of personality, along with the presence of unconscious divergences of individuals. This perspective concentrates on the conflict between an individual’s biological motivation (instincts) and the social rules which guide common individual behaviour. Trait Theory
The Big Five is a model of personality that describes five defining personality traits. Phenomenological Theory
Phenomenological theory dictates that conscious thoughts and beliefs are the major determinants of personality. The personal construct theory suggests that our interpretations of the world around us create our personality. Therefore the concept of personality is a flexible one.
Phenomenological theory was further developed by Carl Rogers’ self-actualisation concepts. Social Learning Theory
Finally, the social learning theory focuses mainly on the influence of social dynamics and learning. This approached is based on behaviourism and it stresses the importance that the human learning process has in the formation of personality traits. In social learning theory, the most important psychological process is learning. According to them, people learn behaviours that decrease their physiological drive.
Bandura affirmed that people learn through modelling, and such modelling becomes the main determinant of personality. The Human Perspective
Personality is not only part of the realms of scientific research and behavioural studies.

Inspiration

Executive summary by Kenneth MacLean

I believe that there is a subtle and powerful distinction between motivation and inspiration.
Motivation can also happen on the reflexive flow, or self–to–self. Usually, motivation requires a kick in the butt from self or another, in order to reach a stated goal. How effective is motivation along the road to manifestation?
In politics, motivation is enforced by law. If you don’t pay your traffic ticket, your drivers license is suspended. Failure to pay your taxes results in a judgment against you, fines, and even jail. A cursory look at our society shows us that motivation by punishment doesn’t really prevent law breaking. Congress never reads the laws it passes).
Self–motivation is a little better, because it involves more free choice. Inspiration is entirely self–generated, and comes from within. “Why aren’t I passionate about my life?” If you examine your life you’ll see that the things you don’t like doing NEVER come from inspired decisions! The answer is that the state of being with which you created your job, and with which you continue to create your job, is not self–inspired!
[fractal image of a seahorse. Sorry, but images aren't allowed in this article]
A fractal is extremely sensitive to changes in the initial statement. Your initial decision or intention guides your actions and the way you feel, until another decision or intention is made. The difference between motivation and inspiration is very subtle, but also very powerful.
Exercise:
1) Write down an area of life that is not going as well as you’d like.
2) Examine your thoughts and your beliefs in this area. Write them down without editing or trying to make yourself look good.
3) Examine your list and decide if there is any way you could change these thoughts in a more positive direction.
4) Do 3) until you feel inspired.

Motivational Quotes About Aspiration and Life
Executive summary By Shawn B

Take the time to dig through them and glean the great lessons that they hold.
1. When a young man sets out to learn something of his own free will, he marks himself out as an exceptional man. And he begins to rise in the world. -Herbert N. Casson
2. Life is a petty thing unless it is moved by the indomitable urge to extend its boundaries. Only in proportion as we are desirous of living do we really live. - Jose Ortega y Gasset
3. It is asked, how can the laboring man find time for self-culture? I answer that an earnest purpose finds time or makes it. It seizes on spare moments and turns fragments to golden account. A man who follows his calling with industry and spirit, and uses his earnings economically, will always have some portion of the day at command. And it is astonishing how fruitful of improvement a short season becomes when eagerly seized and faithfully used. It has often been observed, that those who have the most time at their disposal profit by it the least. A single hour a day, steadily given to the study of some interesting subject, brings unexpected accumulations of knowledge. -Channing
4. Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. -Thomas Edison
5. I am suffocated and lost when I have not the bright feeling of progression. -Margaret Fuller
6. I know of no more encouraging fact than the ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. It is something to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so make a few objects beautiful. It is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look. This morally we can do. -Thoreau
7. What would be the use of immortality to a person who cannot use well a half hour? -Emerson
8. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain
9. If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. -Thoreau
10. 1) Sit quietly for a moment, and you realize how you have been foolishly running about.
2) Learn to keep your mouth shut, and you realize you have been talking too much.
3) Avoid getting involved in too many things, and you realize that you have been wasting your time in unnecessary things.
4) Close the door, and you realize that you have been mixed up with too many kinds of people.
5) Have few desires, and you realize why you have had so many ills.
6) Be human, and you realize that you have been too critical of others. -Chen Chiju (1588-1639)

Self-Help Ebooks - Inspiration and Motivation Mean Profits
Executive summary By Angela Booth

Let's look at three ways you could find topics for a self-help ebook.
1. What self-help topics are you interested in?
Start with your own interests. For example, you may be interested in stress relief, time management, writing (yes, you can include writing in the self-help field), and financial management.
Make a list of any topics you're interested in currently.
Also list any self-help topics you've been interested in in the past. You may have joined a gym at some stage, and been interested in fitness. Perhaps you've just had a baby, and read lots of "baby" books while you were happily pregnant. Perhaps you explored alternative medicine.
A tip: if you're writing an ebook on any topic connected with health, have the ebook vetted by a health professional before you offer it for sale. It's vital that you give good information.
2. Make a list of challenges you've overcome
Your own challenges are also a prime area in which you can find ebook topics.
Perhaps you've been broke, and have paid off all your debts - debt management is a great topic for an ebook. Or perhaps you've suffered a health challenge and have overcome it. If this is your story, share it with others.
3. What's on Amazon's bestseller list?
I love the Amazon bestseller list - it's always crammed with self-help books, and they can give you excellent ideas for self-help ebooks.
For example, I've just checked over the list, and found books on life management, finding a purpose for your life, guilt-free eating, and attracting wealth.
Any of those topics have many sub-topics which you could explore in an ebook.
Here's a bonus tip. Self-help ebook ideas are everywhere. Check out what your friends are reading, and what challenges they're facing. Your next ebook could be just a conversation away.
Happy writing - self-help ebooks are a goldmine. Get yourself a shovel, and start digging for gold today.