motivasi34-kaufman13 How to Harness the Power of Praise by Ron Kaufman Make your office a more effective place to work by catching people doing something right. Another day another dollar"; "Thank God it's Friday"; "You can take this job and shove it!" Why are so many common phrases about work so negative? What would it take for your people to say: "Another day, another welcome challenge", "Thank God it's Monday" and "I'll take this job and love it!"? Some managers claim the best way to motivate staff is through the wallet: increase pay, raise allowances, give more cash incentives. But while money is certainly useful, it is not the only key to human motivation. Sincere recognition can mean a lot more to your staff than just another dollar in the bank. A genuine pat on the back, given at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons, and in front of the right people; can boost staff morale and commitment in ways that money never will. What can you do to build an enduring culture of motivation and reward at your company or organization? What actions can you take to make your people feel recognized, appreciated and esteemed? Move beyond sporadic incentive schemes and predictable "Employee of the Month" contests. These may work on a short term basis, but they do not create a challenging and inspirational company culture. You can make a bigger difference. Here are four key steps to help you build the long-term morale of your all-important team. 1. Learn from Everyone's Mistakes. Before rewarding people for a job well done, assure staff they won't be crucified if things somehow end up poorly or fail. In an environment of challenge and growth, people must try things they've never done before. And they will make mistakes. In a healthy and rewarding culture, people must be encouraged to learn from their mistakes, then quickly regroup and rebuild. Managers should work with employees to understand, rectify and improve. Together they should attack the problems, and not the people involved. Managers might ask aloud: "What can be learned from this mistake? What processes can be improved? Who else in the company should we tell about this error so they, too, will benefit from the learning?" Many companies have rituals for sharing success and achievements, and that's good. But it's the mistake no one hears about, and others blindly repeat, that can pull your ship to the bottom. "Sweep it under the rug." "Turn a blind eye." "What they don't know won't hurt them." These quotes are the recipes for disaster. In Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, Harvey McKay writes: "You'll always get the good news; it's how quickly you (and the rest of the team) get the bad news that counts!" Lead by example: Start your next management meeting by sharing the biggest mistake you've made in the past two weeks. Explain what you learned from the experience. Then ask others for their ideas and input, listen for feedback, and thank those who offer their opinions. You will demonstrate a willingness to learn together, and encourage an open culture of sharing and communication. What about those staff who make no mistakes? Either they are very good at hiding what is really going on, or they are not being challenged enough. The person who only makes small, safe and bureaucratic moves does not innovate or grow. In today's turbulent markets, this is not what you need to succeed. 2. Make Appraisal Criteria Clear. Make sure your staff understand how they are being appraised for increments, bonuses and promotions. Whether you evaluate yearly or monthly, openly or behind closed doors, in writing or in dialogue, staff must understand the criteria for their evaluation. Introduce your standards for appraisal during the initial hiring process, explain it further during new employee orientation, and clarify the process consistently through staff meetings, newsletters and executive forums. After you have published these "rules of the game", keep the playing field fair. Meritocracy demands unprejudiced assessment. Nothing dooms staff morale faster than watching an incompetent who "takes care of the boss" move forward, while capable staff who don't kiss backsides languish in mediocre positions. Ask yourself: "Are the criteria for staff evaluation made clear? Are they openly explained and discussed so that all parties can achieve and succeed? Is the process of evaluation fair-minded?" If your answer is yes, keep moving forward. If your answer is no or maybe, tackle this crucial issue, now. If you are not sure of the answer, check with those whose opinion really counts: your staff. Take a survey, run a poll, ask for immediate feedback. But be forewarned: If the staff says your system of appraisal is unclear or less than fair, you'd better be ready to change. Even more demotivating than an unfair process of evaluation is an unfair process of evaluation that persists, even after staff have given you their honest opinion. 3. Encourage Career Development. Make sure the conversation of career development is always open. Provide staff with a boss, mentor, counsellor or personnel officer who cares about their growth and professional well-being. Show you care about future possibilities and potential, not just current results or past achievements. Help staff understand those competencies required for a successful future. Help your team chart career progressions that are sustainable and realistic. Provide access to relevant courses, seminars and conferences. Subscribe to appropriate publications and circulate articles of interest. Build a library of books, tapes and other useful resources. Keep everyone in the company aware of changes and trends in your industry so they, and you, are not caught flat-footed. You can provide many opportunities for new learning without spending money outside your organization. Start by cross-training one another. Use attachment schemes to integrate neighboring departments, and designate good mentors to show each other the ropes. Launch cross-departmental teams to work on cross-functional projects. Put all these plans into action and your staff's confidence, and competence, will grow. 4. Create Powerful Rewards and Meaningful Recognition. Tailor in-house reward and recognition programs to fortify your company culture. Most rewards are handed down from the top: management praises staff, supervisor recognizes subordinate, boss applauds the workers. Why stop there? You can encourage recognition in all directions. Create a "Bottom Up" award for staff to recognize and compliment their leaders. You determine the frequency and budget for this scheme, but allow staff themselves to select the winners, the reasons for winning, and the appropriate awards. Transform "peer pressure" into "peer pleasure" on a group and individual basis. Have each department or work team select and publicly recognize a different team for their notable efforts and improvements. This encourages cros- functional understanding and coop-eration. Ask each staff member to nominate one or two role models from among their peers. Get the reasons behind their nominations. Then recognize your role models. Publicize the reasons. Reinforce those values and behaviors. Invite customers to participate in your staff recognition scheme. Put easy to use nomination forms at key points of customer contact. Set up a hotline for customers to call with compliments or complaints. Get your suppliers involved. Query them by phone, mail or fax. Thank them for their vote and send them a copy of the praise you then give to your staff. Remember to reward the rewarders. Give special recognition to those managers who excel at recognizing their own staff. What, When, Where, How and Why? What should you highlight with your tributes and commendations? What gets rewarded gets done, so recognize and reward a lot. Cover all traditional categories: targets met, sales accomplished, savings gained, customer compliments received. Then add some spice: celebrate the first account opened in each industry, first repeat order from every new account, under-budget completion of important projects, innovations that save the company money. Acknowledge system and process improvements: fastest cycle time to date, shortest time to respond, most productive shift of the month, and most consistent performance every quarter. Applaud improvement efforts in groups, sections and teams. Celebrate two or more departments -- at the same time -- for their progress in teamwork and communication. To find even more opportunities for celebration, get creative. Highlight the most unusual service recovery, or most unique approach to a common problem. Commemorate the "best mistake" each month, with special focus on the learning that followed thereafter. Create new themes for recognition each week, or month, or quarter. Keep staff motivated with unusual campaigns to arouse their interest and stimulate innovative actions. When should recognition be provided? To sustain a vibrant culture, keep praise flowing in programmed and spontaneous ways. The end of the month is a natural time to give rewards for targets and goals achieved. The end of the quarter aligns with financial accomplishments. The end of the year is an expected time for bonus, increments and promotions. But the beginning of each week can also be a good time to set short-term campaigns in motion. And nothing beats Friday for a few off-the-wall commendations. In "The One Minute Manager," Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson encourage readers to catch people doing something right. That means recognizing good actions whenever and wherever you see them. Give merit to your deserving "Employee of the Moment" - why wait for the end of the month? Where should you give out your awards and commendations? To build an encouraging culture, make the recognition widely known. Give praise at staff meetings, team meetings, management meetings and executive forums. Award prizes at the company picnic or family day. Bestow special honors at the annual dinner and dance. Create tea parties, breakfast gatherings or end-of-the-week celebrations. Use every opportunity to commend superb performance and recognize successful efforts. Highlight your awards in the company newsletter. Notify the local newspapers. Send press releases with photos to your industry publications. Create a Wall of Fame in your plant, office or building. Take down some of the impersonal decorations and put up visual reminders of your most successful projects and praise-deserving teams. How can you provide staff with meaningful recognition? By making the awards something your staff will appreciate and remember. For example, when the recipient is an outgoing type, throw a party, make a big fuss, go for all the publicity you can muster. If the winner is shy, however, consider providing praise in a more personal way: special meeting, a thoughtful letter, a hand-written note on their desk. If you are going to award a prize, try to make the honor reminiscent of the achievement. For the fastest production team, buy running shoes. For the engineer who devises a better way, go out and bronze a spanner wrench. For sales teams that hit the target, host a party with a tournament of darts. You can give useful work tools as practical reinforcements. A new workstation can be a major motivator for a technically minded professional. A direct telephone line can mean success to the salesperson starting out. New business cards mean a lot to junior staff: give them as a premium for good performance. And finally, why should you provide so much reward and recognition for your staff? People have many choices of where -- and how hard -- to work. An encouraging culture motivates us to give our best. A sterile or discouraging culture diminishes our enthusiasm daily. Where would you rather put in your best effort? At one local company, staff's admonition to the newcomer is: "If you do a good job around here, you get to keep your job. But don't expect recognition." Now that's a culture that needs to change! To make the change and make it last, you must build your company culture. Create a community of recognition, encouragement and support. It's not an easy job, and the change won't happen overnight. But you must take the lead and meet this important challenge. The company you build and the people you inspire may be your greatest rewards of all.