Comments on: How recognition programs backfire

By: Marilynn

Marilynn — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:42:00 +0000

We had a big problem with tardies and call in’s. Now every Monday we play a hand of poker with all of the employees who had perfect attendance the week before. The winning hand gets 20.00 and the 2nd place hand gets 10.00. Amazing how many people are able to make their full 40 with a little somthing extra.

By: Debby

Debby — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:47:26 +0000

Work for a fairly small company (8- in the office) can have its up-sides and down-sides. There are times when the bosses are generous with rewards/tokens of appreciation, then for some unknown reason (we haven’t stopped performing) the rewards dry up. There are some who see acts of selfishness amongst the owners/execs and total disregard for us lackeys!! This back & forth ajenda is definately moral killing! The moral of the story: A little kindness goes a long way when showing appreciation to your staff. And please, don’t use donuts or food as rewards!!

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:31:41 +0000

I used to work for a small non-profit agency. We had a recognition program where all staff would put a note about one of their co-workers in the box for our monthly all staff meeting. At the meeting we would randomly share the notes and draw a name or two for a small gift or maybe a little paid time off. This way everyone got to hear the good stuff about their co-workers.

By: Caroline Slade

Caroline Slade — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:22:22 +0000

We are a private, non-profit school and funds are tight. We award the front parking spaces for specific time period for our Employee Recognition.

By: Shelly

Shelly — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:46:53 +0000

We are a state-funded agency. We, too, are mostly Medicaid funded. We do not have a budget for bonuses/awards…in our field, these are unlawful expenditures under Medicaid’s governing rules. To recognize outstanding employees, we simply give them an “Employee Recognition” (printed on regular copy paper) citing the reason for the recognition. The verbiage of these awards are then published in our monthly newsletter, sans the name(s) of the employee(s) who received them. This eliminates repercussions from jealous or resentful peers. It also helps other employees find creative ways in which to earn recognition for themselves.

By: Judy Nelson

Judy Nelson — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:09:09 +0000

Good article. We don’t have any sort of incentive program. We serve at-risk youth from low income families. While we are not a state agency we are funded by the state and are also reimbursed via Medicaid. I don’t know how this would impact the possibility of starting such a program. Interested in any imput and also what other small companies do. Thanks!