Types of employee commendation that matter to all

I’m the human resources (HR) manager of a medium-sized bank. I find that writing letters or memoranda commending employees is a lost art. Sometimes, when incompetent managers must write letters of praise, they miss out on important details that make the process insincere, if not worthless to the recipient. Could you help me come up with a better approach? — White Lily.

A man tells his wife that her mother was throwing pebbles at him from the second floor. Asked how he could be sure, he replied, “I would recognize her laugh anywhere.”

Harboring a sense of suspicion is normal. However, we can make things easier by focusing on the issues, rather than concluding that some managers are “incompetent” — the equivalent of suspecting them as pebble-throwers. Of course, there are managers who may have risen to their level of incompetence. It is possible that they don’t understand how to motivate people; many of the theories for doing so are confusing or complicated.

The trouble with applying theory to writing commendation letters is that real life is complex. So here are a few more straightforward approaches for commending and motivating workers effectively.

SIX APPROACHES
Workers whose best efforts go unnoticed and remain unappreciated could entertain negative thoughts at some point. This may cause them to become demotivated, leading to a feeling of career stagnation. Bosses may also be reluctant to convey their appreciation to workers out of an unwillingness to be “corny,” or out of fear their words will be misinterpreted.

Without hearing appreciative words from the boss, and in the absence of opportunities to shine, employees are bound to lose self-confidence and develop a negative self-image. Here are some steps you can take to prevent this from happening:

One, be clear about your performance expectations. A job description may not define all your expectations because they’re written in broad, general terms. Even if they carry a shotgun provision like “all things necessary to perform the above-stated job functions,” workers may still be confused about your expectations. This is one good reason why managers should ensure that all work standards are crystal clear.

Two, catch people doing something right. You can discover many good things about your workers. Start by focusing on their small wins. Assign them low-hanging fruit to build their confidence. If they do well, write encouraging e-mails or reply to their e-mails with positive feedback. Their personal growth will start showing in due time.

Three, build on their strengths. Don’t highlight any weakness or mistakes, and not in front of other people. If a person is good at data collection, give them additional responsibilities related to analyzing the results. Challenge them with something new or valuable insights from the reports they collected.

Four, be specific about worker achievements. Don’t just say: “Congratulations! You did a good job on Project X.” Instead, cite pertinent details on how a worker satisfied your expectations. Here is an example: “With your dedication in completing the project two weeks before deadline, we avoided a potential $5,000 penalty for delay and maintain our goodwill with an important client.”

Five, maintain a consistent management style. Don’t confuse employees with an erratic style. They’re often suspicious of managers who are stingy in complimenting people who suddenly start showering them with flowery words. Consistency is key. If you don’t have it in your record, the people will know it right away and dismiss your new approach.

Last, figure out the employees’ aspirations. Find out from the individual and not from the boss or elsewhere in the company. Intrinsic rewards generate positive feelings regardless of the absence of extrinsic factors. Be sure to ask the following questions: “What are your career ambitions? What is making you stay in this company? What are you trying to achieve?”

ALL FOR ONE
Writing effective commendation letters is key to motivating workers. You shouldn’t avoid them and deliver verbal praise instead. The important thing is to understand the dynamics of rewarding a single person and how others might react.

Singling out a person of one group for compliments while ignoring colleagues can be awkward. It is often best to commend an entire team rather than one person, unless it emerges from the team itself that they credit one person for a successful outcome.

Without a cohesive and well-oiled team, praise of one person can lead those left out to undermine their colleague and keep them from helping one another. If you don’t know how to handle such a situation, no reward and recognition will retrieve the situation.

Have a chat with Rey Elbo via Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or send your workplace questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting