Superstars
will always be superstars. That’s what
they do, that’s what they have done, and that’s what they will continue to
do. And your superstars will always be
the ones who get the recognition, who get the awards, who get the promotions. And frankly that’s as it should be.
But
we keep hearing from managers and employees alike, that there’s a whole group
of just regular performers out there who rarely if ever get any of recognition
or appreciation at work. We see that all
the time in employee surveys that say that lack of recognition and appreciation
are top reasons why people leave their company and search for a new career.
It’s
unfortunate, but while managers know this exists they are either reluctant or
uncommitted to find a way to recognize performance at all levels. It’s easy to reward someone who hit the cover
off the ball, but what do you do with the consistent faithful workers who are
there day after day just doing their job?
They probably represent the middle 70-80% of your workforce that is
called just “regular” employees. They
are the hard working people you can’t do without. They are the ones who quietly slip out the
back door for another company who will respect them more than you do. They are the backbone of your company.
Unlike
superstars, there might not be any standout performance or above and beyond
behaviors in this group, but we all know that nothing would get done without
them. And it’s precisely because they
don’t produce standout exceptional work that they are ignored, and if you are
implementing a recognition program based on the above and beyond, these will
never be winners.
Do
you know what it’s like to go through you work life and not be recognized?
In
any well planned recognition system you must be careful to not just recognize
the superstars. A great way to
accomplish that is to apportion some of your recognition budget for a peer to
peer program and let your employees recognize themselves. You may be surprised who they find to reward,
and as easily surprised at the reasons for the award.
The
United States has a long and proud history of our men and women in the
military. Did you know that the vast
majority of the recipients of the Medal of Honor were not the standouts, not
the he superstars, not the leading officers of their time? They came from the “regular army, navy air
force and marines.” They were just the
middle of the pack that did extraordinary things at extraordinary times. We often term the majority of our employees
as “regulars.” Is it time to see them in
a different light?
These
are the people who are trained and focused on doing the right thing and they do
it day in and day out. These truly
deserve your appreciation. Don’t forget
them when you plan your next recognition campaign.
