Lessons in employee recognition

Yesterday Captain Chesley Sullenberger and his US Airways Flight #1549 crew were awarded keys to the city at a ceremony at New York's City Hall.

During his speech, Capt. Sullenberger was quick to point out that his heroic efforts were not alone, setting the record straight by saying that it was a crew effort that made the dramatic rescue possible.

While some might say he was just being modest, I think his words are something that every company manager or leader should live by, demonstrating the importance of giving praise and recognition to your team.

During these difficult economic times when people are seeing colleagues being made redundant or are perhaps taking on a greater workload while pay rises and bonuses are a distant memory, it is important to keep the morale up of the employees who do remain in a company.

If someone is doing a great job, tell them. Or even if a project needs improving, by taking a few minutes to provide thorough feedback, it shows that you care about their work and are supporting their endeavors.

In the middle of churning out report after report or document after document, try not to neglect the human aspect of communication. A quick exchange of 'how was your weekend' or 'how are the kids doing?' can be a nice respite from the daily grind and help lighten the mood around an office. Try to show you value your employees as people, rather than as 'machines' just cranking out the work.

Upon completion of a project, why not take five to congratulate the key participants rather than immediately delve into the next phase?

Having recently completed three successful videos in a week, a Producer friend of mine was thrilled to receive kudos around the company. She said it made the hard work and long hours pay off in a situation where she had to do most of the work herself on an extremely tight budget. And after the praise, she's now more motivated than I've ever seen her.

As Editor of simply-communicate, I frequently dole out praise and express gratitude to our contributors who have taken the time to write us some really good pieces. Whether the articles are 800 words or 1200 words, their efforts must always be noted and appreciated especially since they are providing useful advice for our 16,000 readers around the world.

-Kelly