Slater's Bold, Budweiser Slide Farewell Underscores the Importance of Daily Employee Recognition

Many of you have probably kept up with the questionable, but wildly supported actions of Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who finally had had enough of obnoxious customers and job stress. From the Aug 11, 2010 USA Today article, the following information clearly underscores why employers should be doing all they can to show their appreciation for their employees given this unprecedented environment.
Slater did what many workers fantasize about and may do with increasing frequency - albeit with less showmanship - once the economy rebounds. "I don't think we should be surprised that once the economy starts ... picking up, there's a massive relocation of workers who want out as fast as they possibly can," says economist Joel Naroff, president and chief economist of Naroff Economic Advisors.
"That's the warning that I don't think businesses really recognize: You can pull this off now because there isn't really an option, but once there's an option, it's going to be payback time," Naroff says. "You're going to be losing some of your best people."
AND
The support for Slater likely is rooted in more than simple sympathy for a stressed-out airline worker. "People juggling multiple jobs and taking on tasks they wouldn't have to take on in a better economy may be pushing us to the limit as far as stress goes," says Katherine Muller, a clinical psychologist and director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. "But it's also human nature to want to rebel against rules and structure sometimes. I wouldn't be all that surprised that even if we were in a booming economy, folks might react the same way. I think we all have a fantasy where we'd like to respond in that way: That if we have a really rough day, we might want to act out like that."
As the economy slowly recovers, burnout is rampant, with Americans working more but their productivity declining. Government statistics released Tuesday show productivity fell 0.9% after five quarters in a row of growth. Hours worked rose 3.6%, while output rose 2.6%, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Clearly, the massive drive to get more productivity and more output out of workers is running into a wall," says economist Naroff. "We're working too hard, all the blood's out of the stone, and it's now time to look for a new stone."
Nariman Behravesh, chief economist of IHS Global Insight, says it's time to hire. The drop in productivity is "a sign that companies have reached the limit of how much they can cut back their workforce and how hard they can work their existing workforce." The bureau says the rise in hours worked was the largest since the first quarter of 2006, when hours rose 4.1%.
"A lot of people feel lucky they have jobs, but they also feel overworked," says Behravesh, who predicts job growth will remain "fairly modest," with fewer than 100,000 new jobs a month, until the last three months of the year.

Submitted by: Greg Butterfield, Partner, Terryberry Company

New Whitepaper Discusses How to WOW! Employees During Tough Economic Times

In today's economy, businesses are demanding more of their employees, and they often have less financially to give in return. How can leaders keep their key people motivated and engaged during these difficult times? Mike Byam, managing partner of Terryberry Company, advises business leaders to build trust by creating an environment of transparent communication, together with appreciation and recognition for employees' extra effort.

In his new white paper, "How & Why to WOW! Employees During Tough Economic Times," Mike Byam shares 5 tips for how organizations can save their employee recognition budget during these critical times.

Business is Difficult, Make Recognition Easy

I recently participated in a video interview series for SHRM during their Staffing Management Conference in Las Vegas. It was a great opportunity to share Terryberry's experience as it relates to recognition in a challenging economy, and other than the intense lighting that made me feel like a Big Mac @ McDonalds under heating lamps, it was painless.

As you can imagine much of the interview centered on employee recognition during a recession or economic downturn. We talked from a couple different angles about whether or not employee recognition was more, less, or equally important in an economy like we are currently facing. This wasn't the first time this line of questioning came up and it will most likely not be the last time we'll address it. However, it was the first time I was sure that my response was being recorded so I was ready and bit into it: Effective employee recognition strategies are vital regardless of the state of the economy. Certainly, in a tougher business environment where organizations are asking more from their employees and they have less to give in the way of merit increases or bonuses, it serves a different purpose. Consistently communicating to your people the value of their contribution and the impact they are having is one of a limited number of tools left at a manager's disposal.

As business leaders could we maybe "get away with" less recognition? Sure, you could probably make an argument for this short-term move as employees have fewer opportunities than they have in the past. But we're fooling ourselves if we think people won't remember how they were treated during this time period (they will), and if we don't consistently recognize their efforts, they'll jump ship when the economy begins to turn around.

Short answer: Yes, effective employee recognition practices are as important now as ever!

Recognition on a Budget - Get Creative!

Earlier this week, Terryberry hosted a webcast on "Creating a WOW! Moment". Over 150 business leaders from around the world attended to learn and share ideas for how to WOW! their employees in spite of the slow economy.

What did we learn? The economy certainly isn't stopping businesses from showing appreciation for the efforts of their people. Instead managers and business leaders are just getting more creative.

Here are just a few WOW! moments that were submitted by businesses:

"In addition to the annual employee recognition program with specific award, we give two awards each term (we're in a university setting) - one for individual achievement one for team work. The individual is the Bow Tie Award in honor of our president who wears bow ties and the Scepter Award for the team in honor of Charlotte, NC, the Queen City." - Charlotte, NC

"We have a fun travelling trophy and recognize someone every other week." - Hoffman Estates, IL

"We have a quarterly breakfast to recognize those promoted in the previous quarter and give them a "Rising Star" cup and publish their picture and brief bio in a company publication." - Louisville, KY

"To make the presentation exciting, we also ask some trivia questions about the recipient, and the employee which guesses right, receives a small gift, such as, pens or pencils with our logo on it." - Sun Lakes, AZ

"We do a "who am I video" that we loop at the beginning of the lunch. We ask award recipients for a quote about themselves--something the rest of the Team wouldn't necessarily know, then we create a video where other employees try to match the quote with the award recipient." -Oscaloosa, IA

"Our annual recognition event is theme-based. So far we've done Under Construction (our first year in existence), Movies/Oscars/Red Carpet, and Kentucky Derby Day. Each theme some special event like a hat decorating contest for Derby Day; we had "Joanie" Rivers interviewing people on the red carpet for the Oscars. Both were very fun for all of the employees and set a positive fun tone for the presentation portion." -Charlotte, NC

Thank a Co-Worker Today

There's no getting around it. These are challenging times for many businesses. Leaders are put in the difficult position of juggling leaner budgets and asking for more from fewer people.

At times like these, there are a lot of tasks on a manager's plate, but one that shouldn't be pushed to the backburner is acknowledging team members for their extra effort and dedication. Simple appreciation can do world of good for the morale and motivation of your team.

Fortunately for pocketbooks that are forced to stretch dollars further, recognizing employees in a meaningful way is one of the least costly ways to make a big impact on your people. In fact, saying 'thanks' doesn't cost a thing.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Why not challenge yourself to thank one co-worker every day this week? It won't cost you anything, and you can have a positive impact on someone's perspective of their job.