Peer-to-Peer Recognition
Why Peer to Peer?
- Most people spend the majority of their "people time" interacting with their co-workers who are not associated with management, so the peer group has more of an opportunity to influence employee's self esteem.
- Peers are more likely to know how each individual prefers to be recognized.
- Peers often are aware of fellow worker's "behind the scenes" work that supervisors/managers do not have the opportunity to witness.
- Peer-to-peer recognition can be lighthearted and in good humor, and is, therefore, often easier to implement than formal recognition.
What Supervisors Can Do
- Demonstrate recognition-giving behaviors among themselves - with the same recognition vehicles they make available to employees.
- Reinforce peer-to-peer recognition by recognizing the efforts of other workers who are taking the time and effort to recognize their co-workers.
- Make recognition tools easily available to all.
- Value the recognition that employees give to each other (many peer-to-peer recognition tools are low or no cost, so the true value behind them is the sincerity and manner in which they are given).
Ideas for Peer-to-Peer Recognition
- Post a thank-you note on a co-worker's door.
- When you hear a positive remark about an individual, repeat it to that person as soon as possible. Seek the person out if necessary. If you can't meet, leave an e-mail or voicemail message.
- Give a co-worker a "candy gram" (i.e. lifesaver candies for someone who has been a real "lifesaver" to you, a Snickers bar for someone who keeps morale high with jokes and humor, or a Fireball for someone who jumps right in and gets the job done without hesitation).
- Send or bring flowers to someone who has done an exceptional job in the workplace or in the community.
- Post a banner in the office or on a co-worker's door recognizing his or her contribution(s).
- Nominate them for the IOWA (Improving Our Workplace Award).
- Develop a formal quarterly recognition program within your department, "Cheers for Peers", to recognize efforts that help reach a departmental goal.
Recognizing Team Efforts
"Acknowledge when people do well, but reward the whole group for a complete effort"- Tom Peters
What are the benefits of recognizing team efforts?
- Promotes achievement of mutual goals by group of employees.
- Without some form of team recognition, team performance may suffer and individual attitude and motivation problems may arise.
- Employees will have a common feeling of accomplishment that will strengthen communication ties in the workplace.
Be sure to recognize teams when they:
- Accomplish annual, monthly, and weekly goals
- Innovate a new work process
- Acquire a new customer
- Cut costs
- Help another team
- Overcome an obstacle
- Take on extra work
- Solve a big problem or a smaller irritant
- Develop positive ways to deal with conflict
Ways to recognize teams
- Send letters to team members' families expressing appreciation for work done.
- Submit article about team to newsletter.
- Post on website.
- Submit an IOWA nomination.
- Maintain team bulletin board with photos of accomplishments.
- Throw a party in honor of team's accomplishments.
Supervisor to Staff Recognition
Ways to Recognize Employees
- Public or private written comments via e-mail, letter, certificate, etc.
- A trophy or plaque.
- Party thrown in the recipient's honor, or for an entire group that has done a great job.
- A "top achiever" ribbon.
- A reserved parking space for a week.
- Annual recognition breakfast saluting individual and team accomplishments, e.g, training or certification, project completions, process improvements, etc.
- Provide educational sessions in the workplace, e.g. workshops on health from UI Wellness.
- Apply for a Wellness Grant to provide funding for onsite chair massages with a Licensed Massage Therapist.