Corporate morale boosting recognition

I’m devoting this week’s blog posts to boosting workplace morale, the #1 issue companies wish to address when they call team building companies in NYC or elsewhere. Whispering among management in plain view of staff was addressed as a “silent” killer of morale among the rank-and-file, and today I’d like to address a far more obvious one.

Let me begin with a confession: I have never in my life received a “promotion” at a job. Not once. I’ve been promised promotions, told there would be “room for growth” down the line – however, despite months or years of dedicated service and proven results, my personal best was when the company laid off 10% of their staff, and I was given someone else’s old job to do on top of my own (for no additional pay or formal advancement, of course – just more work).

This may say as much about my performance on the job as the places I was working, however the fact remains that despite how hard I worked or how good I was at a particular position, I never had the confidence-boosting satisfaction of being told, “David, you’ve done great work here, and we think you’re ready for additional responsibility – with the commensurate perks to go along with it.”

It turns out I’m not alone, especially following the recent financial crisis. At every NYC team building event I produce, I make a point to speak with the attendees to find out firsthand what their workplace experiences are. Invariably, the same themes arise:

1. I’m working harder than ever with no additional compensation or reward
2. I produce great results, but it doesn’t seem to matter to management
3. I’ve reached the limits of how far I can grow here
4. I’m just happy to have a job

This is really, really sad. Companies who wish to remain competitive and retain top talent should recognize and reward outstanding results by employees at all levels; there is simply no excuse for not doing so, especially among high performers. If the message to staff is, “good work simply isn’t rewarded here,” what’s to keep them from doing good work – or staying around at all?

I think during the depths of the recession several years ago, companies could absolutely get away with saying, “just be happy you’ve still got a job” in order to produce results and retain talent through fear. Today, however, with the frustratingly slow yet steady improvements in the US economy, that kind of morale-killing motivation is not going to cut it – top talent will ALWAYS be in high demand, and unless you want to see your best and brightest stolen away by a competitor who treats them better, you had better ensure that you are indeed recognizing and rewarding your most valuable people appropriately.