Engage Your Employees!

I’ve had a few posts announcing some of the great shows my colleagues S. Max Brown and Roy Saunderson put together for the Real Recognition Radio program, if you happen to have missed one of their shows, you can still catch them in the archives section of the Real Recognition Radio program homepage or on iTunes.

For the next Real Recognition Radio episode, Roy and Max will be interviewing feedback expert Sonia Di Maulo and business coach Tanveer Naseer, who teach companies how to improve people, performance, and business growth and development. They will share advice on how to create a better workplace, how to get the most out of your employees while helping to create a positive and productive workplace through the power of communication and feedback.

Stay tuned next Tuesday. March 16th, at 1 PM ET.

Ask the Experts

Looking for more information on recognition? In the August edition of Incentive Magazine’s “Ask the Experts,” my colleagues Michelle Smith, Dee Hansford, Kevin Cronin and I answer the following questions:

• To be respectful to our board and shareholders, shouldn’t we put a hold on our recognition programs until the economy completely turns around?
• We are getting ready to launch our first employee survey and want to keep it simple. Do you have any suggestions about what questions to ask for feedback on recognition?
• Is recognition less meaningful if you do not give a reward along with the recognition?
• Can you give me some of the “do”s and “don’t”s of recognition communications?

My contribution dealt with the last question. Find out how to create the ultimate communications strategy around your recognition program here!

Do you have any other recognition questions? Drop me a note in the blog’s comment section below!

One Smile Always Makes Two!

My good friend and Rideau colleague Lorraine Sonier has a great saying… “One Smile Always Makes Two”!

What I’ll bet Lorraine doesn’t know is there’s a global industry out there dedicated to researching how smiles work and why! Conferences are being held on the topic and schools such as MIT are studying the relationship between facial expressions and emotional states.

I guess these folks never heard the expression “Smile and the whole world smiles with you!”

They should speak to Lorraine or the folks at Wal-Mart who created the official post of “greeter” years ago.

Smiling is a vital part of recognition - it reinforces the sentiment in which it is given. If sentiment does not come across, employee recognition will unlikely have the desired effects!

Smiles, like recognition are universal. Combine the two and you have a very powerful relationship tool!

The Secret is Out... Jennifer Lumba is a Winner!

My youngest son Jordan and I share a similar trait... neither of us are very good at keeping secrets! So imagine how difficult it was, knowing for quite some time that Jennifer Lumba, one of my of my closest colleagues and friends at Rideau was going to receive a Recognition Professionals International Spotlight Award!

Well the secret is out!

Jennifer Lumba is an RPI Spotlight Award winner. She won the award for her marketing work for our association.

This is not the first time Jennifer was recognized in 2009! Her fundraising efforts for multiple sclerosis earned her a nomination for the Leadership Award from the MS Society of Quebec. This award has been given to Quebecers who have shown excellence in their professional lives, exemplary commitment to their community as well as the fight against MS.

Jennifer is one of my best and brightest colleagues. She earns the respect of everyone she works with... it doesn’t matter if it’s an internal Rideau project, work for a client, or a fundraiser.

Speaking of which, Jennifer gave a highly rated breakout session at the RPI conference on the marketing and communication of recognition programs.

Watch for more great things from Jennifer in the future!

Barack Sent Me An E-mail!!!

Yes, it’s true!

Barack wrote to me on the night he was elected… just before he went to Grant Park in Chicago and gave his victory speech. It’s an e-mail I’ll keep for the rest of my life!

True, he probably sent the same e-mail to a couple of other million people but it felt like he was writing only to ME!

Great communicators can do that and it doesn’t matter whether they are Democrats or Republicans… Ronald Reagan had the same gift. They didn’t call him the “Great Communicator” for nothing.

Great communicators are not limited to America. Winston Churchill was able to lift a nation with his words... Ghandi led millions with his words and writings.

Another common trait of great communicators is to master the mediums at hand and these are constantly evolving.

In the 1800s politicians could only reach out with their writings and speeches. In the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt used the new medium of radio to take his case for a New Deal directly into the homes of millions of Americans. In 1960, John F. Kennedy used television to win the White House.

The internet has been around for a while but Barack Obama is the first politician to really master its power. Millions have signed up to follow his Twitters and Facebook page. President Obama has raised the bar... and in the future no politician will ever win a major office without understanding and mastering this new communications medium.

Modern business leaders and recognition managers can learn a lot about communications from the new President.

First, make it personal… so the recipient feels like I did when Barack sent me his e-mail. Make sure you master all the powerful new electronic mediums out there. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc… They will help you deliver your message quickly in a medium that resonates with your audience. The same thing applies to recognition professionals. Use all the tools the internet has to offer in your recognition programs.

I believe business leaders and recognition professionals who can’t communicate effectively or use these new tools are in fact leading their companies into oblivion!