One of the most common things you’ll hear from a manager when you ask why they aren’t using your recognition program is that they’re just too busy. Managers have a lot to do, and it’s understandable that they don’t want another task added to their plate.
The good news is that it’s not a question of time. It only takes a few minutes to recognize someone, so it won’t be taking bandwidth away from your manager’s top priorities.
The big challenge is getting into the habit of doing it. With so many other responsibilities to juggle, simply remembering to take time for recognition is hard for managers.
Luckily, there are few things you can suggest that will make it easier, and help your managers get into a recognition routine.
Habit-forming tips
Set calendar reminders
Setting calendar reminders to send recognition once or twice a week can be an easy way to get into the habit of recognition. Blocking their calendars ensures managers always have time to reward others.
The sticky note system
A simple tip from one of our Guustonians: Attach 2 sticky notes to your desk every week, and remove one each time you recognize someone. If the sticky notes are gone on Friday afternoon, you’ve reached your goal.
Use project management software
Set a task in your project management software (Asana, Hive, Basecamp, etc.) whenever someone does something you want to recognize. This is a great system if you can’t always send recognition right away.
Use one-on-ones
If managers have regular weekly meetings with employees, encourage them to set aside some time afterwards to reward their hard work. Employees will often update managers on what they’ve been working on in one-on-one meetings, so it’s a great chance to put their achievements top of mind.
Publicly Recognize
If your managers have regular team meetings, they can take time to publicly recognize specific employees at those meetings, then send rewards afterwards. This will give them a regular cadence for rewards, and they can even invite team members to publicly nominate others for recognition.
Pro tip: If your employees use Guusto’s Shoutouts for non-monetary recognition, your managers can use the Draw feature at meetings to randomly select winners for rewards.
Celebrate ‘Holidays’
There are a number of unofficial ‘holidays’ on the calendar that celebrate employees and different fields, such as Administrative Professionals Day, as well as other fun and quirky dates like National Pizza Day or National Book Lovers Day. Sending rewards to celebrate these dates might be a good starting point to get some managers into the habit of sending recognition.
Pro tip: Guusto’s HR Calendar can be added to your Google, iCal, or Outlook calendar to make sure you never miss a key appreciation date!
Practice gratitude
As a tenant of mindfulness, gratitude is a mindful practice that can increase wellbeing for yourself and others. Using Guusto is an active way to celebrate and practice gratitude and can be accompanied with other mindfulness practices such as meditation. Your managers can make it a routine to reflect for a few moments on all of the people who have helped them throughout your day.
Gamifying recognition
When done in a positive and encouraging way, fostering a little healthy competition among your managers can be a good way to drive adoption of your recognition program.
During management meetings, you can use Guusto’s Leaderboard and reports to highlight your top sending managers, and even give them rewards for it. It’s a fun way to gently nudge your managers to participate more, and to ensure that those who are using your system keep doing it.
In-person preferences
Some managers may prefer recognizing employees in person, and that’s okay! Your recognition program should speak to what works best for everyone. Here are a few options to accommodate managers who prefer to reward employees in person:
- Print out a Guusto gift to give to the team member individually. This option bridges the gap between a trackable gift and a personal delivery.
- Create a custom reward for awarding a lunch with the manager to congratulate them in person. Or, set other incentives such as an afternoon off, or anything else that resonates with your managers and employees.
Internal Email Communication Templates
Driving adoption among your managers doesn’t have to be hard work!
In many cases, a few simple communications are all you need to share the value of recognition, set guidelines for when and how to recognize others, and help them get in the habit of recognition.
To help you long the way, we’ve created 3 simple internal email templates that give your managers a high-level overview of everything they need to know. The emails cover:
- Why recognition is important
- Some simple guidelines to follow for giving recognition
- How to send gifts, make nominations, and redeem gifts on Guusto
You can send each one as is, or easily customize the templates to your needs and the specifics of your program. We created a few email communication templates to get started easily.