When you have a recognition budget

If your organization has a budget for ‘employee recognition’ USE. EVERY. DOLLAR. THIS. YEAR.

2023 has been a tough year for employees and employers. People are anxious.

Actions speak louder than words. Show people you care.

You might say ‘that sounds like a lot of work, I’ve got business-things to focus on.’

Okay! Here are five low-overhead ways to get your team engaged in spending the recognition budget.

Make a monthly (or quarterly) award that reinforces behaviors you are trying to promote (i.e. listening to customers, solving long-term instead of short-term). Ask your team to choose the categories and manage the process.
Send everyone an Ubereats card and have them ‘buy lunch’ on you one day (if your budget isn’t tied to an internal system)
Tell everyone on the team they have the mandate to use $XX to recognize someone within the org and someone outside of the org
Appoint someone ‘captain’ of the budget for a month or quarter. They can decide what to do with it and report out at the end of their tenure
Make a leaderboard for the people who are 1) doing the most recognition and 2) receiving the most recognition. Competition spurs people into action

To hold yourself and the team accountable — make recognition spend a metric on your MBR or regular reporting. Track your progress throughout the year.

In my 10 years in corporate, I can count on one finger the number of times a team got close to exceeding its recognition budget. Typically, the pool of money sat mostly unused throughout the year and then disappeared.

There are no prizes for ‘saving’ money in this bucket. The only thing you get by not spending it is a missed opportunity to say thank you to your team.

If you don’t have a recognition budget

Spread positivity without spending a dime: free recognition ideas for your team.

Here are 5 ways to appreciate your team that don’t cost a thing:

Start a weekly appreciation thread. Once a week (I like Fridays), in whatever group chat your team uses, drop a few appreciation messages and ask the team to jump in and add their own.
Send a handwritten note of thanks. Recognize something about who the person is (i.e. not thanks for working over the weekend). These real-life items tend to stay on desks or in workspaces for a long time and make a meaningful impact.
Leadership team shoutouts! At the weekly LT meeting, each member shares a ‘shoutout’ about someone they saw being awesome. After the meeting, drop the person a note, CC the leadership team, and tell them they were noticed being great. The LT piles on with their own congrats and thanks.
Write a recommendation on LinkedIn that highlights someone’s unique skills and talents.
Block an afternoon for no meetings and tell your team to spend the time doing something that inspires them. Have everyone share back how they spent the time.

Total Cost: $2.50 (postage & stationary) plus potential opportunity cost for the afternoon of inspiration.

Remember — as a leader you should aim for a ratio of 3–5 ‘positive things’ for every piece of constructive or critical feedback.

Our brains are hardwired to hang on to the negatives, so a regular stream of positivity helps people feel engaged and valued!

TL;DR. If you have a recognition budget for your team, spend every dollar. Tell your team you are doing this. Get them involved in deciding how.

If you don’t have a recognition budget, use free ways to say thank you throughout the year.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.