Employee Recognition Value to your organization: “Priceless” Allen Persons Director of Public Works Village of Plainfield, Illinois
s I think back to my first management class I can recall being told that “people are the most valuable resource within an organization.” I thought…how true. Organizations spend a great deal of time and energy to help protect the safety of their workers, educational opportunities are offered to encourage professional development, and a variety of employee assistance programs are commonplace these days. So why do we see study after study that confirms employee satisfaction is at an all-time low? I guess we could blame the turbulent economic times that our country has recently encountered. Expressions like “downsizing” and “restructuring”
have become some of the scariest words in the dictionary and new terms like “rightsizing” are just nauseating. Are we, in some unintended way, informing our employees that they are just a liability on budget worksheets that need to be properly managed? If this is the message that we are sending it is about time that we get back to the basics and dust off that Management 101 book that has been sitting on the shelf.
I believe that one of the ways you can improve employee satisfaction is to consistently practice employee recognition. This should occur on an individual level as well as group level. And while this may be uncomfortable for some managers, expressing sincere gratitude on a
Mayor Mike Collins (left) recognizes John Neef, Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor, for his ten years of service with the presentation of a custom banner. 18 APWA Reporter
September 2012
regular basis may be one of the best ways to boost job satisfaction. You may want to try some or all of the following: Say “Thank You” – For example, as you are walking past “Bob” one snowy morning say something like, “Thank you for taking time away from your family last night to plow the roadways. I appreciate the fact that the streets were clear for emergency vehicles as well as the general public. Nice work.” Saying “thank you” in a group setting is extremely important as well. The message should be positive and specific. Celebrate Milestones – If you have an employee that has served your organization for five, ten or twenty years, you should do something to recognize them for this accomplishment. I have found that while many people dread birthdays, they do like to be noticed for years
Brian Fahnstrom (right), Village Arborist, celebrates his five-year anniversary with Plainfield. At left is Allen Persons, Director of Public Works.
