Culture of Recognition
David Thomson
SaaS GTM Leader | B2B SaaS Sales Leader | 3x Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) | 2x Exits
The #1 reason people leave their jobs is for a lack of recognition and appreciation.
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The picture above is a handwritten letter (keeping the note to myself) I received over 10 years ago (check the date: 11/7/2012) by the current CEO of the company where I was working.
This is saved in a box that sits next to my desk.? I credit this note for changing my perception on what recognition truly means as a leader.
The box I have is now filled with close to 20 notes that I have received.? The primary reason I’ve received so many myself?? It’s because I’ve handwritten far more to those employees that truly have deserved recognition over the last decade.
Some leaders think a better title or a small raise should be sufficient recognition.
This note, and others I’ve received, mean more to me than any title change or raise a company has ever provided.
Here are a few things I do to ensure recognition is on the forefront of every company I’m a part of.
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1)? I make it a point of emphasis every 1:1 I have.? One item I have every member bring to each weekly meeting is recognition of one employee.? This happens every single week.??
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I do this for two reasons.? One, it makes that person think about who went over and above this past week.? My hope is they reach out to them individually as well.? Secondly, I use that to reach out to congratulate that individual for what they did (specific accomplishment here) and let them know who told me about it.? This helps enforce the importance of recognition that I want to drive.?
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2)? Don’t forget to celebrate all departmental wins, not just your own.? Whether this is on Slack or in the office, make sure you’re taking time to celebrate the wins of every department.? Often, I see companies focus on just the sales team and leave out Account Managers renewing or expanding customers, support decreasing ticket times, product rolling out new features, revops knocking out a major project, marketing increasing leads or conversion rates or SDRs hitting and exceeding their goals.
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3)? Write letters – Yes…the old fashion way.? For those employees that have gone over and above I’ve always sat down with a stack of cards and written notes to each one.? These should be specific, timely and sincere.? The letters, emails and thanks I’ve received from these have let me know how impactful they’ve been to others.? Plus, selfishly, they make me feel damn good for putting the time in to write them.?
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4) Don’t rely only on money for recognition.? Research has shown that cash rewards don’t net the highest engagement levels with rewards as long as your employees are already being fairly compensated. ? Items like additional time off or PTO, paying for an interesting course for them to take, a new gadget, restaurants gift cards, etc. often can be much better motivators.? The key takeaway here is to make the recognition personal to the individual, and cash isn’t personal.
Focus on recognition and watch turnover fall and revenue soar.
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1 年Love this. Will be implementing a few of these
Cheerleader! Rainmaker! Philanthropist! Entrepreneur Digital & Experiential Marketing & Sales Expert
1 年This is so true. When I was CEO of a start-up in DOT COM ONE, I often did this very thing. It was a weekly scheduled thing, but often. I always said sales and IT were the highest maintenance people in the organization. Both, who looked and acted totally differently, responded to recognition and praise much more than money. Even sales. Their jobs include creativity, patience, and persistence beyond an analyst or HR employee. We also quantitatively incentivized the Account managers by including them in the bonus plan. Account Managers are vital to the ongoing relationship with a customer, and are most likely the ones who can see the opportunities for further sales growth for our products and services within the client organization. We often found that the Account Manager was not the person to go the sale of the new product or service, because they just didn't feel comfortable at the negotiating table, so sales would come in for that purpose, but the pre-sales work had basically been done by the Account Manager, and Sales had to just put a deal together that made sense and we dramatically grew our business within the existing customer. They say it takes 10 new customers to replace one existing customer. I agree 100% with you!
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1 年Well said.
Second-funniest accountant on LinkedIn! ???? | Sharing Excel, productivity, and leadership tools, tips, and tricks
1 年Love this! Handwritten notes for the win! Also love the other recognition/appreciation suggestions like supplying funds to take valuable training, especially if it’s aligned with what they want to do and what your firm needs. How is that not a win-win-win?
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1 年Well said. Management that recognizes the details and specific areas of achievement, it's the inverse of pejorative "micro-management" - micro attention to where I've improved and why it matters, that's always meant a lot to me.