Being in the recognition and awards industry, I’ve heard many award ceremony horror stories. I’ve been told stories recounting the mispronunciation of the recipient’s name and a presentation of nothing because the trophy was ordered late. But thanks to Mr. Kanye West, we have a new award presentation to add to the list. 

Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, Kanye took to the stage after 19 year-old country singer Taylor Swift was announced the winner of the Best Female Video category. Kanye stole Taylor’s acceptance speech time and took all the joy and excitement out of the award for Taylor Swift by declaring another performer the rightful winner.  

Employee engagement has been a hot topic lately as companies look to fire up the troops and generate a positive attitude and positive results. With so many blog entries, tweets and articles popping up about employee engagement, one can’t help but ask, is this simply the latest fad? And how do I get some employee engagement in my organization? 

There’s no question about it, employee engagement is no here today, gone tomorrow fad. The Gallup Organization has shown employee engagement to be a key to success. Engaged workforces make more money, save more money, are more innovative and more productive than lesser engaged workforces. Need an example? 

• Best Buy claims than a 2% increase in employee engagement corresponds to, on average, $100,000 annual rise in store sales. 
• Campbell Soup Inc, after a devastating Gallup review, raised employee engagement scores from 62% of managers not actively engaged in their jobs to 68% actively engaged. In turn, investors enjoyed a 30% increase on their Campbell’s stock. 

If you were at SHRM in New Orleans or WorldatWork in Seattle, you may have chuckled with us while watching one of our very funny Cubicle Chronicles videos. The Red Recruiter is a fan and mentioned our videos on his blog, too. We thought that, rather than gloss over the fact that there are many people who don’t do recognition well, we would take the high road and poke fun at them. Might as well turn some negative recognition moments into positive mojo, right? 

The Cubicle Chronicles follow different recognition situations that fail to even remotely motivate or engage the recipient. Sadly, we’ve found that everyone can relate to one of these videos, and any people have experienced recognition done really, really badly at some point during their career. So why not try a different kind of recognition and see where it gets you? 

The economic recession has challenged workplace cultures and practices. Organizations once accustomed to cushy bonuses, deluxe benefits, and luxurious trips and conferences had to cut back – not only on such coveted add-ons – but also on their staff. If you’ve been one of the lucky ones to keep a job during the recession, you know that the workplace challenges begun by the recession won’t be easily resolved. 

As layoffs took place, the employees who survived were left full of anxiety and discord. Going forward, it will be management’s response that will make organizations successful on the other side of this economic chasm.
 
Recent survey results released by Careerbuilder.com reveal some interesting insights into how the workforce is going to change once the recession “comes to an end.” CareerBuilder in conjunction with Robert Half International conducted a post-recession job market survey. One of their findings pointed to the intentions of workers. According to the survey, 55% of survey participants plan to make a career change or go back to school when the economy recovers. 

You don’t have to analyze a study on motivational theory to understand some basic principles.  Namely, people respond positively when they are acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts.  This is not limited to the workplace, but in every aspect of the human condition—from raising children to greeting strangers. 

So if everyone “knows” the importance of frequent, meaningful expressions of gratitude and praise, why don’t we practice it all the time?