Career Forum - February 2010

In the Conference Board’s annual survey on job satisfaction, it found that only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. This is the lowest level since the organization began conducting the survey in 1987, when 61 percent of workers responded that they were happy with their jobs.

Employees want to feel appreciated for their contributions and recognized for the value they bring to their department, division, the company or organization as a whole. Recognizing individuals for their work encourages them to be more productive and increases retention. This is true if you manage a department of meeting professionals or if you oversee on-site staff for your meetings and events.

Some companies and organizations have formal recognition programs, such as employee-of-the-month awards or an annual incentive program, while other employers find informal methods more effective.

"I’m fortunate that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida is very concerned about recognition, retention and motivation/incentives," says Kathleen Zwart, CMP, meetings and events manager. "We have a number of programs in place for informal recognition between peers as well as more-formal management recognition options. There are also annual incentive programs tied to the company’s performance and based on the employee’s level within the company."

Whether it’s a formal or informal recognition program, the key is to establish different ways to acknowledge employees for their contributions on a consistent basis.

Formal Recognition Methods
Many companies and organizations offer employees the opportunity to enhance and expand their professional capabilities by providing tuition reimbursement so individuals can acquire advanced degrees and certifications.

These are great programs to take advantage of if you’re considering acquiring a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Meeting Manager (CMM) or some other meeting industry certification. Companies and organizations understand that by investing in professional enhancement, they end up with an employee who is more productive and innovative because of the new skills they’ve gained.

Another monetary award program that recognizes an individual’s contributions is very simple: a suggestion box. When an employee submits a suggestion that improves productivity or produces significant cost savings to the company or organization, the individual receives acknowledgement with some type of cash award.

Other recognition programs include bonuses linked to the performance of the department, the division or the company in terms of these entities achieving a specific goal.

Informal Recognition Methods
Although monetary awards have their value, studies have shown that employees respond best to informal methods of recognition. While some methods have a hard-dollar cost attached to them, many involve soft dollars but have a higher perceived value.

At Houston-based International Meeting Managers (IMM), the focus is more on providing ways to assist employees with maintaining a work/life balance.

"We offer flex hours to our staff in order for them to miss heavy traffic times," says Lynn Tiras, CMP, president and owner. Additionally, our senior managers have asked for more days working from home starting in January [2010]. We have agreed to this since they have proven that their work performance and work ethics are of the highest quality."

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida provides a generous paid time-off program for their employees so they can take time off for kids’ activities and sick days; the added benefit to this program is that days can be carried over from year to year. Even if an employee hardly ever uses this benefit, it’s the fact that the company values them enough to allow for the extra days, if the need arose.

Retaining Talent
It’s important to create a work environment in which employees feel recognized for their value and appreciated for their contributions. This is especially true because of the current economic instability we’ve been experiencing.

"Right now, a job is better than no job in this economy, and employees have decided to ‘wait it out’ until economic stability returns," says Adrienne Clarke, vice president of client services, at Attention Span (a division of Dentsu Canada Inc.). "Once stability returns, all indicators show that there will be a dramatic shift in power—from employer to employee. With this in mind, it is crucial to have tools in place now to keep top performers."

Many of the tools that Attention Span currently uses to retain talented staff require one thing: an effort on the part of management to recognize the value an individual brings to the organization. Some of the tools they use include:

• A means for employees to provide feedback and acknowledgement that their opinions are valued
• Encouraging a healthy work/life balance
• Making certain that each employee believes they are accountable for their work and that each individual contributes to the success of the company
• Regular ‘get togethers’ outside of the office to foster camaraderie such as lunches and bowling

Whether it’s formal recognition programs or more informal approaches, the key is to continually recognize the employees in your company or your team. Make certain that individuals know their work is valued because it’s true that the little things count when it comes to retaining good talent.