The most surprising thing happened on the first day

USAA printed the notes . . . they ran out! The company couldn't keep

up with the demand.

Nothing can replace personal recognition and sincere

appreciation. It is a powerful tool in keeping good workers. These

following facts summarize the impact recognition has on the workforce:

Behavior that is recognized reinforces that same behavior

Effective recognition does not have to be monetary

Effective recognition must be timely and sincere

Little things can mean a lot

Recognition by one's peers is more powerful than by

supervisors

The Gwinnett County Tax Commissioners office, located

in Lawrenceville, Ga., has one of the most innovative reward

and recognition programs I've seen. They call the program

"Shining Stars."

They practice peer recognition where co-workers reward

each other for doing a good job.

Shining Stars" has taken off like a rocket. Since this is a

local government, pay raises and promotions are limited.

Katherine Sherrington, the Tax Commissioner, realized

she needed something to bridge the gap. She also realized that

the employees themselves know who works hard and who deserves

recognition. Managers can't be everywhere all the time.

Therefore, the employees are in the best position to catch people doing

the right things.

Shining Stars is a printed form they give to each other for

doing a good job. Workers have an unlimited supply of the

"Shining Star" forms.

Employees handwrite a little note about what their

co-workers did and hand it or to send it through distribution to the awardee.

Throughout the walls, doors and cubicles, employees proudly

display their form.

For added recognition, monthly the office formally recognizes

the employee who received the highest number of forms. They get

a special gift from the commissioner. Then they put all the

forms given out during the month in a basket and names are

randomly drawn for additional prizes.

They read the forms aloud and give recognition to both

the awardee as well as the person submitting the form. Then

the winner draws for his or her prize from another basket. This

simple, but powerful program insures everyone gets some form of

recognition.

Building a motivating reward and recognition system such

as the one in Gwinnett County follows what I call the

FAST-FUN formula:

F-Focus on the behavior you want to reward

A-Avoid bureaucratic judging and committees

S-Simplicity, do not make your program too complicated or

formal

T-Team Ownership, let the employees run it and own it

FUN-Make it fun, entertaining and as spontaneously as possible.

Gregory P. Smith lives in Conyers, Georgia. He helps

organizations solve problems and build more productive work

environments. For further information please call (770)

860-9464 or send E-mail to [email protected].

You can find more information and business tips at

www. chartcourse.com.

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