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By admin, June 20, 2010 4:21 pm

By John Schaefer – America’s Employee Recognition Expert

I’m at Mission Beach in San Diego with my family and was sitting on the sand, watching the ocean, and putting things in perspective. I realized, as I always do when I take a few days away from the grind of business to let things settle, that I come back not only energized, but more clear and focused.

Anyone who has done this and has seen the benefits will attest to the fact that a little mental break will often help resolve some of the issues that have been challenging you at work. There’s something about letting the mind settle that brings clarity and often resolution to problems that you’ve been focusing on too hard.

The same is true for your employees, so we suggest mandatory vacation days as part of our Umbrella Recognition Solution strategy. We all hit a wall when we’ve been burning the candle too long, but we don’t always realized it or do anything about it. There’s a point where more time and more effort just doesn’t add more value; it can actually work against you.

The best companies realize that their people are highly productive and regular rest breaks keep them sharp and engaged. It’s sort of like rebooting your computer from time to time (many of us leave our computers on 24/7). The operating system will get a fresh start, find all of the .dll files it needs to run at its best, look for and add software updates and clean itself up, so it runs faster and more efficiently. I think our brain is a lot like this and a little break allows it to reboot and clean out the clutter.

If you’d like to know more about how this can happen at your company, visit me at www.SchaeferRecognitionGroup.com.

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By admin, June 19, 2010 6:15 pm

By John Schaefer – America’s Employee Recognition Expert

I’m not a Laker fan, but even Magic Johnson had to admit that Kobe is “the man” and probably the best Laker, perhaps best player, since Michael Jordan. So what drives a guy like Kobe to keep pushing, come from behind and score when his team needs him, even with a badly hurt shooting finger? Money – perhaps that helps, but he’s already got a contract that has him set for life, whether he wins the title or not. It’s got to be more.

One hint is to notice how he and the team acted when they passed around the NBA Championship Trophy and held it over their heads. It’s magical and I can assure you none of them know or care how much it cost the league to have it manufactured.

Employee performance, like athletic performance, is based on some inner drive that transcends financial reward. Sure, your people need to be fairly paid, but the extra effort when the going gets tough is fueled by a more deep-seated drive. About 20% of your people have this 110% attitude already and you’re lucky to have them on the team. The use of a strategically designed, comprehensive recognition solution is all about making sure these people know you appreciate them, but even more about reaching out to the other 80% who are going through the motions, but have more inside to give.

They may have greatness inside just trying to get out if you and your management team can help them generate the confidence, tenacity and effort to push just a little harder. You can be sure that as great as Kobe was in game seven, he inspired other members of the team to overcome fatigue, pain, fear and doubt and take their personal game to a higher level.

That’s the secret to the most successful companies – the great ones are honored and the next level players are inspired to be all they can be. You’re already paying them; you might as well get all they can deliver. And the best part is that as you all win more, everybody feels better about being involved and success breeds more success and higher performance.
Sure, I guess Kobe is the best Laker in history, but he wouldn’t have won that trophy without a team that stepped up when the chips were down and a coaching staff that knew how to motivate everyone around him too.

If you’d like to know more about how this can happen at your company, visit me at www.SchaeferRecognitionGroup.com.

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By admin, June 16, 2010 4:38 pm

By John Schaefer – America’s Employee Recognition Expert

Arizona Republic reporter Russ Wiles presented this interested observation last week and I immediately saw a parallel with the Recognition and Incentive industry. Wiles’ theory is that the big players have a giant target on their back and nobody in their industry is rooting for them to succeed. As a matter of fact, if you look at GM, Bank of America, Toyota and BP, it seems like onlookers are almost celebrating their challenges.

In the recognition and incentive industry, we are seeing a similar situation; and it’s not really new. The biggest vendors, the ones with the big name clients and impressive market share, are experiencing tough going during this down economy. Customers are tightening their belts and when they see the gigantic office campuses, corporate jets and monstrous trade show displays, many wonder if they are getting as good a value on their programs as they deserve.

Schaefer Recognition Groups and our clients are benefiting from this opportunity. As a smaller, more nimble and far more flexible alternative, we are seeing many more potential opportunities to help new partners save considerable money – often as much as 50%; get far better results and enjoy the tools to prove it to their CFO. Our training-based approach is making more sense than reputations and physical clout to many companies.

If you’d like to know more about how this can happen at your company, visit me at www.SchaeferRecognitionGroup.com.

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By admin, June 4, 2010 1:48 pm

by John Schaefer – America’s Employee Recognition Expert

I just found this great article from Cindy Ventrice of Maketheirday.com. I think Cindy get’s it and makes some great points about “making it real”. Her focus on relationships, connection, visibility and employees feeling valid and acknowledged is both timely and right on track, in a time when so many employees feel bought off with “carrots and sticks”. Cindy is a fresh viewpoint in this employees as a “piece of meat” work environment.

Cindy shares this great story that really makes it easy to get her point:

Imagine you work for a company where the Human Resources department arranges for every employee to receive a potted plant on the anniversary of his or her hire date. The computer generates a list of employees with upcoming anniversaries, an HR employee creates the purchase order, and a florist delivers your plant.

When your manager walks by your desk and notices that you have received the standard anniversary plant, she says, “Oh, is it your anniversary?” At that moment, how recognized do you feel?

Does it matter to you that the people in HR know it’s your anniversary? Unless you have a relationship with HR, it probably doesn’t. For most people, this kind of recognition has about as much value as a computer-generated birthday greeting from their life insurance company.

This isn’t just a hypothetical example. This is the story of a real employee who was the victim of outsourced recognition. As her story illustrates, recognition only has meaning when it comes from people who benefit from your behavior or have a direct interest in your achievements. Recognition that comes from recognition program administrators, whether in HR or Communications, is cold, impersonal, and a waste of company resources.

To read the whole article by Cindy Ventrice click here or visit Cindy on the web at www.MakeTheirDay.com

To learn more about getting the most from your investments in people, visit us at www.SchaeferRecognitionGroup.com

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By admin, June 1, 2010 10:03 am

by John Schaefer – America’s Employee Recognition Expert

I just read this article about the Foxconn Technology electronics plant in Shanghai, China where ten young employees have recently committed suicide responding to their low-wage, hi-stress jobs. Communist Party officials are considing treating their workers with more care and respect, so they are more motivated and work with enthusiasm. Boy, they got a long way to go! While I quickly caught myself, I couldn’t help but laugh after reading how the government is becoming more tolerant of sporatic, peaceful protests, even though unauthorized labor organizing is forgidden. Just to be safe, however, they are installing safety nets on buildings and hiring more counselors. Talk about closing the barn door after the horse has run off!!

Our lesson here, while we are not likely to see a wave of employee suicides here in America, is to avoid “emotional suicide”, which sadly to say if very prevalent and costly. Many employees respond to a lack of appreciation and respect by shutting down emotionally and doing just enough to get by. This low productivity and the resentment that goes with it, is costing companies huge amounts of money in accidents, mistakes, turnover, recruiting costs and all of the other subtle costs of having a low morale working environment.

For more information on how to easily change this in your firm and save million on your recognition and incentive investments visit us at www.SchaeferRecognitionGroup.com

Even China, a Communist nation, is beginning to see the value of looking at the emotion needs of their employees, as their “crack the whip”, “carrots and sticks” approach to management seems to have gone as far as it can; particularly with their younger workers.

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By admin, May 25, 2010 3:10 pm

By John Schaefer – America’s Employee Recognition Expert
I saw this fun and inspiring video today and thought I’d share it with you all. Really makes you think about the messages that words put in our heads and how a few minor changes can make all the difference.
watch?v=RFeV_j0fSHc