What recognition methods work best at keeping your team motivated? Do you use different approaches for different team members to match their preferences?
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Recognising team members in the digital industry (our world) needs to be personalised and open, matching everyone’s growth stages and goals. According to Spiral Dynamics, people’s motivations change as they age and gain more experience.
For early-career folks, things like certifications and promotions are big deals. Mid-career professionals want their hard work and leadership roles recognised meaningfully. Meanwhile, seasoned experts often care more about leaving a legacy and being acknowledged for mentoring others.
Being transparent about how recognition works is super important—having clear criteria and providing real-time feedback can really build trust and motivation. Also, it helps to cater recognition to individual preferences: introverts might like a private shout-out, while extroverts shine with public praise. Tech-savvy teams often enjoy things like gamification or peer-recognition platforms. Using modern tools like AI Coaching can help make recognition more personal by spotlighting contributions right when they happen.
Let me know if you'd like to explore specific strategies or tools to better align recognition with your team’s vibe and growth goals!
Since we are a small org. it becomes easy for us to motivate individuals as we know them well. Our daily interactions and the value their contribution to the growth is the regular dose. In addition to this frequent token of appreciation in terms of bonus or tips also help them stay motivated.
Recognition is personal yet far reaching. It takes focus and attention from leadership and is not just a "program".
People need to know there is purpose and value to what they do. This comes through feedback and recognition for their contributions. How that is delivered comes in many forms.
- Feedback and Coaching - acknowledging value contributions and supporting future success
- Public recognition - for those who are comfortable, public acknowledgment is important. Also tells other team members you appreciate what they do.
- Personal recognition from "people of influence" - shows your team you share their successes with others.
- Increased responsibility - shows them you "trust them" to take on work that increases their skills and advances their careers.
John Fly makes a great point of being aware of individual motivators so you don't demotivate by putting someone on the spot unintentionally. Also good to recognize when someone takes a risk, fails and moves forward -- including yourself. Shows that failure is not bad -- it's how we advance...especially in today's world.
I think having some general recognition program is fine. Just watch out for ways it can be manipulated (people voting for the same favorites over and over), or people in high visibility groups like customer service or sales, seeming to outshine very internal people, software devs, it support, etc...
Beyond that, I always try to know what motivates my team individually.
This can start at the hiring level. I usually try to hire people motivated by doing a good job, getting opportunities to grow and experiment, and love making those around them happy, versus hiring people who love pure recognition.
Knowing what motivates everyone at an individual level helps you design good, honest and authentic growth plans and identify opportunities that will really connect and energize. Make sure to call out wins when you see them, and use corrective and instructive feedback when success isn't achieved. Help build an authentic culture of success by being an example on how to be open and honest at all times.
Start with understanding what is important to each team member, train managers to take care to understand their directs' needs. Be it monetary rewards, public recognition (either internally within the larger group or externally i.e. with a gratitude post on LinkedIn), a simple thank you email or note in private, access to growth opportunities, access to premium training for top talent, or whatever other recognition method may be at play, different people appreciate different ways of acknowledging their hard work, keeping them engaged and motivated. Just like we're often discussing keeping customers happy through personalization, the same goes for internal talent too.