52-Week Employee Recognition Plan - Week 2: Let Them Organize Their Company Party

I announced last month the 52-Step Employee Recognition Plan. This is the 2nd week of that plan.

Let Them Organize Their Company Party.

Ah. The company party. Too often we manage it into being the bane of motivation and inspiration initiatives.

How many times have we heard something like: Let’s celebrate. Let’s a have a company party to celebrate...some great achievement!

And a good-hearted soul assumes responsibility for the party and all the planning:

• the hors d'oeuvres
• the cheeses (Yuk, this smells bad.)
• the snacks (We can’t afford a meal?)
• organic or not
• gluten-free (What’s gluten? This is awful...)
• sugar-free (Me: Why?)
• the ceo’s favorite music (OMG...),
• dancing (Did you see how close they danced...? Definitely rhythm challenged)...

And achievement and the achievers, the reason to celebrate, are left like the proverbial red-headed step-child at the wedding of their in-laws. Disconnected, wandering around... picking at food, and trying to figure out the connection between this party and their accomplishments.

The party’s organizer returns to their work with scar tissue formed from the comments and asides and disappointment all around. They vow, everyone vows, never to have that happen again.

I have been guilty of bringing a deaf ear and a blind eye as I organized such a party. Won’t this be cool...? echoed in my head as I rushed to organize ...what turned out to be my party. The echoes of Won't this be cool was easily replaced by the echoes of...silence, at best.

It’s their company. Their work makes the company. Their achievements are the achievements trumpeted in the press and in the executive suites. One role of a leader is to provide the resources. Another is to remove obstacles. And a third is to get out of the way.

That applies to the party that celebrates their achievements.

Give them the key to the party car.

• Let them drive.

Provide the resources.

• Resources includes the party’s reason. Who, what, why should there be a celebration.

• Resources include listening.

Remove the obstacles.

Time and money tend to be big obstacles here.

• Where is the time?

• What is the budget?

• Where is the party?

Get out of the way.

They're trusted with customers, vendors, partners, shareholders and board members. So...trust them to organize a party that’s meaningful for them to celebrate their achievements.

It’s their company. Let them organize their company party. It's to celebrate their successes.

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I announced last month the 52-Step Employee Recognition Plan. This is the 2nd week of that plan. Here is the first step.

You can start with any week and make that your first week.

You can take one of those weeks and turn it into a month or commit to an accelerated pace and complete 6 of the weeks in one month.

You can create your own week of employee recognition. Share that journey here. Share it in your blog or Twitter or Facebook.

But do something to recognize your employees! They set your brand apart as your ultimate competitive edge. And the more you recognize their achievements, the more achievements you'll see and they'll enjoy, along with your customers and and shareholders, partners and vendors.