Arrows in the Recognition Quiver
Let's hit this issue head on. What bugs me at UEN? First, let me just say that anything I perceive to be in my control, or within by power to influence, isn't a concern. So, you might be surprised by what doesn't bug me as much as by what does.
A few months ago I was reading one of those cheesy Clive Cussler books. What can I say? I like Clive's writing. It's like popcorn for the brain. Anyway, in one scene the head of a covert corporation was standing on the deck of a ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean. He was waiting for one of his employees to fly over, hook him and yank him from the deck. Then he would be reeled into the plane. Everything was going smoothly until the pilot realized that his boss was about to run into the horizontal stabilizer at the rear of the plane. That would hurt.
The pilot dipped the wing and then brought the plane back to level. This had the effect of slingshotting his boss down under the stabilizer and depositing him safely inside the cargo door. The boss laughed and told his pilot that he'd done some nifty work. Then the boss gave his employee the promise of a big lump of money in the next paycheck and a couple of weeks off for saving his life. Cool.
How cool would it be to have those two options in my recognition tool box. Yes, lacking meaningful recognition options bugs me. I'm limited. In the past I could take an employee to lunch every so often just to say thanks. That stopped last spring. Someone up the chain discovered this practice and saw a problem. No more ability to take employees to lunch.
Movie tickets can work. But if they are the only option, the recognition value wanes. And when we give gift certificates they are considered to be cash by the IRS. So the employee ends up paying taxes on the value. That takes some of the magic out of this recognition option. I'd just like to once be able to walk up to an employee and say, "good job, there will be an extra thousand in your next paycheck and take a week off to celebrate, Thanks." Yep. That would be pretty cool!.........
7:39:14 AM 
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