Do You Recognize the All-Stars On Your Team?
You knew this would be today’s subject. Tonight (Tuesday) is Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game. It doesn’t really mean anything in the standings or such (it used to, but not anymore); it is a way to honor the best players this season in baseball. And it is special to each fan to see all the best-of-the-best together on one team or the other, forgetting rivalries for a couple of days and getting the recognition they deserve. The players are all proud of their participation and will brag about it for the rest of their lives.
What does this have to do with your glass company? A lot. Read on.
You have all-stars working for your company. Every company does. (If you don’t, that is its own problem, which we will discuss another time.) Recognizing these folks will please them more than you can possibly imagine. Every employee thinks they are great at their job, while most really do just enough to get by. Those who stand out are the ones that create success for the rest.
You know, the ones that get the compliments from customers and the ones that get their work done on-time, correctly and always have time to help another person. Recognize the ones that have a smile, no matter the conditions, and spread that smile; never entering into a complaining session without a positive way to solve the problem at hand. I don’t rate an all-star on how much money he or she makes the company. I look at how an employee helps the whole company, mostly in ways that can’t be easily measured.
How do you recognize this person? If you have a company wide meeting and put your all-star up on a pedestal, it can create more problems than it solves. “Why him and not me… I work just as hard,” can sometimes be heard. Recognize your all-star anyway. The good will far outweighs the bad-mouther’s comments. An employee-of-the-month program works in companies with more than 25 people; use an employee-of-the-quarter for smaller companies. If you feel strongly about having the whole company meeting, don’t gush over the winning employee to the point of embarrassment. Mention the employee’s results, more than discussing personality traits. The recognition can be subtle and yet you can still take care of your all-stars. Give them an extra day or week of vacation; give a gift card, with a good value on it. Make a donation to the employee’s church or temple in the employee’s honor or let the employee choose the charity. You and your department heads should meet privately with the employee and express your feelings about his or her success.
Ask your all-star to help in training new employees. Can your all-star lead a department? Does your all-star want to switch to a different job where his talents would be useful? Does your all-star have friends or family that want to work at your company? An over-achiever’s friends are usually of the same mindset and will only work to improve your firm.
The TV coverage of the All-Star game starts at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) on Fox. Enjoy the game, forget about the glass business for a couple of hours and be sure to cheer loudly!