Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

It is one of the biggest problems that employees have with their bosses and it is one of the easiest mistakes for even the most conscientious employer to make. People are often unwilling or feel it is unnecessary to announce their accomplishments in the workplace. But almost everyone desires to have their work acknowledged and appreciated. It is really the cornerstone of a strong employee-employer relationship. Genuine effort and work done well must be recognized and rewarded.

In the race to get things done within budgets and prior to client deadlines, it easy to overlook the work that is required at each phase of the process. I’m not suggesting that bosses send out “thank you” notes to their employees for every task completed correctly, but it is important to be aware of the roles that are being filled in your chain of production and who, exactly, is fulfilling those roles.

The efficiency and production capacity of each employee will vary in every workplace. It is one of the primary functions of management to be able to determine which employees are out-performing their peers and to reward them accordingly. Without that dynamic in the workplace, everything suffers.

On a somewhat related note…

I was watching the Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament this weekend as Phil Mickelson managed to hold off Tiger Woods and win. That was pretty impressive in its own right, but I couldn’t help noticing the announcers continually referencing the fact that Mickelson had attended the Boston Red Sox game on Saturday night in which a Sox rookie pitcher threw a no-hitter in only his second major league start. They kept going back to it and eventually started implying that Mickelson’s presence at the game was the reason for the no-hitter. Phil’s just so “on” right now that everything he touches turns to gold - or something like that.

Anyway, it was all tongue-in-cheek and I get that. They needed to fill some time with hyperbolic praise. But they did it to such a degree that they only mentioned the young pitcher, Clay Buchholz, once during their ramblings. Clearly, Buchholz was a major factor in the no-hitter. He threw it.

But the real credit for the no-hitter has to go to the Red Sox opponent that night - my beloved Baltimore Orioles. A pitcher has thrown a no-hitter in his first two starts only 3 times in the last 100+ years. Two of those have been against the Baltimore Orioles and have occurred within the last 20 years. I think the evidence is clear as to whom should receive the credit for this one.

Tags: employee appreciation, employee evaluations, management rewards, performance reviews

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