I start a lot of my blogs by saying, “I remember when….” So for consistency, I remember when I first started in property management, and I worked six full days a week and used Sunday to catch up on loose ends. I worked for a small family business, and we were growing madly at 30 properties a month. The new business lettings alone were a full-time job. There were no recognition programs, rewards, or bonus systems. I just worked hard, and for the most part, enjoyed it.

As time progressed, we learned there was a connection between sustainable high-performance team members and employee recognition. We learned that if your team performed well, and we rewarded them for this, they stayed much longer and continued to perform at a high standard for a much more extended period. Who’d of thought!

we learned there was a connection between sustainable high-performance team members and employee recognition

Building a recognition culture a massive change for business leaders that don’t think this way. I was one of them, having come from the ‘school of hard knocks’. It requires a delicate weave of expectations, measurement, and recognition at the right times. Rewarding the right behaviors is harder than you think. Aligning recognition to your Mission, Visions, and Values is core to its success. Without this, you find you recognize all the wrong people for all the wrong things.

I have discussed in the past, the frameworks of a high-performance team. These include having tailored positions descriptions for each team member, well documented and aligned policy and procedures, and a detailed set of key performance indicators (KPI). Performance needs to be defined and communicated clearly. It is virtually impossible to run an open recognition program if you are ambiguous and cryptic in how it works. Using the position description and key performance indicators for each team member allows documented evidence on when team members are performing or not, and a transparent recognition program will be built.

It is virtually impossible to run an open recognition program if you are ambiguous and cryptic in how it works

A well structured and executed recognition program will define a culture of high performance. A culture of high performance will attract and retain team members to your business that will be autonomous at the highest level for many years to come. Building a culture of recognition will completely change the dynamics of your business to be more customer-centric and profitable with an expectation of success.