Imagine that your group or organization had just reached a milestone of achievement that was noteworthy. Perhaps it was a new productivity target or quality performance or safety record. The management team has decided that they should recognize everyone for their efforts and a celebration is planned. What could possibly be the down side of that?
Unfortunately, some celebrations ring hollow – even to those who are the recipients of the accolades or recognition. Why? Perhaps you have heard some people gossiping in muted tones as they await the lunch that is being served to them to acknowledge their achievement. For these employees, there is no connection between anything that they did and the outcome.
“Sure, it’s great to get a free lunch/pizza/whatever. But I don’t really have a clue about what we did differently to get to this performance level.”