Your Team Members Deserve Recognition. So Offer It
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By: Rex M. Holmlin
Have you ever sat in your office and wondered whether anyone would notice if you disappeared? Whether anyone has noticed work you’ve done recently? At one point or another, practically all of us have felt that way.
One of our most important tasks as project managers is to recognize and reward team members. PMI’s PMBOK Guide acknowledges the importance of doing so by listing recognition and reward of team members as a tool and technique in the Develop Project Team Process section, which is part of the Project Human Resource Knowledge Area.
I teach project management to both undergraduate and graduate business students. When I bring up the topic of team member recognition to MBAs, who typically have several years of work experience, I always find it interesting to note how many of them feel they really can’t recognize people’s contributions.
Even experienced project managers often believe they don’t have the power to recognize or reward their team members. The hang-up seems to be that in many people’s minds, recognition and reward are synonymous with money. Since the authority to give raises typically rests with functional managers, this perspective makes sense.
But in my view it is very, very wrong.
In fact, project managers have a variety of significant tools at our disposal to recognize and reward our team members. The easiest, and perhaps the most powerful, is to thank them for something they have done. Going by someone’s office and thanking them for something specific is phenomenally impactful. Many team members are almost bowled over to discover that someone noticed what they’ve done.
All of us like to be part of something bigger than ourselves, like an exciting project. A certificate recognizing membership on a project team and contribution to the team effort can be very gratifying.
I have been involved with a number of natural disaster recovery efforts. One government agency I have worked with provides project members with 8.5-by-11-inch certificates noting their role in the disaster response and recovery effort. The certificates cost a few pennies, yet as you walk down the hallways you see them in small frames in nearly every office and cubicle.
With the advent of social media, the tools at our disposal for recognition have greatly increased. We can post a thank you to a Facebook page or endorse or recommend someone on LinkedIn. These are easy but meaningful ways to recognize someone.
You could also institute a “Player of the Month” award. Not everyone played sports when they were younger, and you may be surprised to learn how many of your project team members have never felt they were on a team. Being designated as the Player of the Month can sometimes be a life-changing event.
I believe very strongly that recognizing and rewarding team members is central to our role as project managers. If you agree, please share your favorite nonmonetary ways of rewarding team members—or ideas for doing so! I’ll collect them and make them available to our readers.
Posted
by
Rex Holmlin
on: June 12, 2015 02:33 PM |
Permalink
Comments (17)
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Peter Taylor
VP Global PMO and Keynote Speaker/Author| Dayforce
Newent, United Kingdom
Projects are about people!
anil kukreti
Senior engineer | Mobiquity softech pvt ltd
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
People are very important resource for team, for projects , for business organization , for society etc. Recognizing efforts of people plays a crucial role in success/failure of project and its results.
thanks for writing good article.
Definitely true..we should always recognize a job well done. Projects are done by people. People need to have positive feedback and also feedback on what needs to be improved.
Great article. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Regards,
Gustavo
Rex Holmlin
Clinical Professor of Project Management| Mason School of Business College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Va, United States
Hi Gustavo!
Thank you. Any thoughts you would share about your favorite way or recognizing project team members?
Best,
Rex
Fazal Junkeer
Functional Manager| Kharj Trading & Contracting Co.,
Doha, Qatar
Yes, I agree with you. I have experienced this kind of attitude towards his team mates in some establishments I worked earlier. Thanks for sharing. good article.
Rex Holmlin
Clinical Professor of Project Management| Mason School of Business College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Va, United States
Hi Fazal!
Thanks for your note; do you have any suggestions you might share with other project managers about methods to recognize or reward team members?
Nice article !!
There has to some sort of recognition it does helps to an individial a lot.
Rex Holmlin
Clinical Professor of Project Management| Mason School of Business College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Va, United States
Hi Nikhil!
Thanks for the note and your kind words. Are there any ways that you have been recognized that you thought were particularly good?
Mario Trentim
CEO| PMO Global Alliance
Sao Jose Dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Kevin Coleman
Subject Matter Expert, Author, Speaker and Strategic Advisor| - Insights
Pa, United States
The cartoon says it all - So true!
Gagan Mathur
Program Manager| Shell India Markets Pvt. Ltd.
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
First of all, many thanks for initiating such a important topic that is most often ignored. Great article...
My suggestion to reward team members -
a.) Spot recognition works the best. Walking down to the person's workstation and appreciating the work done works wonders.
b.) In case of team scattered geographically, they a can be done in Video conferencing or telecoms.
c.) Rewarding them by addressing their unsaid desires/demand works well.
Many ways to appreciate or recognize their efforts. Pick the right one at right time...
Rex Holmlin
Clinical Professor of Project Management| Mason School of Business College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Va, United States
Hi Gagan!
Thanks for the kind words...and thank you for your recommendations and suggestions about rewarding team members. I particularly liked your suggestion about rewarding unsaid desires. Great approach!!
Charity LaPonsie
Project Manager| Southwest Airlines
The Colony, Tx, United States
If we are lucky enough to get a budget for recognition in large projects...what is a typical budget? Is it a percent of total project budget? If so, what is that number?
Rex Holmlin
Clinical Professor of Project Management| Mason School of Business College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Va, United States
Hi Charity!
Thanks for the note....and for your question. The good news is that we are not talking about large amounts of money.
One approach is to sit down and develop a scope....'X' number of $10 Starbucks cards for 'Y' months, 'Z' number of recognition certificates and plastic frames, etc. Once you have included this aspect in a few projects, you can develop a "standard cost" or package. An then add for any special recognitions in a particular project.
In any event, we are typically talking about a fraction of a percent on the total project cost.
Hope this is helpful. I'm glad to discuss this with you in more detail.
Luis Branco
CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª
Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Holmlin
Interesting your perspective on the topic: "Your Team Members Deserve Recognition. So Offer It"
Thanks for sharing
Important point to remember:
"I believe very strongly that recognizing and rewarding team members is central to our role as project managers"
wael ahmed
project manager| Red Sea Consultant
asyut, AST, Egypt
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