[tallanvor]

I don't know if I'm an outlier, but cheesy recognition programs (there's one where I work now) really demoralize me. I've worked hard to get where I am, and I want my employer to treat me like an adult and a professional, not a child.

Some people enjoy public praise or having their picture posted, but not all of us do. --Knowing that we're doing a good job and quiet/low key recognition on occasion is enough. And if our employer wants to give us a bonus, well, who's going to say no to that?

[jkic47]

I am forced to give out $20 "lunch for success" coupons to "encourage excellence".

What HR fails to understand is my employees are professional managers and this is uncomfortably similar to giving a dog a treat when it sits up and begs. Given their incomes are well into the 6 figures, this is particularly ridiculous.

My reports know I have to occasionally hand out these token treats to appease HR and are well aware that I reward them for performance in their bonuses, where it counts.

We've made it an insider joke - I now throw a meeting once a month and hand these wretched things out. HR is invited to it and the staff gush effusively over the reward. I swear they are more motivated by the charade than anything.

[BigZaphod]

I agree. I don't mind actual public recognition. In fact, I sorta desire it sometimes - but only when it's actually earned and the people being told of the achievement recognize why it was an achievement in the first place. There has to be real meaning behind this stuff, IMO. Things like "employee of the month" just feels like cheap pandering and no one really cares.

[tallanvor]

If you really go above and beyond, then public recognition can make sense. I just hate it when companies try to make a big deal out of things I think are (or should be) just a normal part of the job.

[evilduck]

Employee of the month is stupid. It limits recognition to a single person in a timeframe, even if there are two who deserve it, and falsely creates recognition when maybe nobody deserves it, watering down legitimate recognition potential. Having been in jobs like that before, they're also usually based off metrics that are easy to game or dominate.

Also, for other "big" recognitions, you'd better be damn sure the person deserves it. I've seen people who did one thing at the right time in front of the right people that earned corporate recognition and a bonus while the rest of us were doing equally valuable stuff at a less visible level and got nothing. Nothing kills productivity faster than that.