Description: The team, or individual members, do not feel their contributions are appreciated by management or other members.
Note: These ideas are addressed to the team manager, but the team can do many of them on its own.
- Lavish verbal praise on every positive act. Err on the side of embarrassing team members with public praise.
- Also praise in private, and be sincere about it. Praise tied to specific actions is more effective than, “You are doing a great job.”
- Establish a physical “Victory Wall” for team accomplishments, announcements, kudos, etc. One company in the pre-smartphone days issued Polaroid cameras to its managers, who would take pictures of people “doing something right” and post them on bulletin boards. (This could include personal accomplishments, too.)
- Provide items such as tee-shirts or mugs with team identifiers.
- Place a sign at the team’s work site identifying the team by the name it uses for itself (formal or nickname).
- Hold parties or picnics to celebrate anniversaries or accomplishments.
- Paint equipment in colors the team chooses.
- Sponsor the team’s entry into athletic competitions.
- Ask the team to make a presentation on its achievements, or to do a presentation you normally would do yourself (to upper management about the division, to customers, etc.).
- Send the team, or its chosen representatives, to a professional conference—and encourage the members to give a presentation on something they learned when they return.
- Ask your boss to speak to the team, either on a subject of interest to the team or just to say a quick word of praise.
- Buy a bunch of cheap, fun prizes—toys, odd pens, snack food, etc. Distribute them for good ideas, people changing a behavior (e.g., someone who normally does not say much speaks up), accomplishing a tough task, and any other excuse you can find.
- Invite the team to your place for a cookout.
- For an advisory team, let the team implement ideas it comes up with.
- Allocate money to the team to spend on process improvements, to please a good customer, etc.
- Provide information on team successes to internal and/or external publications (company newsletter, town newspaper, etc.).
- Upgrade the team’s equipment or office
- Provide perks such as free dinners or sports tickets.
- Have fun—send the team a candy-gram or bring in a clown.
- Arrange to return a portion of measurable financial improvements to the team through bonuses (see “Compensation Schemes” for details).