Workplace Success Stories
- Best Practices 2003
Maximizing Employee Input in Managerial Decision-Making
| Practice Name:
Cheers for Peers |
Workplace
Issues Addressed: |
Description of the practice
The Cheers for Peers program allows staff to nominate and
choose peers to receive gift certificate awards quarterly and yearly.
It provides thanks in the form of a tangible gift -- gift certificates.
All non-management employees participate in the program, regardless
of professional rank, and are allowed to nominate a peer for an award.
Benefits of adopting the practice
The department now has a public forum for recognizing and
thanking employees. Employees feel valued and a greater sense of trust
has developed between management and staff. A more positive air seems
to exist within the department.
How this practice works
Every quarter, staff members can nominate peers for a Cheers
for Peers award and every quarter these nominees are eligible to win
a $100 gift certificate and a Cheers for Peers mug. There is a nomination
form and a deadline. There is a staff committee that determines the
winners, and the other nominees receive a certificate that contains
the reasons why they were nominated. The process is flexible enough
to allow recipients to choose which vendor they would like to receive
the gift certificate from. All nominees and award recipients are acknowledged
publicly at the ASD quarterly department meeting.
What you need in place to replicate this practice
The program would work best in larger departments (at least
30 employees), because in a smaller department it would be harder
to stay away from favoritism, and people would guess the identity
of the nominator. A small amount of money is required (about $1200
a year) for mugs and gift certificates. Also, staff participation
is necessary. It is important to rotate staff on the committee. Solid
rules and guidelines that assure fairness are needed. The department
needs to make time for employees to participate in the activity.
Tangible improvements to the department as a result of adopting
this practice
This practice promotes camaraderie and offers a public forum
for recognizing and thanking co-workers. Employees feel valued. Before
this program in their computer-oriented environment, people finished
one task and went on to the next, without words of thanks or praise.
The implied values were that the work itself mattered more than the
people doing the work. Now the department has a public forum that
recognizes and thanks individuals. And at least four times a year,
people take the time to think about how their colleagues have helped
them. The implied values are that the work matters --
and the people matter.
Why this practice was so successful and is worth replicating
It requires people to serve on the selection committees only
a minimal amount of time, typically one time a year for less than
an hour of work. The success can be attributed to the department's
underlying premise that thanks and positive feedback must be given
on a regular rather than an occasional basis. Thanks that comes directly
from peers rather than from management possesses its own unique value.
Related policies/guidelines:
1) Guide to Managing Human Resources,
Appendix G: Recognition and Reward Programs.
2) Business
and Finance Bulletin G41 - Employee Non-Cash Awards