Leadership Handout Series

PRAISE, REWARDS, & RECOGNITION

Once you have recruited and oriented new members to your organization, the next and probably most important step you need to take as a leader is to recognize your group member’s contributions to the organization. Recognizing, praising and rewarding your group members will make them feel important and will keep them involved at their highest energy level.

Everyone in your organization should be involved with recognizing their fellow group members. It is important for all members of your organization to understand the importance that recognition plays at any level of the organization. For instance, five of the most important words to use in everyday language are: “you did a good job!” We can never smile and say thank you enough to our fellow volunteers.

A well-deserved pat on the back goes a long way to secure the success of a program. Committee members know they are appreciated and are willing to do more when someone recognizes their contribution. Recognizing your group members contributions can be done in a variety of ways. However, it may be necessary at times to decide how member’s contributions will be recognized in the beginning stages of program development because some forms of rewards or recognition are expensive. One should also act wisely and plan carefully when considering tangible rewards. Criticism may be leveled if overindulgence is the result. When the rewards are given out, it is very important to recognize only those who have carried out the responsibilities to the required expectations. Otherwise, the rewards appear to be less important to those deserving the honor.

There are many things that group members can be recognized for and many different ways to do it. A few things that members might be recognized for might be:

• a successful program
• always volunteering for jobs that no one else ever wants to do
• being supportive and open to new ideas
• demonstrating a positive, enthusiastic attitude
• suggesting ways or ideas to improve the organization
• taking on a tough challenge
• attending every meeting and program
• being punctual

Recognizing, praising and rewarding your organizational members can be done in many different ways, some ways are just more expensive than others. The following is a list of ideas that you may decide to use in recognizing your volunteers:

Free or Low Cost Alternatives

• Smile and say thank you whenever possible.
• Give verbal praise — both public and private.
• Give credit when credit is due.
• Recognize a member’s accomplishments at a meeting and have the other members give that member a standing ovation.
• Give the committee member time off for a job well done so that they may concentrate on their studies.
• Provide constructive feedback and explicitly say you appreciate their work, involvement, etc., and be specific for what they have done that you appreciate. This will also reinforce that positive behavior.
• Give the members more challenging responsibilities to show them that you trust them.
• Write thank you notes.
• Write a letter of recommendation and give the member a copy.
• Ask the President, Advisor, or another officer to attend a committee meeting and personally thank the committee member(s).
• Attend a programmer’s event with your members or ask the officers to do so.
• Send letters of introduction to faculty/staff once officers/members are selected.
• Nominate deserving members for university leadership awards or other campus honors.
• Send a description of the member's accomplishments to the campus newspaper or their hometown newspaper.
• Give members free event passes not only to your organization's events, but to other campus events as well.
• Create a committee member of the month award.
• Send birthday cards or get well cards to committee or group members.
• Award outstanding performances with special citations or awards.
• Get together on a one-to-one basis — treat someone to a coke or cup of coffee, etc.
• Make the members a focus of an organization newsletter article.

Average to Expensive Alternatives

• Provide a T-shirt or sweatshirt to group members. This can serve as advertising as well as recognition.
• Give out buttons, stickers, backstage passes, posters, or other promotional materials.
• Provide a snack at your next meeting.
• Give out candy, balloons, lollipops, carnations, etc., with notes of appreciation attached.
• Plan social get-togethers, picnics, parties, etc., to share time away from the job.
• Award plaques, coupons, certificates or cash prizes to deserving committee members.
• Pay the member’s attendance fee at a regional or national conference. Allow them to take a significant other with them.
• Host a member dinner with one of your visiting entertainers (i.e., celebrity roast).
• Plan an end of the year reception and/or banquet to honor your group members.

An organization's ability to motivate and retain its members depends on its ability to do three things:

1. praise and recognize their member’s talents and hard work,
2. award their member’s contributions to the organization, and
3. show their members that they are truly wanted and appreciated.