Ten Ways …
to celebrate achievement By Robert Ashton
It was my birthday the other day. I kept quiet about it as I didn’t want people to buy me presents or send me cards. I also wanted to pass on those annoying ‘happy birthday’ messages that Facebook and LinkedIn encourage all who (even vaguely) know you to send. The day was consequently uneventful; a card and three pairs of socks from my wife, and another card (without socks) from my pension provider. Last year it was even harder to keep the day free of fuss. We’d met
our daughter and her husband in Ireland and were all invited that evening for dinner by our daughter’s parents-in-law. They’re a family that love partying and need little excuse to bake cakes and put up balloons and streamers. But a deal was struck before we set off and the fact it was my birthday remained a secret. I have to accept that I’m unusual in my dislike of celebrations.
Most love the chance to be the centre of attention and I know that in many workplaces, much thought goes in to buying cakes to share on birthdays. Those of us who manage people however have, in my view, a responsibility to encourage celebration. Here are ten things even I would try to do to motivate my team: 1. Buy the cake – Let’s face it. You probably earn more than those you employ and also have more latitude when it comes to spending company money. If you buy the cakes when it’s someone’s birthday you can probably safely delegate singing ‘happy birthday’ to everyone else. 2. Celebrate all certificates – from births to weddings and even children’s A Level results, all are opportunities to bring everyone together to recognise the achievement. Remember that there is plenty of evidence that all learning, however obscure, can improve workplace performance. It’s learning how to learn that makes the difference. 3. Recognise differences – I don’t celebrate my birthday because I’m old (well 64) and miserable. My friend Paul on the other hand is a Jehovah’s Witness and for him, celebrating birthdays or Christmas is against his religious belief. Yes, be the person who initiates celebrations but do be mindful of cultural and religious differences. 4. Encourage competition – People love public recognition. Everybody has anniversaries, but only those who have applied themselves achieve new qualifications. Celebrating the achievement of colleagues will encourage other people to strive to achieve more themselves. Recognition can be more motivating than a small pay rise. Encourage healthy rivalry. 5. Set a good example – You’re never too old to learn something new. For example I’m about to start an MA at university. You don’t
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have to be first in the queue for everything that comes along, nor does your achievement have to be bigger than anyone else’s. But do join in and earn your own office party. 6. Drive safely – When I was a young salesman calling on farms, I was encouraged by my employer to take the advanced driving test. This probably helped with their insurance costs, but more importantly it made me a safer driver. But even staff members who don’t drive a company vehicle will be less likely to have an accident if they take advanced driving tuition. This one is really worth celebrating because both they and the company benefits when they succeed. 7. Support a charity – There’s growing evidence that organisations that have a purpose beyond just project retain good people more than those that don’t. Adopting a local cause, perhaps with a link to your line of business, and encouraging staff and customers alike to raise money will benefit both your company and the good cause. For example a feed mill could raise money for an animal sanctuary. I’ve just linked a mattress maker with a charity that supports homeless people sleeping rough. The link delivers great publicity potential. 8. Make Friday’s special – It might have been a long hard week; the sun is shining and the weekend beckoning. People used to dress- down on a Friday, but few workplaces now require you to dress formally on any day of the week. So why not involve everyone in a themed Friday once a month? Fancy dress might be taking things too far, but a theme could involve the food and music of a country you trade with, or where one of the team was born. Invite suggestions and see how imaginative your people can be. 9. Eat fruit – Many people have a dry Monday, to compensate for the alcoholic excesses of the weekend. But why not encourage healthy eating by organising fresh fruit for everyone on a Monday? We all know that we should eat more fruit and veg, but those chocolate bars can be just too tempting. You might even find that some people find this will help them lose weight. You can celebrate that too when they reach their target! 10. Performance means prizes – Incentives to reach work goals can be divisive, so need to be carefully used. But again, looking back over my own career, I worked really hard one year to secure a place at the FA Cup Final. I don’t follow football, but enjoyed a huge sense of achievement when I won my place. Of course you will create a happier workplace and motivate your
team if you introduce just a few of the ideas I’ve listed here. There is a serious side to this too, because being mindful of workplace wellbeing can reduce staff sickness and boost productivity. Many employers arrange mental health first aid training for members of their team. Wellbeing is no longer an HR function, but something everyone needs to feel they can influence. You can even have your workplace wellbeing benchmarked against
the Mind ‘Workplace Wellbeing Index’ (
mind.org.uk). This can help you see how well you are performing against other employers. Perhaps more importantly, it will help you identify gaps that might otherwise be missed.
Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd
www.cfegroup.com
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