Ever since the last SHRM Annual Conference in June I seem to have had the good fortune to end up on some kind of Human Resources marketing mailing list, (thanks for sharing SHRM!), and have seen a decided uptick in the old mailbox (the snail mail one), in training course catalogs, vendor pitches, conference supplies, (I can get you a great deal on lanyards, provided you need a few thousand), and so on.
I'd rather go with Spongebob
This week an 100-plus page catalog from one of the better known employee recognition purveyors landed in the mailbox. Page after page of products like employee thank-you cards, pins, travel mugs, those cool acrylic or glass statue thingies you see in cubeland from time to time. You know the ones that the project team engraves and hands out after the system goes live or the merger is completed, kind of like miniature versions of the HR Emmys.
No big deal, right? We all know, and have read articles and seen webcasts or conference sessions ad nauseum in the last few years of the importance of employee recognition, and the critical role that it plays in fostering employee engagement, happiness, and even commitment to the organization. These are all necessary and valid concepts, and I am in no way discounting their importance here. In fact, as my friend Paul Hebert will tell you, (well I am not actually sure he'd tell you this exactly, but bear with me), a well planned and executed employee recognition program can help drive increased revenue, productivity, heck, whatever it is you want to drive.
So I was thinking about how powerful and effective the right recognition programs can be when I flipped to pages 26-27 in the above mentioned catalog (pictured above), and landed on the spread of swag from something called the 'Essential Piece' theme. I get the idea, the company is having some kind of event, or meeting, or recognition ceremony; and they'd pass out assorted mugs, pens, tote bags, keychains, etc. all branded with some form of the message to employees that each one is an 'Essential Piece' on the team.
But in only a second of looking at the swag laid out before me, I immediately thought that these pages could have been torn from your favorite party supplies catalog, you know the section where the kid's themed birthday party stuff is laid out. Where parents that really ought to know better end up selecting cups, plates, streamers, party hats, noisemakers, cake toppers, etc. - all with the same theme. Because we know every kid's party has to have a theme, and heaven help you if you try and pair a Star Wars cup with a Spongebob plate.
Here's the section of the post where I'm supposed to drive to an epic conclusion or call to action. But this time I really don't have one other than to observe that I always felt like a doofus buying the full set of Toy Story or Pirates of the Caribbean party swag for my kid's parties over the years. None of the kids really cared whether the 'theme' was consistent from pinata to cake. But what the kids did care about was whether they had a good time, the games were fun, their friends were there, and the cake and ice cream was on the money. That's what created the memories.
So buy all the 'recognition' swag you want - no one will remember that either for very long. But the people, the relationships, the work experiences; those things that really matter - well SHRM has not sent me a catalog that stocks those items just yet.