Recognition tips
Chester Elton a motivation expert, will be a keynote speaker at the 2009 Leaders in Dubai Business Forum which will take place from Oct 26-28

Chester Elton a motivation expert, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fast Company magazine and the New York Times. He is a recognition consultant to Fortune 100 firms such as DHL, KPMG, Wal-Mart and the Avis Budget Group. Elton is a keynote speaker at the 2009 Leaders in Dubai Business Forum which will take place from October 26 to 28 at Dubai International Convention Centre.

Do you see the Middle East and Asia leading the world out of the financial crisis?
All developed countries will be a part of the solution, and the Middle East and Asia are vital to that recovery. There is no question there cannot be a full recovery without their participation.

Will the financial crisis slow down poverty alleviation work and programmes to control climate change?
It may actually help. As businesses and economies rebuild, there will be a greater emphasis on ‘green.’ The issue of climate change will be at the forefront of rebuilding of the global economy.

What lessons have you learned from the financial meltdown over the past 12 months?
First, we have learned that we need to value people over numbers. When we make decisions on how we grow our businesses, we need to keep the human effect as our key priority. How our decisions as leaders will affect our people has been lost in the blizzard of numbers. It is time to get back to the value of people in business - to treat them not as costs of doing business but as value creators. In the end, the collective strength of our people will pull us out of this crisis.

What is the single most important thing that concerns you or fills you with hope in the world today?
The strength of families is my greatest hope and my greatest concern. Where you see strong family ties with respect for parents and elders you see strong communities and strong economies. Where families are torn apart by war and economic collapse you see societies erode and economies contract. Wherever we can build good schools for our children and good jobs in our countries that can support strong families you see peace and prosperity. It is my greatest hope when I see parents that love and provide for their children and elders and my biggest fear when I see parts of the world where this is not possible through political corruption or war.

You believe that recognition is one of the most important management tools; can you share with us some of your general recognition tips?
After working with some of the world’s most successful companies and managers, we have found that effective non-cash recognition is frequent, specific and timely. That may sound simple like most business concepts. The profound part is executing that strategy. Recognition should be frequent - every seven days - to communicate what we value most. It should be specific to your core organisational goals, because rewarded behaviour gets repeated and we want the right behaviours repeated.

And finally, recognition can’t wait until a year-end bonus or performance review. It must be timely to show that we are paying attention and value employee efforts. When employees are sincerely rewarded for their great work it changes everything.

 

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