The 2 questions you need to ask before the end of 2019

It’s getting close, so close you can almost feel it…the end of the year.

As a Business Manager or Team Leader, no doubt you will have had a desk and/or an inbox full of things to do this year and sometimes it may have felt like you were treading water and wondering when you could take a breath.

I hope you managed lots of calm breaths and I’m sure you have acknowledged and celebrated wins through out the year, but did you know that it’s not unusual for leaders to miss moments of amazing customer service, miss seconds of team success or never hear about all of the customer compliments? That’s OK - you can’t be everywhere but those moments really matter to your team.

The end of a calendar year is a great time to pause - unless you work in events/hospitality when this is your time for ramping it up. For those who are winding down, now is a great time to reflect, recognise and reward staff for their dedication and commitment to service excellence.

Before you turn off your computer, sign out and run (or crawl) to your car for the last time this year, there’s one thing you can do that will end the year on a high and leave staff looking forward to next year.

Ask staff to reflect on the year and respond to the following 2 questions – in writing/email.

 1.     Which individual or team do you think deserves recognition for their work this year?

2.     Explain why you chose that person/team. What did they do?

Receiving responses in writing allows you time to collate, review and consider how you would like to recognise or reward the efforts.

Tip: Peer recognition is incredibly valuable but seek permission from all staff as to how you share their responses.

Some staff may prefer to give/receive feedback anonymously, some may appreciate celebrating with each other and others are happy either way. Seek to respect individual reward and recognition preferences or you run the risk of turning a positive experience into moments of cringe.

No matter what, have fun and remember that you are part of the reason the good things happened so give yourself a pat on the back - really, reach around and give yourself a good ol’ back slap and if anyone see’s you doing it, tell them Cate said you deserve it.

Teams that work well do so because of positive leaders - thank you for leading your team and thank you for thanking them.

By Cate Schreck - Director of Lightbulb Training Solutions