Recognizing Individual Performers on a Remote Team
Giving the right praise and recognition in the digital space.
Recognizing Individuals in Remote Work Teams
We hear things like “There’s no ‘I’ in team” all the time. Yet few companies are set up to actually reward teamwork. Teams, after all, don’t get promoted or groomed to be CEO -- people do. So some competition among team members is often a natural part of group work.
Usually that’s not a big deal. When people see one another all the time, they learn to navigate the tension between teamwork and individual recognition. When the supervisor can see people working and participate in meetings, team members believe their individual contributions and performance are noted. Most people find it motivating when a colleague gets special recognition for work well done – because they know their efforts will be similarly called out when the time is right.
But how does that change when the team works remotely? Is it still OK to single out someone for their good work? Or should all your focus be on promoting team equality and unity?
It’s still OK to call attention to good individual performance when managing a remote team. Just consider a couple of extra things when you publicly praise a team member.
Social influence is a powerful thing. When we see other people getting positive reinforcement, we tend to imitate them to get the same rewards for ourselves – and there’s a “double whammy” when this happens in a team. When we see a high-performing team member rewarded by the boss, that’s usually coupled with praise and gratitude from other team members – because the colleague likely made their work better too. This “double whammy” of positive feedback means other team members want to copy the behavior of the star performer.
Your job as manager is to make this easy for them to do. Consider these techniques:
1-Explain why you give rewards. Co-workers will mimic their high performing colleagues when they can identify specific behaviors that get rewarded. So make your praise as specific as possible. Rather than, “Julie is the top performer today,” try, “Julie did an outstanding job handling an irate client from JKL Company today.” To make the connection even stronger, have Julie describe what she did, then point out her best behaviors. Both Julie and her teammates will better understand what excellent customer service is all about.
2-Give informal recognition. While monetary rewards are nice, just taking a minute to provide verbal praise can be just as meaningful. My math teacher in high school drew cartoon pictures of the “Student of the Week” on his classroom chalkboard every Monday morning – and 40 years later, I still remember being excited for Geometry just to see who was honored that week. You don’t have to use artistic talent – just a slide with a photograph at the beginning of your weekly meeting will suffice. Take the opportunity to say “thank you” whenever you can.
3-Expect more from the team – not the individual. Recognize that people don’t usually have it in them to exceed expectations every day. So use someone’s “above and beyond” performance to motivate everyone on the team to perform better. Have the team brainstorm how they can apply Julie’s strategy to other customer interactions and help them set goals to help each other use the new behavior. Instead of expecting Julie to work harder individually, explain how the entire team can benefit from her skills.
Once you start the cycle of recognition, you need to be committed to regular shout-outs. If teams start to think that none of them deserve a reward, they’re likely to become discouraged. Positive emotions are contagious – but negative ones are too. Going too long between performance celebrations can breed anxiety and doubt. Don’t start this process unless you’re committed to making it a regular occurrence.
So while there’s technically no “I” in team, you can still recognize individual exemplary performance. Just be clear about the criteria for recognition and encourage others to learn from their excellent teammates.
