When
I was a dean of academic affairs at Lansing Community College (MI), we
began every yearwith what I thought was a kind of hokey ceremony at the
time. I was a cynical liberal artist at the time grieving for my
administrative art and montage of post-pre-avant garde modern -
traditional learning symbologies (whatever they are.)
The
college president Phil Gannon used to start the year with an
ingathering of all employees. The usual parade of administrators started
it all with our plans for the year and introductions of department
chairs who introduced new faculty or staff. Yes, there was a time when
colleges actually hired new faculty and staff. Then he and Ron Dove,
the Director of HR would hand out service pins to people.
This
is what I thought was a bit hokey. To think that a service pin for five
years of service would mean anything? I mean if you want to make
people feel appreciated give them more money. Boy was I wrong. If they
had handed out checks the response would have been much more subdued.
They
would call out that they were giving out pins for twenty-five years of
service. Then they would call out the one or two people who made it to
twenty-five years. The recipients would walk down through the auditorium
to the applause of all the people there and receive a pin with a small
diamond chip in it and a framed certificate. They would wait for all the
recipients to be called to get their pin and framed certificate beaming
as if they were Sally Fields and had won the Academy Award. “You like
me. You really like me!” Then they would be introduced as recipients of
twenty-five year pins and everyone would clap, and whistle and stomp
approval as they basked in their peer’s recognition.
This
went on through twenty years, fifteen years, ten and five. The
enthusiasm from the audience was retained all throughout what I now
recognize as the pinning ceremony for employee engagement with the
school. And to be able to recognize that the ceremony was the one thing
between everyone and lunch yet no one made a move to the door during all
the pinnings attests to how important this recognition was at the
college.
Years
later I was a president of a school that felt beaten down upon. The
demands made on everyone were enormous and never seemed to be enough.
Meet one goal and an even higher one was given to you. People just did
not seem to be able to please corporate. This was a career college. Oh
by the way, I have worked in every type of school there us so my
experience and suggestions are an amalgamation of experiences and
suggestions I make will apply to whatever type of school you, dear
reader, are working in.
The
people at the school did receive bonuses, cash rewards for meeting some
set goals but the money never seemed good enough. Money just paid bills
not the sense of value after all. Besides it was earned by meeting
goals.
I
decided to bring in recognition of service pins among other ways to
build morale and recognize people. It took a while to design and choose
just the right pins but it was well worth the effort. We did not
announce the ceremony when we had our monthly “Knowledge of the College”
(another communication and engagement tool I highly recommend. It is
like a convocation but monthly and brings people up to date and into
what is happening at the school.) on Thursday afternoon.
Then
Mel Lyons (HR Director) and I called one person forward and announced
the first ever twenty-five year pin. The faculty member was overwhelmed
by the recognition. She had thought no one cared and even knew of her
contributions to the school. It didn’t hurt that she had recently been
having some issues with a new dean of academic affairs who didn’t seem
to care about the faculty member’s long contribution.
We
could have shut off the lights and read from the beam of happiness the
faculty member was giving off. Her bright joy would be repeated by
everyone else we recognized that day and every year following. The
people loved those recognition pins and were overjoyed when someone saw
the school crest and a jewel on a pin and inquired about it. They really
enjoyed saying how they had served the college for X number of years
and we had recognized their service in a way that they could show off
every day. And some did wear that pin every single day.
What
I first thought was kind of hokey just may have been but it was also
very meaningful to so many. It was also a very powerful way to show our
appreciation and regain many more years of engagement in the school, and
its students. Though they were not ever directly studied, I do believe
they had a role to play in the college’s 14% increase in enrollment that
year.
So,
honoring employees in a way that was meaningful to them led to a major
re-engagement in the school and students. I cannot recommend the
recognition pins more highly. If your school is not doing a recognition
ceremony yet, start one thus year and see even stronger engagement
occur. Need any help with the pins or ceremony, just contact us. Be glad
to help.
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