I just ran the Steamboat half-marathon this past weekend and had a blast. The half-marathon course starts at around 7,200 feet above sea level and winds through the most beautiful countryside you can imagine into the western style downtown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As I ran through the cheering crowds along the last mile of the course, I was amazed at how much faster I started running. It made me think about the importance of recognition in the work place.

Today's article is short, in part because I am currently on vacation climbing and hiking in Zion National Park in Utah. But I still wanted to provide you with some valuable resources to help you tailor how you recognize people you work with.

This first resource is a short presentation based on an article I found on the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) website. The author breaks down the demographics of the workforce into 6 categories and then makes suggestions on award ideas for each demographic category. The idea being that a one size fits all approach to recognition isn't very effective.

This second resource is a list of 101 ways to Recognize, Reward, and Motivate your Employees that Cost Very Little or Nothing. This PDFhas a number of ideas I have gathered over the years working with clients (look under the "Motivation" section).

If you want to build a team that is committed (versus compliant), take the time to recognize people. We are half-way through the performance year; have you taken the time to recognize your people?