The Art of Recognition
Presenters – Lions Karla & Clarence Harris
It is a rare and high privilege to be in a
position to help people understand the
differences that they can make not only in
their own lives, but in the lives of others
by simply giving of themselves.
~Helen Boosalis
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Objectives
 Understanding Volunteer Motivation
 Compliments and Celebrating Little
Achievements
 High Praise
 Learn and Experience Volunteer Recognition
Methods
 Have fun!
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Understanding Motivation
 Theories of motivation – why do people
volunteer?
 27 Academic Theories of Motivation
 Framework of needs that motivate humans
 Three Theories
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
SelfActualization
Esteem/Ego
Love/Belonging
Security/Safety
Physical /Survival
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Dogbert
Hierarchy
More
money
False Hope of
Advancement
Recognition without
monetary benefits
Thrill of Empowerment
Artificial challenge created by poor
planning and inadequate resources
Coffee, donuts, caffeinated soft drinks
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Lions Hierarchy of needs
Focus
Fun
Friends
Free Stuff
Food
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McKinsey Survey
Found that three non-cash motivators that
were as or more important to employees
than the 3 highest financial incentives
*Praise from immediate managers
*Attention from leaders
*A chance to lead a project
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Types of Appreciation
 Reward & Recognition
 Formal & Informal*
 * Compliments and Little Celebrations
 Today’s Lesson
Everyone needs some, but who gets what?
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A Perfect Solution
Really Big
Idea
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Say Thank You All the Time
 Lions need to hear THANK YOU all the time –
not just once a
year!
 Appreciation means we are Valued
When we feel Valued,
 We give our best work, we bring out the best in all of us, we have
Happy, Proud Lions who stay.
 And we attract new Lions who can
 Do More Service Projects
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Why We Should Celebrate “Little
Achievements” More!
 Our Compliments and little celebrations:
 Encourage Lions who are struggling
 Help Lions Learn New Tasks
 Strengthens Relationships
 Increases Your Circle of Friends
 Helps You Become Less Cynical
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Why We Don’t Do Either
 Our Brains are designed to focus on the Negative
 We are Self-Absorbed
 Lions don’t need thanks!
 We See Everything as a Competition
 We are Shy
 We Don’t Want to Appear like a Brown-
Noser/Suck-Up/Kiss ?
 We Assume They Already Know
 We Don’t Know What to Say!
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Appreciate & Recognize Service
 Create a culture of recognition
 High Praise = true motivation
 Robert Half International Staffing Study - Found
the number one reason why
people leave
their jobs is the
lack of praise and recognition.
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High Quality Praise Communicates
 I SAW WHAT YOU DID
 I APPRECIATE IT
 HERE’S WHY IT IS IMPORTANT, and
 HERE’S HOW IT MAKES ME FEEL!
Source: Bob Nelson, Ph.d 1501 Ways to Reward Employees
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Praise should be ASAP
 As Soon
 As Sincere
 As Specific
 As Personal
 As Positive
 As Proactive
…as possible!
Source: Bob Nelson, Ph.d 1501 Ways to Reward Employees
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Everyone (even YOU) needs some R&R, but
Who gets What?
 Match it to the person
 Match it to the achievement
 Match it to your budget!
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High Praise Practice
 Practice compliments and recognition
 Schedule a Regular Time Each Week/Month to
write/send thank you notes
 Get good at seeing behaviors worth celebrating
 The Other Half of a compliment is knowing
How to “Receive” Them!
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High Praise Challenge
 Challenge yourself to compliment five different
people next week!
1) A Loved one
2) A Co-worker
3) A long-time Lion
4) A new Lion
5) A prospective Lion
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Key Points Summary
Awareness of Volunteers Motivation
Supervise Positively with Thanks and High Praise
Keep a Culture of Reward and Recognition
The Key to turning some-time volunteers into
long-time members is ?
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Some of the richest people in the
world are not millionaires. They are
volunteers.
~ Energizeinc.com
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Thank You!
See Web page:
Informal Recognition - Over 200
Ways to Reward and Recognize
Volunteers
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