Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once said,?There are two things people want more than sex andmoney?recognition and praise.? Time and time again theone motivating factor that production and is at the top ofmost employee lists is appreciation for a job well done. It isrequested more than the green stuff, money.

Why don't more managers, owners, and employees giveappreciation? Some people state they don't know how togive it. Others say they don't know what to give. Stillothers say they are too busy to give or show appreciation.

I think this is one of the biggest sins of managers, being toobusy to give appreciation for a good job well done.Remember what the old transmission commercials used tosay, "You can pay me now or you can pay me later." Well,that is what giving appreciation is about. You can invest inyour employees now and "pay" them with sincereappreciation and achieve even better performance. Or youwill "pay" later when you see your team's performance sink,corrective actions, and overall morale decrease.

The following are five tips to giving sincere appreciate thatwill motivate your team to soar to higher level and achievemore:

1. Be Specific

In order to get the same behavior or action again you need tolet the employee know exactly what action(s) you areappreciating. For example, the typical attempt at appreciatesounds like this:

Manager: "Mike, you did a great job earlier today. Keep

up the good work!"

Mike:"Thanks" (Mike is thinking what is he complimenting

me on?)

The correct way:

Manager: "Mike you did a great job on the report earlier

today. I can see you invested a lot of time on the report by

the detail you put in it. I really appreciate you effort.

Thank you."

Mike: "I appreciate you noticed the time a put into the

report. Thanks!" (Mike is thinking that the manager really

did read it and appreciates his effort. I will be glad to do it

again.)

As you can see the employee has a clear understanding ofwhat action the manager is showing appreciated for and he ismotivated to take on the project again.

2. Be Timely

Make sure you show appreciation as soon as possible to theaction you appreciate. The further the distant in timebetween the appreciation and the action the less impact itwill have to motivate the employee.

Manager: Mike, the report you submitted six month ago

was great. Keep up the good work. Thanks!"

Mike: "Thanks, I think. What report are you taking

about?"

Always find time to show appreciate in a timely manner.Even if you need to drop something else take time toappreciate your employees.

3. Be Fair

One of the key concerns of students in my workshops is thatwhen appreciation is shown, it doesn't seem fair. Thebiggest villain of this is the dreaded "Employee of theMonth" board. Many times when you ask the "Employee ofthe Month" what did you do to earn it they say, "I don?tknow." I have one action you must take when givingappreciation...be consistent!

* First, clearly state the rules for appreciation so that

everyone understands

how appreciate is earned.

* Second, be consistent when showing appreciation. If

one employee does a favorable action and you show

appreciation and another employee does the same or

similar action and you don't show appreciation you have

just sewn the seeds of bad morale and feelings of

favoritism.

* Third, always be on the lookout for "finding something

good" your employees do well. Once you achieve this

mindset you will always find the good and increase morale

and productivity within your team and organization.

* Fourth, be pure in your appreciation. If you to show

appreciation, don't muddle it with other communication. In

other words, don't show appreciation for one action and

then start discussing a potential corrective action for

another action. This sends mixed signals that say to the

receiver of this

communication, "I don't want any appreciation because

there is always something bad attached to it." Keep it

4. Be Public, if Possible

Appreciation is not something you hide. It works best whendone publicly. Show you appreciation in a public way inmeetings, in front of team members, and management. Thefunny thing is that once you get in the habit of doing thismany of your team members will increase the activity theyneed to take to also earn thispublic appreciation.

5. Be Relational

When I ask the question, "Why do you come to workeveryday?," in my workshops I usually get "to get paid" asthe first answer the students give. Then as we discuss itfurther it always comes down to "I feel like I make adifference" as the main answer.You see, in most cases the reason why employees decide toclimb out of bed in the morning, their toes touch the floor,and they decide to drive to work is that they feel that theymake a difference where they work.

I remember an opportunity to emcee a large sales meeting fora Fortune 500 company. I introduced a Senior Vice Presidentand he went to the lectern to address over 500 employees.He announced that the company achieved sales of $14billion. Then he quickly announced that their goal for thenext year was $17 billion. As he was talking I was looking atthe audience. They were unusually quiet and attentive.However, as I looked at them they had a glassy eye look. Irealized the problem was that the speaker was just talkingnumbers. He didn't relate how those 500+ employees made apositive difference for the company. All he needed to saywas how their sacrifice everyone translated in the success ofthe company. Along with this, they will meet the comingyears challenges only with the talents of ouremployees. So simple, but so rarely done.

Relate the action done with how if affects the team,department and organization. Let's go back to our earlierexamples to complete the appreciate process:

Manager: "Mike you did a great job on the report for the

new computer system earlier today. I can see you invested

a lot of time to do the research so that we have the

necessary information to request the computer system.

Mike, we appreciate your efforts because the new

computer system will make our team more productive so

that the department will achieve its goals and the company

will be profitable this year. Bottom line, bigger bonuses for

everyone. I look forward to seeing

your high level of work in the future. Thank you."

Mike:"Thanks. I appreciate making a difference. Please

let me know whatever I can do to help the team."

As you can see, Mike has a clear sense of achievement andwhere he fits in the company. Also, the manager encouragedMike to do the same behavior soon by saying "I lookforward to seeing your high level of work in the future."And the manager ended with a sincere "thank you."

These are five simple tips that will motivate your employeesto achieve more with a minimum amount of efforts. Startingtoday, apply these techniques and you will see a world ofdifference in your team, department, and organization.Remember, "pay" yourself with the rewards now or "pay"yourself with a low performing team later.

Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and leadingexpert in the areas of leadership, motivation, stressmanagement, customer service, and team building. You cane-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at(757) 427-7032. Goto his web site,http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter,OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Empowerment andStress Secrets for the Busy Professional."