If you\u2019re a business owner or a C level executive, here\u2019s\nsomething that\u2019s probably been on your mind lately: Given the reality of the pandemic, it\u2019s\nalmost certain that you\u2019re going to miss whatever fourth quarter targets you\nhad planned on meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact of the matter is that the economic disruptions\ncaused by COVID-19 have been devastating, and there\u2019s no end in sight. In fact, many governors are extending the\nlockdown periods for their respective states, even as a few states experiment\nwith beginning to open things back up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Survey after survey shows that more than 70% of American\nadults are more concerned with keeping the virus contained than with reopening\nthe economy, and it seems that so far at least, a majority of governors are\ngoing along with this line of thinking. \nPut all of that together and it probably comes as no surprise that\nwhatever Fourth Quarter targets you may have originally been shooting for are\nprobably going to be missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What you may not have considered though, is how to handle\nrewards and recognition in light of the missed goals. After all, the goals didn\u2019t get missed\nbecause your employees were slacking off, they got missed because the entire\neconomy shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our view is that in this unprecedented situation, the best\nanswer is to celebrate, reward and recognize the achievements of employees who\nhave helped move the ball down the field, regardless of whether the actual goal\nis met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It should be made clear and be well understood that this\nisn\u2019t the new normal; that you\u2019re not suddenly in the habit of rewarding missed\ndeadlines, targets and goals, but these are extraordinary circumstances, and\ngiven the realities of our current situation, any forward progress toward your\ngoals at all is better than none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact is, your employees are working under incredibly\ntough circumstances that may stretch on for months yet. Despite that, they keep doing what they\u2019re\ndoing and moving closer to the goals you\u2019ve established. There\u2019s value in that, and it\u2019s value that\nought not be overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rewards and recognition help morale. Right now, with people isolated and working\nfrom home, morale needs all the help it can get. If you don\u2019t decouple the Fourth Quarter\ngoals from the rewards in this instance, odds are you\u2019ll hurt morale even more,\nwhich is going to hurt your bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a counterintuitive approach but if ever there was a\ntime to consider something like this, it would be for the Q4 Awards this pandemic-year.\nReward your employees for the progress they\u2019ve made toward your goals and for\ntheir tireless contributions in the face of a global pandemic. Then, once the dust settles, recalibrate,\nreassess, and revise your goals from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is said that no plan survives contact with the\nenemy. In this instance, our common\nenemy is the virus itself. We\u2019ve all\nbeen impacted by it, but that only makes it more important than ever to\ncelebrate whatever progress can and is being made. It still represents a significant milestone,\neven if it\u2019s not the milestone you were hoping for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019re a business owner or a C level executive, here\u2019s something that\u2019s probably been on your mind lately: Given the reality of the pandemic, it\u2019s almost certain that you\u2019re going to miss whatever fourth quarter targets you had planned on meeting. The fact of the matter is that the economic disruptions caused by COVID-19 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[656],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-employee-recognition-2"],"yoast_head":"\n