Flattery will get you nowhere. Getting the bottom line out of employee recognition programs.

Most industries, including hospitals, understand that recognizing employees for doing a good job helps increase their productivity and job satisfaction. And that is no doubt why they do it. But is it ethical? Is it all right to give someone a deserving pat on the back if the pat on the back is also self-serving? The motivating spirit of the Catholic healthcare ministry is recognition of the dignity and worth of each human being, whether those persons are patients or healthcare employees. Accordingly, employee recognition at Catholic facilities is based on the employee's dignity as a person, and it must come from the manager's heart. Respect for each person's dignity is a virtue that cannot be faked. Proper recognition means the manager affirms and values the employee's job, performance, and person. To properly exhibit employee recognition, the manager must be mature, honest in the sense of exhibiting some of his or her own feelings and attitudes, and able to listen to others. Recognition may motivate employees to work harder to increase productivity, even though it is not meant to. On the other hand, if its purpose is to increase productivity, recognition could have negative effects.