Shadowing Practice: HR Basics: Employee Recognition - Learn English Speaking with Video
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HR Basics is a series of short courses designed to highlight
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what you need to know about a particular human resource management topic.
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In today's HR Basics, we explore employee recognition, exploring why it's important, and how to design and manage effective programs.
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Recognition is about reinforcement of employee actions, efforts, behavior, or performance that supports organizational strategy.
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Recognition acknowledges or gives special attention to employee actions,
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efforts, or behavior and performance that supports organizational strategy by reinforcing certain behaviors,
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like extraordinary accomplishments, that contribute to organizational success.
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These programs can be either formal or informal.
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Employee recognition continues to be top of mind as employers use
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their Total Rewards Toolkit to differentiate themselves as an employer of choice and solve a variety of business challenges.
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Variety is key to recognition.
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Organizations have different needs.
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Some need to increase retention in a specific business unit or type of job, while others need to support innovative thinking.
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One organization may find that recognition will help it to address a very specific individual performance issue,
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while another may determine that an overall culture of recognition will be better to contribute to organizational success.
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And yet another company may seek to accomplish all of the above by offering a full palette of recognition opportunities.
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What's common among all organization is the challenge to satisfy a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic employee needs in order to attract,
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motivate, and retain a talented, productive workforce, which is likely to be a key to business success.
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Recognition programs can be the key to motivating employees and driving organizational results according to a new survey, Trends in Employee Recognition, by World at Work.
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Employee recognition programs remain an important component in the Total Rewards Toolkit,
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with 89 % of organizations having programs in place and with 67 % of organizations offering between 3 and 6 different programs,
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with 4 .6 as the average number.
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The average number of programs appears to be trending upward to the 2011 level after dipping to 3 .9 in 2013.
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According to the 2015 report, the top five recognition programs have remained the same since 2013,
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including length of service at 87%, above and beyond performance at 76%, programs to motivate specific behaviors at 51%,
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peer -to -peer recognition at 48%, and finally retirement at 34%.
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Let's take a look at the design and management of effective recognition programs.
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Design refers to a plan or protocol for carrying out or accomplishing employee recognition.
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Planning is used in recognition to ensure motivation, engagement, and retention of high -performing employees.
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Using this planning process, you can develop core elements of a recognition plan.
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Strategy is an extension of an organization's mission, a bridge between the organization and its environment.
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Goals are a statement of desired outcome towards which effort is directed to realize your recognition plan.
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And finally, actions are the most important things that can be done to reach stated goals.
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Employees not only want good pay and benefits, they also want to be treated fairly, to make a substantial contribution to the organization through their work,
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and to be valued and appreciated for their efforts.
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To show appreciation, many employers implement ongoing recognition programs designed to thank employees for a variety of achievements.
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Among the most common programs are those that recognize length of service, exemplary, one -time achievement, and noteworthy performance over a period of time.
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Although organizations typically recognize employees' length of service milestones and instances of strong individual or team performance,
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many organizations are beginning to focus on other, less traditional areas of recognition.
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Among them are the following, the ability to manage or champion change and innovation, systems improvement, customer retention, significant development,
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and actions that embody the organization's core values.
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Some employees may not be as motivated as others by an organization's incentives,
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so organizations should offer a variety of incentives and recognition opportunities to meet various employee needs.
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For recognition programs to be effective, it should meet several criteria.
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The program should be well -funded, aligned with organizational goals, appropriate for employees' achievement and timely.
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Recognition programs need to be well -funded.
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The key to success for a recognition program is management's commitment of resources.
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During the budgeting process for the year ahead, the organization should earmark funds for the program and establish methods for distributing those funds.
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Managers must dedicate the resources, including the time it takes to plan and execute a program, and must enable employees and supervisors to run the program.
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Through this process, managers can see the distribution is fair
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and equitable and the money that's allocated is immediately available to fund programs once it's announced to employees.
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Programs need to be aligned with goals and values.
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Recognition programs are most successful when they're aligned with the organization's mission, vision, values, and goals.
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Employees can tell if there is, or if there is not, a clear connection between what management says is important and what actually is.
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Programs need to be appropriate.
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Employees must understand the rationale for recognition programs and should be convinced
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that the awards are in line with the achievement and the degree of effort that they represent.
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A recognition system will falter if employee feels that their works is trivialized
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or even insulted by inconsequential incentives or insincere gestures of appreciation.
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Awards should be consistent with the employee's achievement and meaningful to the person receiving it.
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Finally, programs need to be timely.
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The reward
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or recognition should be delivered as close as possible to the
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time of the desired behavior to strengthen the link between the employee's action and the result of the organization.
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Management is about getting employee recognition done right through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
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The entire recognition process should be managed with a minimum of administrative effort.
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A system that requires excessive management control,
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complex financial calculations, or exceptional employee efforts to be understood will not likely achieve its desired results.
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Employers should provide a clear, written policy and guidelines describing the recognition program and its terms including employee eligibility requirements,
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the approval process, the types of awards that will be provided, the frequency of award presentations, the performance goals that will be measured,
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and the threshold for awards.
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Recognition programs must be monitored continually for relevance.
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Employers should consider asking the following questions when evaluating their programs.
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Are the program's awards fair and appropriate?
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Are the program's objectives being met?
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Are there appropriate levels of communication?
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Do employees find the program meaningful?
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And what should be done differently?
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Few managers are naturals in carrying out employee recognition and awards programs.
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Most need to acquire skills related to recognizing employee contributions and giving effective feedback and praise.
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All managers should be trained to do the following.
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Help employees understand the impact their performance has on the organization.
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Explain how the program works and how employees can achieve recognition.
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Learn ways to motivate and inspire others.
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Learn how to communicate needs, expectations, and goals clearly.
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And finally, deliver appreciation and praise in a sincere and timely manner for maximum results.
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An employee recognition program should include a means of measuring the value it creates.
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Few organizations track the return on investment of their employee engagement or recognition programs.
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Those that do such tracking, however, generally use employee retention levels, overall financial results, and employee productivity levels.
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Programs should also be monitored continuously to keep them relevant and current.
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Among the questions that can help determine the program's effectiveness are the following.
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Are the rewards adequate, fair, competitive, and appropriate?
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Have the program's objectives been met?
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Do the programs have appropriate levels of communication?
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Do employees find the program meaningful, and what changes should be made?
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When employees and their work are valued, their satisfaction and productivity rises and they are motivated to maintain or improve their good work.
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Praise and recognition are essential to an outstanding workplace.
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People want to be respected and valued by others for their contribution.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “HR Basics: Employee Recognition”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: recognition, program, employee, organization, performance. This video has 98 sentences and 1305 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:19. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| recognition noun | /ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n/ | The act of recognizing or the condition of being recognized (matching a current observation with a memory of a prior observation of the same entity). |
| organizational adjective | /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/ | Of, relating to, or produced by an organization. |
| motivate verb | /ˈmoʊ.tɪ.veɪt/ | To provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate. |
| achievement noun | /əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/ | The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment. |
| employer noun | /ɪmˈplɔɪə/ | A person, firm or other entity which pays for or hires the services of another person. |
| reward noun | /ɹɪˈwɔɹd/ | Something of value given in return for an act. |
| retention noun | /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/ | The act of retaining or something retained. |
| resource noun | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel. |
| contribution noun | /ˌkɑntɹɪˈbjuʃən/ | Something given or offered that adds to a larger whole. |
| praise verb | /pɹeɪz/ | To give praise to; to commend, glorify, or worship. |
| meaningful adjective | /ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/ | Having meaning, significant. |
| appreciation noun | /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of appreciating. |
| incentive noun | /ɪnˈsɛntɪv/ | Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages. |
| timely adjective | /ˈtaɪm.li/ | Done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt. |
| align verb | /əˈlaɪn/ | To form a line; to fall into line. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Are the program's awards fair and appropriate?
- Are the program's objectives being met?
- Have the program's objectives been met?
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/, threshold /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)oʊld/, noteworthy /ˈnəʊtˌwɜːði/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: recognition /ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n/, organizational /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/, retention /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/, contribution /ˌkɑntɹɪˈbjuʃən/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: recognition /ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n/, organizational /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/, contribution /ˌkɑntɹɪˈbjuʃən/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, productivity /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like recognition, organizational, motivate.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.