Recognition and Appreciation of Employee Effort - Assignment Example

Good Deed Report 14/11 RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION OF EMPLOYEE EFFORT Dear Supervisor, I hereby request for the appreciation and recognition of my colleague Allan McKenzie for his determination and dedication in ensuring business activities continued at a fast food restaurant for three consecutive days when I was away. Allan works in the accounting department, but I work in the food service department. I work part time because of a high flow of customers in the restaurant in the afternoons and evenings, but Allan works full time only leaving for Christine, who works on the night shift. However, Allan stepped in and worked 12 hours, 4 hours daily to cover for my absence without causing problems in workflow. Immediately after college, I landed a part-time job in a fast food restaurant in the city before receiving my college results. After working for a few months, I received a notification that I had qualified to pursue a degree course at the University. When admissions were close, I was preoccupied with registration and admission procedures and seldom found time to attend work. In the last week of administration, I had many follow-up activities related to my university admission and did not find time to go to work. However, Allan multitasked and served customers at the counter and food service unit. I was new at work, and it was difficult finding an employee at the restaurant to cover for me. My colleagues in the food service unit were often overwhelmed in the afternoons after working throughout the morning. Therefore, my absence was unwelcome unless I had someone to replace me at the unit to avoid overworking my colleagues. Allan was the most unlikely colleague since he was working in the accounting department, but the only employee left. It was amazing when he agreed to my request after thoroughly explaining why I would be away. The fast food restaurant was small compared to other restaurants in the city. However, the increasing number of colleges surrounding the restaurant was a potential market for expansion and growth, especially during the fall. Many factors made Allan succeed in performing both duties and tasks. Firstly, I recognized Allan has exceptional customer relations skills. It is apparent many customers arriving in the evening had delayed service because he had to juggle between receiving money from customers and serving them food. Secondly, Allan is a team player. He has never worked in the food service unit, thus, not familiar with many employees there. However, he managed to get along with the employees to offer a lasting experience to customers. Finally, I was surprised by Allan’s flexibility. He not only demonstrated his dedication at work, but his efforts were a demonstration of creativity in service. It is admirable if such acts are not only appreciated, but also recognized. Moreover, recognition is effective when done by an appropriate party, and this is the primary objective of this letter. Employee recognition of each other’s efforts is commonplace in the workplace, but recognition by top management impacts motivation and satisfaction to improve performance. I remain grateful to Allan for his selfless effort because literally, I succeeded at two deeds at the same time. He did this in order to maintain the flow of business activities, and it is admirable if he got appreciated and recognized for his selfless effort. Memo To: From: Date: 14/11/2014 Subject: REQUEST FOR SUPERVISOR RECOGNITION OF COLLEAGUE EFFORTS Dear Professor, I recently wrote a memo to my supervisor requesting him to appreciate and recognize the efforts of a colleague, Allan McKenzie. I worked with Allan at a fast food restaurant in the city immediately after college, but we were employees working in different departments. I worked in the food service department while Allan worked in the accounting department. I remember when Allan had to work on my behalf for twelve consecutive hours, 4 hours daily to cover for my absence at work. After landing a job at the restaurant and working for a few months, I received a letter of admission to pursue a degree course after passing my college exams. Many employees at work were happy when I shared my joy, and I was motivated to pursue my education and land a well-paying job after university. It is apparent I was preoccupied with admissions and registration procedures at the university and often delayed to work or never went to work. Moreover, I had many follow up activities in the final weeks before admission, and I could not attend work. I was in a dilemma because it was difficult finding someone to cover my tasks and was almost compelled to quit my job to finish admissions because my supervisor was concerned about my erratic absences at work. I was relieved when Allan McKenzie agreed to cover my duties and tasks at work after I had explained to him the need to be away from work. I was busy following up administration procedures for three consecutive days, but Allan managed to juggle between receiving money for fast food while serving customers in the food service unit. It was challenging, and the fact that Allan managed to carry out both activities without registering problems cannot go unmentioned. Moreover, more colleges in the city led to increased demand for fast food and flow of customers to the restaurant, and it was commendable to appreciate and recognize Allan for demonstrating exceptional skills and abilities to operate both units successfully. I found out employees possessed latent skills from Allan’s effort that if given the opportunity to exercise, dramatically increase their performance at work. I discovered that Allan had exceptional customer relations skills. During the evenings, it is apparent customers’ experienced late service at both units because Alan had to juggle between both, but I am surprised there were no complaints from customers when I was away. Moreover, I realized Allan was a team player when he successfully operated both units. Even though, he was not familiar with employees in the food service unit, they readily welcomed him and were grateful for his contributions to offer customers quality service. Finally, the ability to multi-task demonstrated Allan was flexible at work. He did not possess relevant skills to deliver services at the food service unit effectively, but he quickly adapted and offered even better services to customers in both units. I believe these exceptional skills give the business a competitive advantage if it exploits the potential of employees. Therefore, my personal appreciation and recognition is not sufficient. This situation is what explains my letter to the supervisor in order to use this opportunity to motivate and encourage his staff to maintain and improve performance. Read More