On Sunday night the TV Week Logie Awards were celebrated as celebs from all over Australia congregated in Sydney to schmooze and booze.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
There was a poorly executed cocaine joke ad-libbed by Karl Stefanovic, a faulty mic pack that malfunctioned during Amy Shark's performance, a missing Ray Meagher during Sam Pang's tribute to him (awkward!), many (apparently) unforeseen wins, and the highs and lows of fashion on the red carpet. Plenty of everything for everyone, regardless of whether your jam is watching celeb cringeworthy moments, embarrassing technical difficulties, stars gone walkabout at the worst possible moment, and clotheshorse watching.
While we see awards shows like The Logies on TV and get to ooh and aah over the celebrity accolades and fashion accessories, the entertainment industry is not the only one to celebrate its achievements. And there's good reason for that.
Most professional associations run annual awards ceremonies (usually linked in with conferences), where industry members are invited to self-nominate or nominate a colleague, mentor, or service provider etc., to be recognised at a prestigious industry-led event. Of course, while similar to The Logies in principle, the events tend to leave the red carpet in the hotel basement and the TV camera crews back at the local network station. However, that doesn't diminish their impact or their role in encouraging industry innovation, development and excellence.
It might seem like a whole lot of glitz, glamour and gratuitous ego-stroking when viewed on TV from the comfort of your PJs on the sofa at home, and you probably wouldn't be entirely wrong.
But awards ceremonies are actually an important part of building a culture of recognised merit.
READ MORE:
Regardless of whether there are reporters waiting to interview you on the red carpet before you enter the venue, awards ceremonies make people feel both their work, and they, are valued. This in turn instils a sense of purpose and confidence, for the individual, which can lead to more success for that individual on a personal level, However, not only that: it also sets the industry bar and encourages intra-industry competition, shapes the principles of industry best practice, and establishes a culture of expected excellence that works to continuously evolve the settings of the bar over time.
Recognition for a job well done - and the credit for it - is one of the most impactful values that influence staff retention. It doesn't have to be industry-wide - it can be company-focused. Many companies have a customised rewards and recognition system in their organisation, which focuses on rewarding KPI achievements, records set, customer satisfaction outcomes, sales figures, budget management etc., sometimes as often as monthly, other times quarterly, biannually or annually.
In addition to the employee perks, from a company perspective, it works to inspire hard work and dedication, encourage staff to go above and beyond and ultimately, drive that bottom line figure up and up.
What's not to love?
READ MORE ZOË WUNDENBERG COLUMNS:
Some employers feel recognising the value of their employees requires a loss of power in the relationship; they are literally giving them the evidence of their value and this leads to fiscal concerns such value may warrant a pay rise.
And, you know what? They wouldn't be wrong. However, staff retention is one of the single greatest ways to keep costs down long term. Having a staff group an employer can rely on, knowing they are passionate about the brand, dedicated to your customers and confident in the way they do their job, reaps a reward all of its own: staff loyalty, decreased staff absenteeism, increased productivity, lower workplace stress levels and improved team culture.
So if the cost of valuing your staff and empowering them to reach their potential with confidence is the need for a small increase to the payroll, it's more than likely worth it, because at the end of the day, your people are your company's most important asset. If you value them, they will value you.
- Zoë Wundenberg is a careers consultant and un/employment advocate at impressability.com.au, and a regular columnist for ACM.