RECOGNITION MATTERS, BUT FORMS OF RECOGNITION MATTER MORE: AN OIL AND GAS PERSPECTIVE

Dr Mansoor H. Al-Harthy

ABSTRACT

Recently, motivation and retention have become serious issues in the oil and gas industry. One way to retain and motivate employees is through recognition, but the results of a survey conducted for an Omani oil and gas company show that there is a huge gap between theory and current practice in this area. Furthermore, this paper argues that the form of recognition, such as money, professional development courses, time off, service awards and personalized thank you notes, matters more than the recognition itself.

The results show that even when managers recognize their employees’ strong performance, they tend to use the wrong forms of recognition, which leads to the de-motivation of employees. Managers tend to assume that one form of recognition will fit all employees. This assumption violates the most fundamental and basic concept in the study of motivation: every employee’s wants and needs are different.

The main conclusion and the key message of this paper is to understand which recognition form to use in a given situation based on when and where each form will be most effective.

Key Words: Petroleum Management, Recognition and Reward, Recognition Forms, Human Resources Management.

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