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We have this monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual rewards and recognition program in our company. It is awarded based on performance, merit and value brought to the project/customer/company.

Despite performing consistently (and better than some of my peers), self-learning a bunch of UI frameworks, implementing a few Process Simplification tools that I wholly designed and developed, conducting 4-5 training sessions every quarter, I don't seem to have made an impact. I feel I am being left out in the Rewards & Recognition program. While other team managers regularly recognize their team members, my team manager seems to avoid awards completely, which is frustrating. People who have joined the company much later have already won more than 2-3 awards on an average for their contributions that (in my opinion) weigh much lesser than mine(or my team's).

Therefore, how do I talk to my manager about this situation?

P.S: So far, I haven't initiated any sort of discussions with my manager because I feel rewards & recognition are something that should come automatically and not by asking for them explicitly. I am looking for suggestions that would relieve me of my dilemma(Whether to ask or not to ask?)

Edit: This question has been identified as possible duplicate of another question which asks about the importance of gaining visibility. However, my problem is that even though I have enough visibility (even at client level), I don't seem to be picked for monthly/quarterly rewards and recognition and how to talk to my manager about it. hopefully this explains

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BiscuitBoy
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    Is there a monetary value associated with these awards? If not, I'd consider them worth what they are worth (nothing). If there is monetary value to them, I'd bring it up with your boss as more of a question along the lines "I'd like to work towards these recognition bonuses. What could I do to be closer to earning one?" – DA. Dec 08 '15 at 05:53
  • @DA. That really deserves to be turned into an answer, even if the OP doesn't respond. – Lilienthal Dec 08 '15 at 10:10
  • @DA - Thanks. That was a very pertinent question. Yes. All the rewards have monetary value associated with it. More than monetary value, the rewards get listed publicly in our internal collaboration platform, which boosts our morale very much. I am planning to initiate the discussion during my quarterly retrospective that falls on the last week of December. – BiscuitBoy Dec 08 '15 at 13:50
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    Possible duplicate of Why is it important to gain "visibility" in the workplace? – gnat Dec 08 '15 at 20:28
  • @DA The monetary part of the award isn't the significant part of the award. It's the recognition from outside the awardee's department that these kind of awards bring that's important. – DLS3141 Dec 08 '15 at 22:38
  • @DLS3141 I disagree. Most of us have jobs for one reason. For a paycheck. Being recognized is always nice, of course. But if you have to fight for it, what's the point? But if monetary compensation is part of it, then maybe fighting for it makes more sense. – DA. Dec 08 '15 at 23:05
  • @DA I feel sorry for someone who simply works for a paycheck. I know that having recognition outside of one's department is valuable and it's something leadership is going to use as an indicator for who the want working on the important stuff. Early in my career, receiving one of these awards led to me being considered for a coveted overseas position with another department. I didn't get the position solely because of the award, but the award is what got me noticed. – DLS3141 Dec 08 '15 at 23:43
  • @DLS3141 glad that worked out for you. As for feeling sorry for people that work for a paycheck, that's somewhat insulting. Most of the working humans on the planet are doing just that. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. – DA. Dec 09 '15 at 00:13
  • @DA there's nothing wrong with getting paid, but if you're only in it for the money, you're missing out. – DLS3141 Dec 09 '15 at 01:28
  • @DLS3141 that's your opinion, and a fine opinion, but again, a lot of people are perfectly happy working for a paycheck and finding value outside of work. – DA. Dec 09 '15 at 03:58
  • @DA I get value from non-work things as well. Since so many hours of life are spent working, it seems a waste not to get more out of it than a few bucks. – DLS3141 Dec 09 '15 at 04:06
  • @gnat - I have edited my post and explained why I don't think it is a duplicate of another question. Can you please remove the duplicate flag? – BiscuitBoy Dec 09 '15 at 06:37
  • I retracted a vote, however you may want to reconsider whether you really have enough visibility. Sufficient visibility would be when clients would go to you or to your manager and ask why you miss the recognition – gnat Dec 09 '15 at 06:42

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Nothing comes automatically, usually. If it is important for you, make it know to the decider. He might think that as you're asking nothing, you're not expecting anything.

Either your manager thinks awards are awkwards, like Joel Spolsky, or he didn't think about it. Either way, as long as you don't ask, you won't know. If he thinks it's a bad thing, and then sees his best performer complain about it, he might change his mind, and if he just didn't think about it, a simple reminder could do a lot.

And be sure to meditate DA's advice : is there any underlying value to this awards, besides prestige? Money, or career advance, or something valuable like that?

gazzz0x2z
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Whether to ask or not to ask?

Ask, if you feel you and your team deserve it then by all means give your manager a nudge. It sounds like you have a manager who isn't very interested in team morale, this needs to change for obvious reasons.

But if you don't ask, you'll get nothing except a bitter taste in your mouth every time others quite rightly and proudly brag about their rewards. At the very least it will start the manager thinking about it. The positives outweigh any possible negatives (I can't actually think of any). You're not asking for anything out of the ordinary, the company already has a reward system in place. You and the team should be benefiting from it.

How to ask? I'd just be straight up about it when I get a chance, ask him/her straight out politely why you and your team never get any rewards like others do. Is it because those rewards don't apply to your team? Is your team underperforming? Stuff like that. Put the onus on the manager politely to explain why. Don't be confrontational, pose the questions as if you're asking for guidance to improve performance.

Kilisi
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Asking would be the right thing to do.Because rewards are not just "Rewards", they are your motivation for next contribution.The best way to have your work recognized is by discussing your results. And by making sure your boss knows how you like to be recognized.

Being more interactive among the team is also one of the way of letting your Employer know that you are performing well. Perhaps, the below link that I came across, might help you.

https://www.experience.com/alumnus/article?channel_id=diversity&source_page=tory_johnson&article_id=article_1185307382302

Akansha
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