Character Pins are one of our staple recognition products at Baudville, and they’re popular because they can be used in a variety of recognition situations. As a continuation of our How-To Recognition blog series, I share ten situations where Character Pins are a great recognition gift.

1. Office Birthdays. Give a Happy Birthday Character Pin to acknowledge an employee’s birthday. It’s both a gift and greeting card.

2. Anniversaries. Present a Happy Anniversary Character Pin to recognize an employee’s years of service. You can customize the pin with the number of years you’re celebrating.

3. Team Recognition. Recognize a team for the completion of a project by selecting a different Character Pin for each team member. For an extra personal touch, read the stories when you present the Character Pins for an award presentation the team won’t forget.

4. Holiday Recognition. Thank your employees at the end of the year with a holiday Character Pin that expresses your gratitude for all their hard work and optimism for the new year.

5. Volunteer Appreciation. Retain volunteers by recognizing their contributions and expressing your appreciation for all they do. I recommend a Thanks or Appreciation Character Pin.

6. Customer Service Week. Give front line employees something to display with a service themed Character Pin. We just released two new Customer Service Character Pins for this year's Customer Service Week celebrations. Be sure to check them both out!

7. Student Award. Want to make a child’s day? Present a Character Pin as a student of the month award.

8. Celebrate an Accomplishment. Make a big deal about a co-worker’s promotion, graduation or certificate with a Character Pin that recognizes her success.

9. Just to Say Thank You. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion for it to be the right time to tell someone, thank you. To make it memorable, write a personal note on the back of a Thanks For All You Do Character Pin.

10. Everyday Awards. Have a variety of Character Pins available, and present them to employees on a regular basis to say Great Job.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

We all know recognition is important in a work environment, but how do you continue to give recognition that’s sincere and meaningful? This is a topic that various writers and employee recognition experts have tackled in the Authentic Recognition series on the Ready to Feedback blog managed by Sonia Di Maulo.

Today, I had the privilege of contributing a post on the series, “Regular Recognition Says It Best.” Check it out!

Then let me know how you give authentic recognition. How do you define authentic recognition? What does authentic recognition look like in your organization? How do you help your managers give recognition that is authentic and effective?

Leave your response as a comment on this post, and we'll continue the discussion of authentic recognition that Sonia started right here on the Baudville blog!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

I’ve talked about having fun at work several times in the last year, and various Baudville bloggers have posted fun at work tips and ideas.

But you don’t have to take just our word for the value of having fun at work. A Forbes.com article claims there is a “definite correlation between happiness and productivity on the job.” Apparently, a happy worker is also a more productive worker.

It makes sense. If you like what you’re working on, you’re more likely to approach your work with passion, enthusiasm and drive as opposed to procrastinating and pushing tasks to the bottom of your to-do list.

Here are a few encouraging stats about happy workers from Forbes:

- Happy workers reported spending 80% of their week on work related tasks, while less happy workers spent only 40% of their time on work related tasks.
- The happiest employees take 66% less sick leave.
- Happy people are good for teams and can boost the mood of colleagues.
- Being happy at work can lead to higher income and higher quality of work.

Read the entire Forbes article on being happy at work, and then get a group of fun and creative employees together to discuss how you can make work more fun and employees happier. It can be as simple as empowering a few people in each department to organize occasional low-cost events.

Our department threw an impromptu bean bag tournament one Friday afternoon. We set up the games in between our desks, and let the bean bags fly. Employees brought in their personal game sets, so the only cost to the company was a small prize for the tourney champion. We had so much fun, we were still talking about the tournament on Monday.

We’ve also staged our own minute-to-win-it competitions for meetings and events. We have a resident Face the Cookie pro, do you? NBC has a complete Minute to Win It game library, so you can get all the details for a multitude of games that you can easily host in your office.

We’re always looking for new, fun activities to do at work. Share your ideas for having fun at work with us here!

Action shots from our Face the Cookie Challenge and Bean Bag Tournament.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Award certificates are a great way to show off achievements, but I can think of a few reasons why a department manager might not use them for everyday employee recognition:

They’re more formal than some occasions merit. With the exception of a couple of our newer contemporary styles, most of our certificates feature ornate, sophisticated designs with traditional colors or foil accents. While these are just what you need for recognizing prestigious moments, they don’t necessarily fit the bill for day-to-day recognition.   

They take a little more time than an on-the-spot note. Baudville does offer easy-to-use templates for printing certificates, but you may not have time to download a template, type out your message, and run a certificate through the printer. (In truth, this only takes a few minutes, but I’m trying to make a point here…)

They require resources you might not have. If you work on the go or visit multiple locations—or you simply don’t have access to a computer or printer, certificates just won’t work for you at all.

Or will they?  

Ta-dah! Our new Day-to-Day Certificate Bundle Binder goes where you do and contains a variety of informal, all-occasion certificates that you fill in by hand. No technology required!

With theme sentiments that recognize everything from great moments to great attitudes, you will never be without a way to show appreciation for your team. Each binder includes tabbed dividers that organize 10 each of six different certificates for you to use when you want to:

Recognize all-around greatness. Maybe someone on your team helped out a coworker or finished a task ahead of schedule. The You’re Awesome certificate from our new Positive Praise theme and the Positive Mojo certificate from our ever-popular Exclamations™ theme are both perfect for when you need to acknowledge someone who goes the extra mile.

Say thank you. The You Are Truly Appreciated, Shining Star, and Thanks for All You Do! certificates are there when you need to show your team members a little gratitude—whether it’s for consistently providing great customer service or taking on extra work when you’re shorthanded.

Applaud a job well done. Ideal for when someone gives a great presentation, meets a goal, or completes a challenging project, the Great Job certificate says it all—simply.

Easy to use, ready for any occasion, and less than $1.00 each, these day-to-day certificates can’t be beat!

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Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than nine years, so if she tells you she has been there and done that, she probably has. Before embarking on a career in writing, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!

I’m not going to tell you that it’s all fun & games up here in creative-ville, but every once in awhile, we do get to have a laugh. We certainly did when we were working on the new Positive Praise recognition theme. The Goofy Guy Squeezable Praise became everyone’s favorite new projectile and the Goofy Guy Pens were the perfect remedy whenever things started to get a little too tense.

Having fun at work not only lowers stress and improves morale, it can also increase productivity. I’ve see it first hand in our department, but this WorldatWork article does a great job of backing me up as well.  

If you need to have more fun in your office, our Positive Praise theme is an excellent place to start. Maybe you took the quiz in that link I just posted. If so, let’s see how you scored.

If you answered mostly no, I’m afraid your situation is pretty grave. You’re going to need to take serious measures to increase employee morale. For this, I prescribe:

Totally Wacky

   

In your next meeting, toss the Goofy Guy to someone who has a great idea or suggestion. It will lighten the mood, plus the “woo-hoo” sentiment on the back is perfect on-the-spot praise. The talking and bobble-head pens are another way to lift spirits. It’s pretty hard to scowl with one of these grinning back at you.

If you were about 50-50, then you need:

A Little Bit of Silly

   

These notepads come with a smiley-face pen for a lighthearted yet useful reward. The Appreciation Gift Sets feature a sweet treat for your team members to enjoy now, plus a fun keychain they can use every day. 

If you answered mostly yes, then you’re in good shape. You just need some:

Everyday Fun

  

Both the Pocket Praise and Cheers Kit in this fun theme have brightly-colored notes and great sentiments for day-to-day recognition. They’re just what you need to keep up the momentum!

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Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than nine years, so if she tells you she has been there and done that, she probably has. Before embarking on a career in writing, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!

Peer recognition programs are very popular in organizations today. Peer recognition increases the quantity and frequency recognition is given, and it takes pressure off managers who are typically responsible for top-down recognition. We published a peer recognition white paper that explains the benefits of this type of recognition program– including improved culture, loyalty, job satisfaction and camaraderie.

Creating a peer recognition program is very easy thanks to existing, ready-to-use programs. We currently offer three peer recognition programs, and I’m going to give a brief how-to for two of them today.

Our Shout Outs Peer Recognition Program  (Allison wrote a great writeup of the program last January) is one of our most popular and certainly deserves to be included in our How-to Recognition series.

Shout Outs are simple to use, and you start it by posting the Shout Outs pad in a public location. It can hang on a hook, be displayed on a bulletin board or stand on its own. Whenever an employee wants to recognize a co-worker, she tears a sheet off the pad, writes her personal thank you note, and posts it in a public location. That way, everyone can witness the recognition. 

Here’s how one of our customers described the program:

“I was looking for a tool that I could use to motivate my employees and build a team atmosphere among them. I was already using ePraise, Making a Difference and Thank You note/pin cards as a morale booster coming from me.

When I first explained the Shout Out recognition tool, I noticed some hesitancy on some of my employee's faces. It took about 4 days before the first Shout Out was posted, and after that many more were posted very quickly. I had someone from another department post a Shout Out for one my employees.

When employees read the nice words that someone had written about them and it was posted in a public area, their demeanor changed. They were very proud of the job well done that they were recognized for by their peers. This is an awesome and powerful tool. I would recommend this tool to anyone implementing an employee recognition program. It works!”

 

If you're looking for a peer recognition program that ties behaviors directly to goals, take a look at our Spot On Peer Recognition Program. You get everything you need in one box, including Spot the dog who serves as both a traveling trophy and mascot.

In the Spot On program, every employee is encouraged to deliver personal thank you notes to their peers. Each note has a receipt that is deposited in the dog house and tracked by the manager. The employee who received the most notes wins Spot. Other prizes are also available, and some organizations choose to include a save and redeem element, too.

Spot has a robust free recognition downloads section with additional tools and resources that make implementing and maintaining the Spot On Peer Recognition Program easy. We recently added new resources, so be sure to stop by for more free Spot On recognition downloads.

Peer recognition programs  empower employees to be responsible for recognition and increase the amount of recognition that takes place. And with so many simple and affordable program options, not having a peer recognition program is sure to put you in the dog house!

Watch how-to videos on both Shout Outs and Spot On on Baudville’s video page.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Next in our How-To Recognition series is a focus on our new Happy Birthday recognition theme. Everyone has a birthday therefore every employer struggles with whether or not to celebrate employee birthdays in the office. I shared best practices on celebrating birthdays in the office in our Recognition TV Webisode today, and you can watch the recorded version on Baudville.com or Baudville’s Facebook page. Most of my tips, ideas and best practices are below.

Celebrate!
The official Baudville stance on birthdays is: celebrate! Birthdays are a great opportunity to let employees know that they matter, you value them, and to foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie. On the other hand, ignoring birthdays can be hurtful to employees. Ignoring a birthday sends a message to employees that the company doesn’t value what’s happening in their life outside of work. Acknowledging employee birthdays, in small but sincere ways, can improve employee engagement and loyalty to the company.

Be Consistent
For your birthday celebrations to be effective, they must be consistent! That means all employees receive similar treatment on their birthdays regardless of their position, department or manager. At Baudville, every employee receives a birthday card that is signed by the entire team on their birthday. This simple gesture means a lot, and employees look forward to reading all the well wishes from their co-workers.

Be Sincere
The number one rule with any form of recognition is to make it personal to the recipient. Before you create a company-wide birthday program, like our birthday card program, ask employees for their ideas. You’ll receive a wide variety of responses and some great ideas that you can use.

Keep it simple!
Since everyone in the organization will receive the same treatment on their birthday, you want to budget accordingly. Don’t spend a lot on elaborate parties or gifts, or create a program that requires a lot of your time. While a birthday celebration can be meaningful to employees, it shouldn’t be your top work priority.

Ideas for Birthdays!
Here’s what you really want, ideas for celebrating birthdays! I want to hear your ideas and current practices, too. Post a comment on this blog post sharing your best practice, and I’ll send you a set of birthday cards, free!

• Communicate birthdays by posting a sign on a public bulletin board, putting it on the intranet, in a company newsletter, the company blog or even corporate Facebook page.
• Decorate employees’ desks with balloons, banners and crepe paper before they get to work on their birthday. You can get all these decorations at the dollar store!
• Have the entire team sign a birthday card or certificate.
• Write a note inside our new Happy Birthday Character Pin and give a memento with your birthday wishes.
• Have everyone write a Happy Birthday Pocket Praise for the co-worker. It will be a lot of fun to open all those cards!
• Give the employee a Happy Birthday lapel pin so everyone knows she’s celebrating. To make it extra special, give her a casual day on her birthday, too.
• For a small gift everyone will like, stock up on Sweet Treats or Treat Bags. These Happy Birthday themed gifts are small enough you can give them to everyone and big enough to satisfy a sweet tooth.
• Bring in a cake or dessert to share with the entire team.
• Celebrate birthdays once a month by hosting a reception with refreshments in honor of the employees who just had birthdays. Everyone can join in on the camaraderie and dessert.

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On the surface, Kurt is Baudville’s mild-mannered Director of Sales, but when it comes to recognition, he quickly turns into the dashing Director of Positive Mojo. Using his powers as a Certified Recognition Professional, Kurt infuses his team with recognition knowledge and experience, while encouraging them to practice daily recognition with his energetic and creative flair. We’re pretty sure there’s a cape hanging from the back of his door.

Back when I used to volunteer for a non-profit, I always thought it was cool that they would pick a theme for their annual celebration and that message would set the tone for the year ahead. One year it was Essential Piece, another it was You Make a World of Difference, and the next Imagine, Believe, Achieve. Each theme carried an important message that spoke to everyone involved—volunteers and staff alike—and inspired each of us to give our all.

That’s pretty much the purpose of Baudville’s recognition themes—to convey your organization’s values and help you promote them within your team. Whether you want to recognize individual employee achievements, team cooperation, winning attitudes, or humanitarian efforts, you’ll likely find the perfect solution from the more than 100 recognition themes we have to offer.

Plus, just a few weeks ago, we introduced several new recognition themes, including:

You Are a Shining Star: positive attitudes don’t always come naturally; a little encouragement always helps! Use this recognition theme to reward employees who go above & beyond—and influence others to do the same.

One Team, One Goal: remind everyone that collaboration and uniting toward a common goal are essential to success. The gifts in this recognition theme are ideal for rallying everyone on your team.

Together We Can Make a Difference: organizations that rely on volunteers have even more of a challenge keeping everyone engaged and on board. With this recognition theme, you send a message that inspires your members and reinforces your mission.

Positive Praise: simple messages of praise are sometimes the most effective. Combine those with bright, fun (and even silly) gifts and you have a great way to keep everyone energized.

And these are just the beginning! See more recognition themes and everything new we have to offer here.

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Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than nine years, so if she tells you she has been there and done that, she probably has. Before embarking on a career in writing, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!

Yesterday, I read a press release announcing that the Best Western River North Hotel in Chicago is using social media to recognize one of its star employees, Wallace. Wallace has recently been nominated for the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association’s Star of the Industry Award, and a Facebook page was created to support Wallace (and maybe influence the judging!).

If having a Facebook page dedicated to him wasn’t a big enough compliment, customers quickly filled up the wall with their favorite Wallace stories. Some of the stories were from hotel stays two years ago! Other repeat customers confessed that they stay at the hotel because they want to use Wallace’s extensive knowledge of the city and ability to get the best deals.

I wasn’t even aware of this hotel before, but the stories of the exemplary service and great city knowledge made me want to plan a visit to Chicago!

Since many organizations are still becoming familiar with social media as a communication tool, the Best Western River North Hotel is certainly a leader in the employee recognition arena. Other than the standard “happy anniversary” or “happy birthday” tweets on Twitter, employee recognition hasn’t made it on many social media platforms - yet.

Wallace is a great example of the impact you could have when you praise your employees on social media.  Combining social media and employee recognition has three powerful effects:

1. It makes the super star feel super proud….and committed.
The Facebook page is a great way to give Wallace public recognition that reaches beyond the walls of the hotel. Not only is Wallace being recognized in front of his co-workers, but customers, friends and family can all be a part of his accomplishment. Do you think an employee who’s treated this grandly is going to think about leaving? No way!

2. It motivates others.
Didn’t those stories about Wallace make you feel good? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone wrote those nice things about you? I’m sure the employees at Best Western River North Hotel are already inspired by Wallace’s performances, but I think they’ll have a little extra spring in their step after they see the Facebook page.

3. It makes your company look good.
Visitors to Wallace’s page will look around, read a few customer stories, and decide where they’ll stay on their next Chicago trip. Not only does the company treat its employees well, but those employees create a fantastic experience for the customers.

While many companies aren’t using social media to proclaim their employees’ good works yet, I predict we’ll start to see much more of it in the coming months, thanks to Wallace.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Celebrating birthdays at work can be tricky. Some people love a big production, and others prefer to be more private about their big day. Some managers go all out with for their employees’ birthdays and others aren’t even aware birthdays exist.

Something as simple as birthday celebration inequities within your organization can hurt employee morale, loyalty and camaraderie. Creating a company-wide birthday program can level the playing field and make all employees feel appreciated and valued on their birthday.

I’ve prepared a 15 minute video webisode all about celebrating birthdays in the office. I’ll share best practices to guide the creation of your birthday program and lots of ideas that you can use. My ideas are easy to implement and show that you can celebrate employee birthdays without spending a lot of time or money.

To register for the Birthday Best Practices Recognition TV webisode, visit Baudville.com. I’ll see you next Thursday, August 12 at 11:30am EST!

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On the surface, Kurt is Baudville’s mild-mannered Director of Sales, but when it comes to recognition, he quickly turns into the dashing Director of Positive Mojo. Using his powers as a Certified Recognition Professional, Kurt infuses his team with recognition knowledge and experience, while encouraging them to practice daily recognition with his energetic and creative flair. We’re pretty sure there’s a cape hanging from the back of his door.