Customer Service Week starts on Monday, October 5! Hopefully you're nearly complete with your planning, but in case you're behind, here are a few extra tips to inspire you. We'll be Twittering and blogging frequently next week to let you know how Baudville is celebrating the week, so stay tuned!

Customer Service representatives make up the face of your organization. They communicate with customers first hand, and it is often based on their interaction that repeat business comes or goes. That’s why recognizing this group of hard working employees is so important!

For a few customer service appreciation ideas, we went directly to Baudville’s stellar Customer Service Representatives and asked them about meaningful and motivating recognition they have received in the past.

Personalized and individual recognition. A memorable customer service appreciation idea is to give personalized recognition. Knowing your employees’ recognition preferences is key to effective and motivating recognition. When picking a gift for your team, select something that comes in a variety of options. For example, give each employee a candy bar, but buy a selection so they can choose their favorite.

“I had a manager in the past who gave everyone the same, beautiful scarf Christmas gift. But she took the time to pick out the color that she knew the recipient liked and what she thought they would look best in.  It was great, because someone took the time to learn about them.”
- Dawn

Share the good news. Around Baudville, one of our favorite customer service appreciation ideas is to share positive customer feedback. When our CEO receives an email or a letter from a customer praising one of our Customer Service Representatives, he shares it with the rest of the company. Simply forwarding an email has a big impression on the employees.

“The one thing that will always stick out for me is when a customer of mine emailed Brad about how good of a job I did with her order and how I helped her with her event.  Not only did Brad congratulate me in person with Kurt and Brenda in the room and give me a gift, but he also forwarded the email to the entire staff.  The gift was great, but the email to the staff really made me feel appreciated.  I then received numerous emails from coworkers who I barely saw, much less spoke to on a daily basis, congratulating me about what I did.  Sometimes the smallest things, like a quick email, can make someone’s day……I know for sure it made mine!!”
- Missy

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of the Millennial generation. In addition to writing for the Baudville blog, she’s taking on the task of flooding the Twitterverse with positive mojo. Find out more - and join her cause! - at www.Twitter.com/Baudville using the hash tag #positivemojo.

The other day, I sent an ePraise to a coworker who had done some really nice work on a product idea. Then she emailed me back to tell me I had made her day. I was so happy to hear that, it made my day. Seriously!

I could write more about it, but why? Recognition is often just as simple and powerful as that.

Has giving or getting recognition ever made your day? Leave a comment on this post and tell us about it!

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Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than eight 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!

Last week, Cindy, our HR Manager, shared some information about how we plan special employee recognition events at Baudville. She talked about the cross-department team that organizes all our employee recognition events. We created the SPIRIT team to represent all departments in event planning, to bring more recognition ideas to the table, and add extra hands to the employee recognition event planning process. 

One of the most difficult parts of employee recognition events is coming up with fun and creative recognition ideas. Here are a few Baudville favorites from past Customer Service Week celebrations to get you started. Customer Service Week is October 5-9, so there’s still plenty of time to plan!

Ice cream social. Ice cream was brought onsite by a local ice cream shop, and ice cream was scooped and served by our CEO and SVP.

Lunch and the prize wheel. It’s nearly a tradition at Baudville to end the week with a team lunch. Everyone enjoys sandwiches and an opportunity to spin the prize wheel for a Baudville gift, gift card, lottery ticket or day off.

Games for the desk. Employees look forward to our celebration weeks because they offer a change of pace from business as usual. Throwing in a couple games or puzzles they can complete at their desk is a simple recognition idea that keeps the celebration going even as work gets done.

Mock elections. Last year, employees were asked to vote for the company Chatter Box, Messiest and Cleanest Desk, Team Spirit and Baudville Clown among others. Winners had their pictures displayed inside an engravable photo frame. Many still have their “trophy” displayed on their desk.

Pictures! We love taking pictures from our events and later posting them on our intranet and internal newsletter. Document your Customer Service Week celebrations to keep the positive mojo flowing long after the event ends.

Prepared to serve up some ice cream for Customer Service Week!

Check out our new Customer Service Week theme for more ideas to use this year.

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of the Millennial generation. In addition to writing for the Baudville blog, she’s taking on the task of flooding the Twitterverse with positive mojo. Find out more - and join her cause! - at www.Twitter.com/Baudville using the hash tag #positivemojo.

You’d expect that Baudville, being a recognition company, would have some pretty solid recognition practices in place—and you’d be right! In addition to regular award ceremonies, we also have a lot of day-to-day recognition activities going on, as well as special events and individual department initiatives (for instance, our customer service department uses Spot On. You can read about it here). Over the summer, we also introduced a company-wide peer recognition program that has been a huge hit.

When we first introduced it, it was overwhelmingly popular. We could chalk that up to simply having excellent employees, which we do; but, I think another reason for the enthusiasm was the absence of any structured program for us to use before that. Sure, we have all kinds of recognition products at our disposal, but here the tools were put directly in our hands—and with the institution of a specific program, we simply had more motivation.

And people did go crazy with it. Obviously, there were a lot of pent up feelings of appreciation that were just dying to get out.

But just like any new relationship, the test is if it can evolve from the infatuation stage to deep commitment and not, instead, into complacency. To keep the passion for our program alive, our recognition leaders knew from the get-go that they needed several processes in place to make sure we could keep up the momentum.

Most importantly, the program incorporates our core values. When we recognize someone, we need to make sure the act or behavior fits into a category that merits recognition (performance, innovation, integrity, etc.). So, as much as they might want to, my peers cannot congratulate me on the awesome outfit I’m wearing today. Our objectives are clear, so it’s easy for us to know what to look for.

We also get regular reminders. We all get busy, or get focused on our daily tasks, so we may not stop to think about what others are doing around us. In addition to being encouraged to write at least one recognition note to a peer each week, we get email reminders to “put on our recognition goggles.”

Then there are the incentives! For one, we earn company-wide prizes for 100% participation (remember those extra casual days?). The other incentive comes from actually being recognized. It fosters a feel-good, pay-it-forward mentality that on its own keeps the recognition flowing.

If you’re thinking about starting a peer recognition program, or have one in place already, you can incorporate these simple practices that Baudville uses to help maintain the enthusiasm and longevity it needs to be truly effective.

Fuel the fire with clear objectives, friendly reminders, and fun incentives. 

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Being in the recognition and awards industry, I’ve heard many award ceremony horror stories. I’ve been told stories recounting the mispronunciation of the recipient’s name and a presentation of nothing because the trophy was ordered late. But thanks to Mr. Kanye West, we have a new award presentation to add to the list.

Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, Kanye took to the stage after 19 year-old country singer Taylor Swift was announced the winner of the Best Female Video category. Kanye stole Taylor’s acceptance speech time and took all the joy and excitement out of the award for Taylor Swift by declaring another performer the rightful winner. 

Companies can learn a lesson from the VMA debacle with by learning a few dos and don’ts of award presentations:

Don’t steal all the glory from the winner.

Do let her enjoy her moment. The award recipient worked hard to earn that trophy. For many people, recognition from their employer is the only award they’ll ever receive. Make sure it’s memorable.

Don’t mutter (or loudly proclaim via microphone) that someone else should have won.

Do discuss questions about the award after the award ceremony. Different awards come with different judging criteria. If you have a question about with the process, take it up with whoever is in charge of the award AFTER the event, and preferably at work in a civil manner. Complaining at the event is just rude.

Don’t embarrass the award recipient.

Do put the award recipient in the spotlight. Accepting an award should be a time when the recipient feels most proud about her accomplishments. This is the time to put her on in the spotlight, and you should prepare your remarks by talking to co-workers and supervisors to do it right.

Don’t spring unwanted surprises on the award recipient.

Do make award recipients feel comfortable. Employees may be uncomfortable in the spotlight in front of all their peers, and you should make the situation as comfortable as possible for them. After all, you are recognizing them! I’m confident Taylor won’t shy away from future nationally televised award ceremonies, but your employees may not have the same resolve.

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of Team Taylor.