When it comes to employee Christmas gifts, it truly is the thought that counts. What makes your gift memorable for your employees is the way you give it. Here are six ways you can make your employee Christmas gifts memorable this holiday season:

1. One-on-one giving. Give each of your employees some face time this holiday season. Sit down with them or briefly visit at their desk when you deliver the gift. This is a great opportunity to informally give recognition for outstanding accomplishments and efforts from the year.

2. Include a card. If your team is often out of the office or at multiple locations, include a holiday greeting card with each employee Christmas gift. Write a personal note to employees expressing your appreciation for all they do.

3. Make it personal. Include something personal with each of your employee Christmas gifts. If you give festive cookie cutters, cookies or even travel mugs, include a personal cookie recipe or a favorite flavor of hot cocoa.

4. Give a gift they can use. A memorable employee Christmas gift is one employees can use long past the holidays. A journal, coffee mug or desktop items serve as reminders of your appreciation all year.

5. Personalize your gift. The holidays are a popular time of year to give and receive gifts personalized with monograms and logos. By adding a name, date or logo to an employee Christmas gift, the employee has a lasting memento of his time at your organization and a token of his contributions.

6. Gift wrapping. When it comes to your employee Christmas gifts, the presentation counts. Gift wrapping your items not only provides a nicer presentation to your employees, but it also lets them know you care.

Most importantly, use the opportunity of employee Christmas gifts to reinforce the value of individual employees’ contributions. It’s important for employees, and employee engagement, to feel like they are contributing to the organization’s overall mission and success . Let your employee Christmas gifts reinforce the value each individual brings to your team and organization.

Looking for employee Christmas gift ideas? Try out our new Gift Finder to find the gift that employees and your budget will love.

 

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We’ve all received the traditional award certificate at some point in our life. Maybe you received one in elementary school for completing the Presidential Fitness Challenge. Or perhaps your certificate came in high school when you were given the honor of being Student of the Month. You may even have gotten one during your college years from participating in a fundraising walk one of the Greek organizations put on. 

Regardless of when you last received an award certificate , you probably have the same mental image of what that certificate should look like: gold foil lettering, embossed seal and the signature of a person of authority. Traditional award certificates remain a very popular form of recognition, but if you have Gen Y employees, you may want to make it a little more “hip” this holiday season.

Award certificates are popular because they’re affordable recognition you can give to a large group of people. This is especially important this year as a record low number of organizations are planning on throwing holiday parties. I can assume a similar trend is occurring with employee gifts and awards. Companies everywhere are trying to cut back even though employee morale is at an all time low.

This year, reward your entire team for their hard work and dedicated efforts with some spiced up award certificates. Here are three things you can do to make award certificates cool again:

1. Pick a trendy design. The traditional gold foil lettering certificates are still available, but there are some cool new designs available now, too. Why not give your employees an award certificate that can double as cubicle art?

Tip: Use a contemporary award certificate design to encourage your younger employees to post the award at their desk.

2. Have fun with award titles. Your award certificates don’t have to be formal to be effective. This year, make recognition personal and memorable by giving a special, individual award for each employee, and have fun coming up with award titles. Employees want to have fun at work, and they need some levity. Your humorous award certificates could be just the trick.
Some of our favorite award titles:
Rookie of the Year Award
Why Didn’t I Think of That Award
Samurai Seller
Unsung Hero

3. Make the presentation an event. Even if your organization has cancelled its holiday party this year, make your presentation of award certificates an event for the entire team. Reserve a conference room, bring in festive snacks, and set a festive mood by playing holiday music or – better yet – play “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme song from Rocky. Encourage employees to shake their hands over their heads in victory as they accept their award.

Now you’re a true award certificate champ!!

The other day, I met with a couple gentlemen from the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, one of Baudville’s long time charitable partners. As we were talking, our conversation strayed from sponsorship opportunities to the recognition and appreciation solutions Baudville offers. The guys were in awe of the fun new products we had on display in our Board Room. They especially loved the Exclamations recognition theme and the funny lines on our Pocket Praise cards and gifts.

As we were talking about recognition, one of them shared a story about a friend’s current work situation; one that I fear is all too common in today’s workplaces. The friend’s organization is trying to do more with less (a common theme in business today), and he was finding more and more work piled on his desk. At the same time, the only communication he was receiving from management was “be glad you have a job right now.”

Can you imagine having that sentiment pounded into your head day in and day out, all the while struggling to keep up with your ever-increasing work load? Sounds motivating, right?

This young man has become so frustrated with the work environment that he’s been considering quitting – in this job market! This isn’t as uncommon as you may think. The Department of Labor has found that 64% of working Americans have left a job for lack of appreciation. That statistic has decreased during the recession, but many in the talent industry are predicting lots of turnover once the economy recovers. Employees are looking to make a change in part due to the way they were treated during the recession by their current employers.

Employers who act now can prevent their talent from walking away. Because cash is tight, employers are using non-financial strategies to improve employee morale, employee engagement and loyalty. Flexible schedules and telecommuting are popular, but employers should not lose sight of the value of appreciation. Thanking employees for their extra efforts and hard work this year will go a long ways.

During the remaining weeks of 2009, make it a priority to take time to thank employees. Don’t worry, you can never give too much praise and appreciation! Your sincere, specific recognition of their efforts will let employees know that you value their contributions both now and in the future.

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her daily recognition tips by following Baudville on Twitter at Twitter.com/Baudville.

 

We recently inaugurated two of our employees into a new leadership training program at Baudville. Both employees have a solid performance history at Baudville and have earned the respect and admiration of their peers. They also already shoulder significant responsibility. Yet they chose to pursue further development opportunities that will inevitably lead to more responsibility., which leads one to ask a perfectly reasonable question:

WHY?

The acceptance into this program requires weekly out-of-work class attendance, sitting in on additional meetings, and doing homework (it’s all very tempting, I know). But the program also acts as recognition of the employees as two of our brightest up-and-coming stars. It’s an honor well worth the extra effort.

This situation is an example of how intrinsic motivation can be a powerful motivator. Professional development is a desired form of recognition, especially among Millennial and Gen X employees, and it serves multiple purposes.

1. Powerful recognition. Like I’ve said, giving an employee a chance to further develop her skills and talents is powerful recognition. The professional development opportunity lets the employee know you recognize and believe in her potential.

2. Valuable training. You’ve identified your top performers, and you’re investing in them. When they come out of their training, they’ll be better equipped to take up the next big thing. You can expect better performances in the near future and a definite return on your investment.

3. Improved loyalty. In exchange for the investment in your employee’s future, you’ll gain their loyalty. Professional development is a great opportunity for mentoring that often leads to a strong bond between the employee and an individual manager or organization. This is important because once you invest in top talent, you want to make sure you keep it.

What professional development opportunities does your organization offer top talent? Invest your time in the up-and-coming talent at your organization to help secure your organization’s future and future leadership.

And don’t forget to make the “big moment” memorable for those recipients. If you’re making a public presentation about the professional development opportunity, present the employee with an award certificate or letter of acknowledgement or both. While the skills and knowledge they’ll gain will be invaluable intangibles for your organization, the symbolic award will be an invaluable motivator for your employee.

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her daily recognition tips by following Baudville on Twitter at Twitter.com/Baudville.

Today is Veteran’s Day. It’s a day when people and organizations across the country take time out of their busy schedules to recognize the service of the men and women who served in our armed forces.

We understand and appreciate the importance of veterans in protecting our country and our freedom, so we honor them by saying thank you and acknowledging their contributions. Veterans and active duty members alike are motivated and inspired by the words of thanks from others. The recognition they receive contributes to the satisfaction they receive from doing their jobs.

What if employees viewed their jobs like our veterans? What if they came to work each day understanding that their contribution was a part of the bigger picture? What if they got satisfaction out of doing a good job? What if they felt inspired?

Today is a day to honor veterans, but every other day is an opportunity for you to recognize your employees. Practice recognition on Veteran’s Day by sending a thank you card to a local VFW, and every day after that, use recognition and praise to inspire your workforce.

 

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! “ - Maya Angelou