Most teams are made up of a diversity of individuals, each with unique talents and perspectives. Though having this variety is usually a good thing, it can also create tension when those individuals don’t see eye to eye.

But in the past few months I’ve had two experiences that have reinforced my belief in the unifying power of forced collaboration. Yep, I said forced!

The first was a brainstorming session involving several highly opinionated members of our team. Put us in a room and we will disagree on everything from the weather report to the right way to wear navy blue. But here we were, gathered around a small table, facing a blank white board, obliged to emerge with nothing short of a genius solution. We really had no choice but to play nice.  
 
The second occurred outside of work, when I had the opportunity to serve on a jury. This time I was staring at 11 others, every one somehow more different from me than the next. Here we not only had to come to complete agreement, we also had to decide another person’s fate.

Challenging to say the least, right?

Well, maybe not. In the case of the trial, our jury was handed explicit instructions by the judge, which were essentially:

• Respect other people’s viewpoints and opinions. They are valuable and they may present perspectives you don’t see yourself.
• Listen to one another and do not have independent conversations. Discuss every element as a group. 
• Don’t bully anyone or allow yourself to be bullied.
• Keep an open mind, and remember you have the right to change it.
• Give every detail thoughtful and careful consideration. Don’t rush to conclusions.

When we finally did deliberate, it was just a few hours later that the 12 of us emerged confident and content with our verdict. How about that?

And that’s when I realized the obvious correlation between this experience and the way that a common goal at work can also bring a team together, foster mutual respect, and bring about results.

As with the trial judge, when our managers hold us responsible for working together as a team, amazing, sometimes hard to believe, results happen. And the way they happen is by requiring the same respect, resilience, cooperation, confidence, and determination that are expected of a jury. It is these experiences, even if they are forced, that strengthen us individually and as a team, which means it is vital to our growth that we be required to participate in exercises that challenge us in these ways.  

I highly recommend it!

(Don’t forget to reward your team’s successful collaboration. These Pocket Praise^® are right on the mark!) 

Each year, Baudville celebrates its accomplishments with a Year End Party.  The theme of the party is always a surprise and isn’t revealed until the day of the party.  This year, the employees arrived at the party to discover that they had taken a walk back in time and were celebrating New Years Eve 1929 aboard the Orient Express.  They also found themselves in the middle of a complex murder mystery drama involving interesting characters and a snake.  As the plot thickened, a delightful dinner was served aboard the train.  Finally, the deception and motive was revealed.  One table of super sleuth Baudvillians successfully solved the mystery and was awarded a prize.

A large portion of the evening is spent recognizing the accomplishments of each department.   Special recognition goes to a few select individuals for submitting great product and process suggestions and perfect attendance.  Two employees who best exemplified Baudville’s core values in 2009 also received one of our most prestigious award the INSPIRE Award.

In this economy, many companies have decided to cut back on parties, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful event.  Planning the Year End Party is a true team effort and a great source of collaboration and creativity. Thanks to our cross-departmental SPIRIT Team, the evening ran smoothly and was enjoyed by all!

While year end parties are a popular setting to express employee appreciation, there are many ways to recognize accomplishments that do not require a special event.  We show appreciation year long at Baudville in many different ways utilizing pocket praise, marks of appreciation, award certificates, trophies, peer-to-peer recognition and more.  The management team loves the Recognition Binder, “You’re a Winner in my Book.” 

I love to hear how other companies recognize their employees.  I am always taking notes on how we can continue to improve and let our employees know that we really do appreciate them. Our Year End Party is one of our employees’ favorite events. What are some of your employees’ favorite ways to be recognized?

You can see more pictures from Baudville's Year End Party on Facebook!

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Cindy is the Human Resources Manager at Baudville and has over 14 years HR experience. In addition to her HR Generalist duties, she’s the center of positive mojo for the company and heads up many of our recognition initiatives, events and awards. In other words, she’s got it going on!

As Cindy mentioned last week, we had our Year End employee party last week. This event has major cultural significance for our organization, and the 90% participation rate can prove it! It’s an employee-only event that encourages team building and camaraderie among the entire company. Employees look forward to spending the evening together eating, being entertained, winning prizes and receiving recognition from our President and Senior Vice President.

Baudville has some special recognition traditions that happen at the end of the year. We actively promote and practice day-to-day recognition throughout the year, but our experience has also taught us that having formal awards is an important part of a recognition strategy. Employees strive all year to receive such honored recognition.

Our Perfect Attendance Award is a great example. This award happens only once a year (obviously) and rewards an exclusive group of employees. Each employee receives a personal award of $100, and Baudville makes a donation of $125 to the charity of their choice. Employees are presented with an award certificate and letter from our charitable fund, Baudville’s Helping Hand, as their memento. Long after the party ends, you can still spot these certificates displayed around the building (I still have mine up from last year!).

Our annual party also gives every department their time in the spotlight. Each department is called to the front of the room where they are presented with an engraved ornament. While the ornaments are personally distributed, our President shares some of the department’s successes from the year with the entire company. It is always amazing to hear what our company has accomplished!

The recognition part of our event ends with our INSPIRE Award. The INSPIRE Award is our manager-nominated formal award and is only awarded once a year to a select few employees. Our President announces the winners by reading the qualifications and accomplishments of the award recipient. This year, one of the winners took me completely by surprise.

It was me.

Receiving our INSPIRE Award meant a lot personally, and also gave me great insight into formal recognition. I had my Sally Field moment a (“you like me, you really like me!”) receiving the award that reinforced my role on the team. It has also raised the bar for my work. Going forward, I will be asking myself, “Is this INSPIRE-worthy work?” In everything I do, I want my peers know that I value the award given to me and will continue to work and produce results in a way that is consistent with the award.

So after two years of writing about formal recognition and its role in a recognition strategy, I can tell you first hand that giving formal recognition to your employees works. It instills a great sense of personal pride and accomplishment, and at the same time motivates the individual for greater achievements. Implementing a respected and honored formal recognition program does take time, but the cultural and motivational impact makes it well worth it!

This year there were two INSPIRE Award winners. We're pictured here with our President and SVP at our Year End Party.

When Baudville employees started working on the marketing campaign for the launch of the brand’s new identity and products, it was their goal to maintain and grow sales in a difficult economy that fueled their creativity.

Today, they’re receiving international recognition for their efforts.

The team nominated their marketing campaign to the John Caples International Awards, and this week received word that they are a finalist in the Agency Self-Promotion category. Baudville shares the category with some of the most elite marketing and advertising agencies in the world.

Being a Caples Award Finalist is powerful recognition for the employees who contributed to the marketing campaign. The finalists and winners are chosen by a panel of executive creative directors from around the globe who objectively evaluated all the campaign submissions. Their recognition of our work is positive reinforcement of our team’s talents, contributions and capabilities that couldn’t be achieved solely from internal recognition.

Naturally, I found a recognition lesson in all of this, and this is it: Don’t keep recognition within your office walls. Share the greatness of your employees and peers with the entire world! Nominate individuals, projects and products for industry awards. The motivation and pride that results will amaze you.

Congratulations Baudvillians! You certainly deserve this honor!

To read the full news release about the awards and Baudville’s campaign, visit our News Room or PitchEngine.

Since we added product reviews to our website, we've really enjoyed learning how customers are using our recognition products to celebrate the achievements of their employees. We'll be sharing some of their stories on the blog because we believe one of the best sources of ideas for employee recognition is from your peers who are practicing it.

Kelly, a Human Resources Manager from Wyoming, provided a review of our You Made the Difference Character Pin. This theme is great for healthcare organizations! 

"We use this pin in our healthcare facility as part of our employee of the quarter program. The employee of the quarter as well as the finalists receive this pin. I have had great feedback on it because it isn't the typical 'above and beyond' type of recognition. As a leader in our facility I like that it actually lists the behaviors that make the employee special."