It’s a pretty quiet day here at the ‘ville, with about 10% of our staff in San Diego at the Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference & Exposition. Upstairs where the creative group (and most of that 10%) resides, it’s downright eerie. Especially compared to last week, when it was a flurry of activity as everyone prepared to ship out with all of our fabulous new stuff in tow.

To say that the SHRM conference is kind of a big deal…well, there’s no “kind of” about it. We know that this is one of our greatest opportunities to share our new products, so we put months into designing new recognition tools that will knock some socks off.  

As I type, my colleagues are excitedly showing off those hundreds of new products, and I’m feeling maybe a bit envious of them. So, I thought for those of us not attending SHRM, I’d do a little showing off myself and tell you about some of my favorites for this launch:

Conversation Pieces Fold-In Notes  
Few things can make someone’s day like a surprise note of praise, which is why I love these quick notes. The bright colors and encouraging sentiments just make me smile. Plus, they have a huge space inside for a personal note. Then, when you’re ready to present, you just fold up and deliver—no envelope needed!

Happy Birthday Theme
We all love to be remembered on our birthday. Personally, it makes my day to get all that attention—and I know many of my coworkers feel the same way! This theme is filled with ready-to-give gifts and notes that you can keep on hand so you’re prepared to celebrate when it’s anyone’s special day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Lapel Pins
I was pretty psyched when I saw the new Character Pins™ and lapel pins our artists designed for this launch. I’m all about the  contemporary look and feel! Lapel pins are always a popular day making choice, and having up-to-date designs that you’re excited to give and your employees will be proud to wear is all part of that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you see here is just a handful of what’s new. Click here to see it all!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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!

We had a great Recognition TV webisode yesterday where we shared tips on how you can be a Day Maker in your organization through positivity, recognition and fun. You can watch the video on our Facebook page, in the Recognition Resource Center on our website and read our tips right here on the blog.

We had a lot of great comments from attendees in the chat room who shared their best day making practices. We strongly believe that some of the best recognition ideas come from your peers, so here are those great ideas again!

"We put cheers cards in an envelope on our common area fridge so everyone has access to them."

"The 'thank you' notes in our department are put on a bulletin board, then the team leader hands them out, along with a DQ buck!"

"We use thanks slips that Managers fill in and give to staff. Then they get to cash them in for gift cards."

"For fun I have set-up "fun days" with my employees where we act silly and play guesstures or some other board game I bring from home. It is a really great morale & team builder."

"We have 45 restaurants, and I use the ePraise to send out to GMs for a good visit or sales!"

"I use the products as drawings for each box of old utility applications that my staff complete in scanning.  They love it!!!"

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (officially, she's 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.

Thanks to everyone who attended our live video webisode, How to Be a Day Maker, this morning! If you weren’t able to attend, you can view the recorded version in the Recognition TV section of our website or on our Facebook page.

In the next few weeks, you’ll hear a lot from Baudville about being a Day Maker. That’s because we’re releasing over 250 new products next week, and we believe you can use these products to make someone’s day at work. As a result, you’ll see employee morale, satisfaction and retention improve.

A Day Maker can be anyone in your organization, a manager, executive, supervisor, front line employee or intern. Ultimately, a Day Maker is someone who brings a positive attitude to work, recognizes on a regular basis and has fun in the workplace.

Be Positive
You can identify the current Day Makers in your organization by thinking about who participates in company events. At Baudville, we recently completed a ping pong tournament. It’s easy to see that the employees who participated in the tournament and those who turned out to cheer on their teammates are Day Makers who support our culture.

Identify your Day Makers and encourage them! Give them tools to help spread their positivity throughout the organization. I recommend our Cheers Kit or Recognition Binder because they have fun notes (the scratch off cards are my favorite!) and support personal recognition. 

Start acting like a Day Maker in your own organization by committing random acts of kindness. Bring in a cup of coffee for a co-worker who’s been working extra hard or refill the copy paper without being asked. You can do something as simple as putting a candy jar on your desk and encouraging people when they stop by for a treat!

Brenda encouraged her Customer Service team during a busy time with a snack basket!

Recognize Others
There are lots of day making recognition techniques you can use at work. The best part about recognition is that it encourages others to be Day Makers, too! Here are some ideas you can use:

- Give someone a compliment on their work or a recent performance
- Write a personal note to remind an employee how much you value her work. It can be quick and easy like our Peel and Stick Recognition Note Sets.
- Give positive feedback that reinforces an employee’s strengths
- Encourage others to recognize with a peer-to-peer recognition program like Shout Outs
- Make it personal by using personalized note cards or giveaways, like our new tokens

Make the Workplace Fun
A Day Maker can get serious results at work without being serious 24/7. Bringing fun to work makes the work environment more positive and inviting to your employees. It can be as simple as posting our free Print and Posts around the office or sending an ePraise . Our marketing department likes to share Dilbert cartoons each morning to set the tone for the day.

We’ve had a lot of success bringing fun to work by planning team events. Our Employee Appreciation Day Winter Olympic Games was a huge hit with employees because they had a chance to work together and socialize in a different setting. You can see all the highlights from the event on our Facebook page.

In the sales suite, we helped to keep attitudes positive during a busy time by providing stress kits to every employee with small toys and coupons for casual days, free pop and snacks. The employees participated in naming our traveling trophy and Play-Doh sculpture contests.

It’s simple to be a Day Maker, and the small things you do mean a lot to employees. From giving small gifts to writing handwritten notes to committing random acts of kindness, you can encourage employees, improve performances and keep everyone happy!

BoJack the traveling trophy and Play-Doh sculptures.

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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.

Temporarily, that is. A delegation of Baudvillians is packing up and moving out for next week’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference. We’ve spent the past several months planning our strategy for SHRM, getting the coolest giveaways, designing a show-stopping booth, and we’re finally ready! We have a few big things in store, and we hope you’ll join us next week at booth 831 to learn more! Here’s a taste of what you can expect in the Baudville booth:

• New Product Premiere. We’re releasing over 250 new products at SHRM this year. June 28 is the first day the products will be available on our website, and SHRM attendees who stop by our booth Sunday night will get a sneak peek. This product roll out includes a new signature day-to-day recognition product, six new themes, and sweet new Cheers Kits that you will want to get your hands on!


• Cool New Shirts. Attendees loved the fun sayings on our staff t-shirts last year. The shirts are back with new sayings that are sure to earn a few chuckles.


• Special Gifts for the Media. This year, we created a special media kit and offer that’s sure to cause the media to pause. I hope you’ll stop by the booth to chat, reach out via Twitter, or find me at the Monday night Tweetup. I guarantee you’ll be inspired by what you learn about Baudville!


• Sweet Swag. I don’t want to give away too many details, but HR attendees are going to have to have this bag!


• Cupcakes Galore. Once again, we’re partnering with a local gourmet cupcake bakery to celebrate the opening of the show and our new products. Stop by early on Sunday though, because these red velvet cupcakes are so delicious, they’re going to go fast!


• Show-Stopping Booth. We put a few special touches into the booth this year, and we have double the space. You’ll find Baudville in a 20x20 island booth in San Diego. We are super excited! We gave a sneak peek to some local customers a few weeks ago, but we kept a few surprises for SHRM attendees. We’re in booth 831 this year, and we hope you see you there!


• Not Going to San Diego? Bummer. You can follow all the excitement from the Baudville booth through social media. Follow @Baudville and me, @coricurtis on Twitter for the most recent updates direct from the conference. And check Facebook regularly for pictures, videos and more!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (officially, she's 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’ve been having a lot of fun around Baudville in the last few weeks. Part of it is due to the general level of busyness we’ve been experiencing and the anticipation of over 250 new products we’re releasing in two weeks. Stay tuned for more information about those coming in the next week!

But a lot of the fun is thanks to our latest addition to Club Baudville…

A beautiful new table for table tennis!

This summer, Baudville is a sponsor of the USA Table Tennis US Open taking place in our hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, June 29-July 3. Baudville has a longtime connection to Dell and Connie Sweeris, Grand Rapids natives, USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame Inductees and advocates for bringing this event to West Michigan. When they asked us to support the US Open, we got right on board!

To get our employees into the table tennis spirit, we got our own table and held an internal table tennis tournament that wrapped up on Friday. The tournament was the talk around the ‘ville, and employees turned out to watch some heated matches and cheer on their co-workers. We had some pretty creative cheerleaders!

Congratulations to Pete, Carl and Deb, our table tennis champions!

The table tennis tournament was an easy way to get our employees engaged in something non-work related, build rapport across department lines and boost morale of teams, departments and individuals. More significantly, hosting events like the table tennis tournament helps to define our corporate culture: one that is centered on fun, teamwork and results.

What have you done recently to build or promote your culture? The summer is a great time for fun teambuilding events, and many organizations host company picnics, management outings or both. Putting on a small activity for your employees can make a world of difference in their levels of engagement and morale, and it will be fun for everyone, too!