Today is my first day back in the office from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference in Las Vegas. While at the conference, I had the opportunity to meet with some of the human resource bloggers I follow all year on Twitter and through my RSS feed. Since these individuals are known for their expertise on everything human resources, I asked them each to share their employee recognition advice for HR professionals and managers. 

Rachel Salley (@rachelsalley)from the Career Anarchist blog stopped by the Baudville booth twice to complete her interview! Thanks for your dedication, Rachel! Visit the Career Anarchist blog to read her musings on the SHRM Annual Conference, employee engagement, and more.

Jessica Miller-Merrell (@blogging4jobs) also stopped by twice to chat with me about social media, HR, and employee recognition. Jessica is well-known in the HR industry for her blog, blogging4jobs.com. She’s apparently also one of the most popular SHRM attendees. She confided that she had six parties to go to on Monday night!

Matthew Stollak (@akabruno) of the True Faith HR warned us that as a professor, he would give us an academic response to our question about employee recognition. We didn’t mind! We thought his answer was great.

It was wonderful to finally meet Sharlyn Lauby (@sharlyn_lauby)in person at the conference this year. Sharlyn is president of Internal Talent Management Group and blogs at HR Bartender, so we talked about how to use recognition to make training more effective. We were able to give her an exclusive sneak peek into some exciting new products we have coming out in September.

Finally, we see the “Pin Man” every year at SHRM. Since we’re big proponents of lapel pins, we had to interview him to learn more about his impressive collection. Naturally, we added a new piece to his collection!

Overall, the bloggers all echoed the same sentiment: that employee recognition is important and is most effective when it is personalized to the recipient and sincere. What’s your piece of employee recognition advice for HR and managers?

The 4th of July is next week, but if I’m honest, I’m already thinking of my holiday plans! This year, I’ll be camping and boating in beautiful Northern Michigan with some friends. I can’t wait!

Most likely, your team is thinking ahead to the holiday weekend, too. Keep them engaged all week by hosting your own holiday celebrations in the office.

The 4th of July is often celebrated by picnics and lawn games, so host a lawn game tournament this week. Ask employees to bring in their own games, and play outside or in the hallways (when appropriate). Keep track of the winners of bocce ball, badminton, and bean bag toss, and award patriotic certificates to the winners at the end of the week.

On Friday, host a red, white, and blue potluck. People will love not having to pack a lunch on the day before a holiday weekend, and you’ll challenge their creativity. Taste of Home has an entire collection of flag recipes to provide some inspiration!

Coordinate your recognition efforts this week by using red, white, and blue thank you cards and giving patriotic lapel pins to your team.

Or give employees a new flag lanyard to use in July:

Throughout all your 4th of July festivities in the office, remind your employees that it has always been a TEAM of people who have made our independence possible!

Have a great 4th of July!

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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.

Whew, six weeks into my internship and I am just getting into the Baudville groove! I got my name plate on my cubicle and can finally clear a paper jam in the printer. But I am constantly experiencing new things about Baudville every day. For example do you know how we actually recognize our employees and co-workers?

Last week was a busy week of recognition for the whole company. We had baby showers, birthdays (mine!), casual days, and an entire company meeting. I‘ve never experienced so much celebrating with my co-workers before and who knew it would be such a blast!

I attended my first entire company meeting last week. I know what you are thinking right now, a “dull” meeting cannot include recognition. Absolutely it can and the best part, the meeting becomes exciting! Everyone gathered in a huge room located in our distribution center. Our CEO, Brad Darooge, gave us some encouragement for the upcoming six months and recognized us for achieving goals in the first half of the year.

Next, Cindy, the Human Resources Manager talked about how our Health and Fitness challenge is going thus far. (For those who don’t know, currently we have undergone a “friendly,” 10 week, Health and Fitness competition here at Baudville). On the first day of the competition we all received t-shirts displaying our work out pride. We received new water bottles to stay hydrated. Finally, she opened the floor for employees to share personal Health and Fitness goals. It was a great way for the whole company to encourage and praise people for a job well done.  

Since the whole company got together, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a mini competition. We were given plastic bags, scotch tape, string, and tissue paper. With these random elements we had to cushion an egg so that when it dropped it didn’t splatter everywhere. Whoever kept the yolk in their egg won points for their Health and Fitness challenge team. The absurd concoctions caused a lot of laughter and conversation in the days after.

I also found out this week that birthdays are a huge deal at Baudville. At the beginning of the month, birthday cards get passed from cubicle to cubicle and are filled with special notes or drawings. Then on your birthday, you receive your card with a little present inside. Lastly, you have to choose where your birthday lunch is going to be so co-workers can take you out to celebrate.

These are just some ways we have been recognizing co-workers lately and having fun here at Baudville. Other companies have been doing a great job recognizing as well. Tell me about some big or little ways you’ve recognized your employees or co-workers lately!

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Kendra is the newest Baudvillian. She is currently an advertising intellectual at Grand Valley State University, and is ecstatic about the change of atmosphere as Baudville’s web marketing intern. Watch out because this young professional just touched down at Baudville.

The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference  starts on Sunday, June 26, and the Twitter world is already a buzz with attendees connecting, sharing tips, and preparing for the conference. We asked our team of veteran attendees what advice they would offer SHRM conference goers. Read their advice before you pack your suitcase and head to Vegas!

1. Wear comfortable shoes. You do a lot of walking inside the convention center. That exhibit hall is bigger than it looks! Cori, Marketing Communications Specialist

2. Bring a sweater. It may be hot outside, but usually the air is cranking inside the convention center. Cindy, HR Manager

3. Make a conference plan. The SHRM Annual Conference can be overwhelming with all the session options and hundreds of exhibitors. Set goals for the show and make a plan to make sure you get to the right sessions and vendors. Cindy, HR Manager

4. Bring something back for your team in the office. Your team held down the fort while you soaked up the learning (and some sun), so recognize their extra efforts! Take back a small gift for each member of your team. Lilly, Product Art Manager

5. Network. Share ideas and make friends with other SHRM attendees. One of the best parts of the SHRM Annual Conference is talking to attendees and meeting new people! Lilly, Product Art Manager

6. Take advantage of the free giveaways. The SHRM expo hall is known for its giveaways and freebies. In our booth, you’ll find super tote bags and delicious cupcakes. We’ll also introduce you to our sister company, IDville. David, Inside Sales Representative

7. Attend an after-hours event. Last year’s Tweetup was a great place to meet with attendees in a more casual and slower-paced environment than the exhibit hall. For a list of the different events happening at the conference, jump over to the Blogging4Jobs blog. Cori, Marketing Communications Specialist

8. Be inspired. Take advantage of being in a new city and a change of scenery. Find something that can inspire a new project. Last year in San Diego, I took some photographs of a ship in the harbor that I incorporated into an art piece. James, Designer 

9. Learn a lot. The SHRM conference is the premiere place for HR professional development, and the sessions should be the first priority for attendees. But the learning doesn’t end when the sessions do! Make an effort to learn from other attendees and exhibitors. They have lots of good information and tips to help you do your job better! Cori, Marketing Communications Specialist

10. Have fun! Even though SHRM is a business trip, it’s a business perk! Go ahead and explore the new city, meet new people, bond with team members, and make memories. Take advantage of your time outside the office. Lilly, Product Art Manager

Learn more about Baudville at the SHRM Annual Conference. We will have lots of exciting things happening in booth #3427! 

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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 just returned from a vacation in Budapest, Hungary, where there was very little that wasn’t completely foreign to me. The language. The currency. The landscape. Really, pretty much everything.

After hiking to the top of Gellert Hill on day three, we were met with colossal monuments, a breathtaking panorama of the Buda and Pest cityscapes split by the Danube River, and a humbling military fortress, complete with rows of artillery cannons. Yep, we definitely weren’t in Michigan anymore.

The unknown certainly sets the stage for great adventure; but there comes a point when it doesn’t hurt to encounter something familiar as well. So, imagine my delight (I may have squealed) when we rounded the Citadella’s main façade and bumped into this:

My friends giggled as I insisted on taking a photo of this lapel pin display; but little did they know how close to home I suddenly felt. Or, my home away from home that is: the ‘ville.

As I basked in my warm fuzzy moment, I also felt a deep thought coming on: that in a culture that seemed so dramatically different from my own, there was common ground in something as simple as a lapel pin.

In any setting—not just a military one—lapel pins portray honor and accomplishment. They’re a badge to be worn with pride and prestige. That’s why they remain one of our most popular recognition rewards. And, apparently, our Hungarian friends feel the same way!  

We don’t have one of the Magyar flag (yet); but we do have an out-of-this-world variety of exclusively-designed lapel pins for just about any occasion. Plus, we offer custom lapel pins, so if you can dream it up, we can probably do it.

And, here’s a little secret: our designers are currently working on a whole new batch of lapel pins. So, stay tuned!

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Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for two and a half years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 17 years. Before becoming a professional writer 10 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!