Next in our series of recognition product how-tos is a look at one of the recent additions to our collection, Bravo Office Bingo. Office Bingo comes with a notepad with 50 cards and a Bravo stamper, and it can be used in many different ways!

How Office Bingo Works
Each employee gets a Bravo card, and the manager is responsible for the Bravo stamper. Whenever the manager catches an employee doing something great or wants to reward an employee, he stamps one of the circles on the card. Similar to a traditional game of Bingo, employees collect stamps on their Bravo cards until they have five in a row. Then they can redeem the bottom portion of the card for a gift of the manager’s choice, like a casual day, free lunch or recognition gift.

You can keep the game going until everyone wins, or set a deadline and end the game at the pre-determined time. Make sure you schedule enough time for someone to win. If the game is deemed “impossible” by your staff, they won’t even try to win.

When to Use Office Bingo
You can implement Office Bingo as either a short term or a long term recognition program, but you must link the program to a goal. Effective recognition always ties behaviors back to the goals or values of the organization, and Office Bingo is no exception.

For example, I recommend using Office Bingo while your team works on a project or short term goal. It could even be a seasonal program that you use when your team is especially busy, and you want to inspire and reward top performance.

If you want to use the program for an extended period of time, you should reward employees for behaviors that support multiple different goals. Allow employees to get a fresh card once they receive their first Bingo, and be prepared with different recognition gifts for those who turn in their second or third complete card.

Where Office Bingo Works
In order for Office Bingo to be successful, managers need to interact with employees on a regular basis. Retail stores and call centers are great environments for Office Bingo. You can even use it as part of this year’s Customer Service Week celebration.

Office Bingo could also be a great program for a classroom to reward students’ good behavior. Start the program at the beginning of the year, and students can earn stamps for helping around the classroom, being kind to students and performing well on assignments.

Why Office Bingo is Fun
- Employees have a visual to keep track of the recognition they receive.
- Higher employee participation compared to a save and redeem or online recognition program.
- The recognition program encourages managers to interact more frequently with employees.
- You have complete flexibility to decide the prizes.
- Employees can watch each other’s cards and provide encouragement to their teammates.
- Everyone receives recognition and praise!

Watch the product demo video on Baudville.com Bravo Office Bingo, Facebook or YouTube.

-----------------------

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 found this great article in my reader last week by Career Matters titled, “Are you getting the recognition you deserve at work?” The article got some attention on Twitter after I tweeted the link, so I decided it would be valuable to expand on the topic and deliver it to our Baudville blog readers. You can read the original article here.

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day routine at work and lose sight of the importance of appreciation. This has been especially true over the last year/year and a half when workloads increased as a result of the decrease in the workforce.  We tend to get so focused on our goals, our projects, our results that we forget to say thank you to the people who help make the results happen.

High performers who consistently do a good job are often the ones who get the short end of the stick because managers more often give feedback and pay more attention to low performers. As a result, high performers can feel ignored and unappreciated. This leads your top talent to look for new jobs where they will be appreciated.

While some managers adopt a “no news is good news” management strategy, it doesn’t motivate and inspire high performers. If you need more encouragement to be successful and engaged in your position, try these four suggestions to get more recognition at work.

Encourage Recognition. Be direct with your boss or manager about your feelings. Translate it into business-talk, too. Let your manager know you’ll be more engaged, motivated and productive if you receive feedback and recognition for your work, which means better results for the team and the company. Help your manager improve by offering some helpful suggestions, such recommending your boss give you feedback after a major project.

Make it Easy for your Manager. Once you’ve been direct with your manager, make it easy for him! When your manager stops by your desk to chat or you have your one-on-one meeting, sing a few of your praises. Your manager may not be aware of all the great things you do everyday, so tell him! It will make it easier for him to give recognition when he knows what should be recognized. Give your manager a list of your recognition preferences (you can use our free Tell Us About You form) so he knows how to best recognize you.

Recognize Your Co-Workers. You can create a grassroots employee recognition program at your organization by giving recognition yourself. Recognition is contagious, and you will be able to watch it spread throughout your organization. Once you start recognizing co-workers or employees with handwritten notes, a Token of Appreciation or an ePraise, they will be so impacted by the gesture that they will start to give recognition, too.

Recognize your Manager. Middle managers also get slighted in the recognition department, so congratulate your manager when he has an outstanding performance or the team meets a goal. When your manager experiences the motivating power of recognition first hand, he’s more likely to reciprocate the feeling.

------------------------------

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.

As part of our new How-To series, today’s post is all about easy-to-give notes and how darn easy they are to give. Read on!

The two most common reasons we hear for not giving employee recognition are “I’m too busy” and “We don’t have the budget.” Well, what if giving recognition took less time than a trip to the vending machine and cost (a lot) less than a Diet Coke? You could probably do that, right?

Ringing in at just 20¢ per note, our new 50 Daily Recognition Notes peel & stick to almost any surface and come in pads that fit easily in your pocket.

Keep them on hand and you’ll be:

Ready. How many times has one of your team members done something great and you made a mental note to recognize it, but by the time you got back to your desk, the whole incident just completely slipped your mind? Sure, you may wake up at 4:00 a.m. and remember, but it’s a little late then. Next time, don’t be caught empty handed. Instead, get:

Set. At the start of the day, tuck one of these note pads in your pocket, grab a pen, and keep your eyes and ears open. Awesomeness could strike at any moment. Now you’ll be prepared to:

Recognize. Did someone share a bright idea in a meeting, or stay late to finish a project, or make a customer really happy, or pitch in to help a coworker? Don’t just stand there; get out that note pad, pull the pen from behind your ear, and write down a note of thanks. Now, on your way to pick up that afternoon refreshment, make a quick detour to that person’s desk, peel off that note, and post it on whatever it will stick to.

That’s all there is to it!

(Just one thing: these pads were actually designed to sit on your desktop; but I’m a bit of a rebel. I like the fact that they’ll just as easily fold flat and fit in your back or shirt pocket, or tuck into your weekly planner. We don’t really care how you use them; just that you do!)    

Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than nine 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 know our customers are always looking for a good deal, – who isn’t these days? – so we’ve added a new special offer to Baudville.com: weekly deals!

Available each Monday, our weekly deal will feature one Baudville product at a discounted price – up to 50% off! You will want to act fast because the deal is only available for one week, and there is a limited quantity of product available.

Take advantage of our weekly deals to stock up on employee recognition gifts and get introduced to new recognition themes and products you otherwise may not have noticed. Our inaugural offer is the It Takes Teamwork Adhesive Note Cube 50% off for $4.95.

We have a great line up of weekly deals coming your way! Use these special sales to add some positive mojo to your employee recognition efforts. Check Baudville.com each Monday for the new deal!

Frequently Asked Questions about Baudville’s Weekly Deal

How long are these great deals available?
Each deal is available for one week only. Quantities are limited so when the item is gone you'll have to wait until the next weekly deal. Past offers are not available after the deal is over - if you have added a deal to your shopping cart but did not complete the order by Sunday at midnight (EST), the price will go back to it's original price and the deal item will be removed from your cart.

How many deals are available each week?
One great item will be featured each week. No changes or substitutions are allowed.

What time does the new weekly deal appear?
The weekly deal will change out on Sunday at Midnight (EST). So, every Monday there will be a new deal.

Can I get these great deals when I call and place an order?
Nah, that’d be too easy. Weekly Deal items are only available online.

How much does shipping cost?
Regular shipping rates apply based on your method selection.

Is there a limit on how many I can buy at these great prices?
No. Feel free to order how many you want, but quantities are limited.

What kinds of products get featured on Weekly Deals?
A wide range of employee recognition products can be featured. Check back each week so you don't miss out!

Can I return a Weekly Deals item?
Yes, it's easy to return a Baudville.com purchase. See our Returns Policy for complete details. Weekly deal items cannot be exchanged with other items for the weekly deal price. Original list price will be charged for exchanges to another product.

------------------------ 

Kimberly is the Baudville Website Manager and star of our online product videos. She applies her knowledge of the web to create the ultimate online experience for Baudville customers.

As part of our current blog series, tips and ideas for using our new recognition products, today is all about our newest signature day-to-day recognition product, Tokens of Appreciation. Hopefully you were able to attend my webisode today, too, where I talked about my ideas and answered your questions in our live video format. You can watch the webisode archive on Baudville.com or our Facebook page.

How to Use Tokens of Appreciation for Recognition

Because you can’t write a note on a token (there just isn’t enough room!), you need to express why someone is receiving recognition through public praise. Leaving a token on an employee’s desk with no explanation will not be motivating. You may choose to:

- Stop by an employee’s desk to deliver a token in person;
- Share your recognition of a peer in an email to several managers, then give her a token later;
- Give a shout out to a co-worker in a meeting and give a token right then and there!

You can incorporate Tokens of Appreciation into employee recognition programs in several different ways to make your recognition even more effective. I focused on three different employee recognition programs in my websiode that I’m going to share here.

1. Save & Redeem Employee Recognition Program
When I showed the tokens to attendees at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference, they immediately saw potential for tokens in a save and redeem employee recognition program. In a save and redeem program, employees collect tokens and turn them in to ”buy” recognition gifts predetermined by managers. It’s similar to an arcade where you collect tickets by playing games and then turn them in for various prizes.

To get a save and redeem employee recognition program started at your organization, first create the system. Decide how many tokens employees need to redeem for each gift. Ask employees to weigh in on the recognition gift scale. If employees think the scale is too difficult, they may give up on the program before it’s even started.

Be creative with your gifts, and get employee feedback. Your gifts don’t have to be expensive! I recommend casual days, snack or pop, small gift certificates (like $5 to Starbucks or Subway), travel mugs, extra time off, tickets to an event in town, or company wear (like our cool t-shirts).

Once you have your system set-up, communicate with employees. Have a team meeting to introduce the new employee recognition program and answer any questions. Add a document to the intranet that includes the token-gift scale, email it to staff so they have a personal copy, and post it in a public place. You can never over communicate about an employee recognition program!

Now it’s time to recognize! Have a collection of different themed Tokens of Appreciation ready, so you can recognize different situations with varying recognition sentiments. It’s wise to get a pack of Envelope Cards, too, and you can include a handwritten note with some of your tokens.

You should constantly seek employee feedback in your program. Employees will have new ideas for recognition gifts, how to use the tokens, who can give tokens, etc. The more you can implement their ideas, the more support and enthusiasm you will have for the program!

2. Manager-to-Employee Recognition Program
Another exciting way to utilize the Tokens of Appreciation in an employee recognition program is by equipping your individual managers with their own personalized tokens. Managers should always carry tokens with them, and when they catch employees doing something great, they should present the token to the employee on the spot. Employees can then display the tokens on a Magnetic Photo Frame at their desk.

This type of program is very popular and successful in the hospitality industry. One of our customers, Desert de Oro Foods, has a similar program using lapel pins . The employees try to collect a pin from each manager, and they proudly display them on their uniform. You can read more about Desert de Oro Food’s employee recognition program in the Case Study section of our Recognition Resource Center.

This employee recognition program is simple to execute, yet you can add a more formal element, too. At the end of the month, quarter or year, present special awards to employees who collect the most tokens, who collect the most tokens from different managers, and to the manager who gave the most tokens. Since employees will be keeping and displaying their tokens, you should be able to determine winners relatively easily. Then, present them with a Desktop Display, like a mini-trophy, to acknowledge their accomplishment.

3. Grassroots Employee Recognition Program
 Unfortunately, I often have customers tell me that their organization cannot afford an employee recognition program, so they purchase recognition products on their own. If you have a similar situation, you can use Tokens of Appreciation to start a grassroots employee recognition program in your organization.

Consider Tokens of Appreciation your personal employee recognition tool. Select your favorite recognition theme, and personalize the back of the tokens with your name. Tokens of Appreciation come in packs of 10, so they’re affordable even for your personal use. Now, look for reasons to recognize! When you want to thank a co-worker or say “great job,” give one of your tokens away. Explain to the recipient that you wanted to do a little something extra to acknowledge their contribution.  You can do this in person or with our Envelope Cards.

I guarantee that people will start to take notice of your recognition tactics! Recipients will talk about how cool it was to be recognized in such a personal way. Other managers and supervisors will want to get their own tokens as they notice how engaged and motivated your team has become.

Keep track of the comments you receive from recipients and teammates. Record the difference in performance or attitude once you start practicing recognition. Then take your findings to your boss and get an employee recognition program in place for everyone!

Those are the three employee recognition program ideas I have for the Tokens of Appreciation. I want to hear your ideas for Tokens of Appreciation and how you’re using them, too! Email me, comment on this entry, or post to our Facebook wall.  I’ll send you a free pack of tokens and token Envelope Cards as a thank you gift!

-------------------------------

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 got back from Boston and the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) Education Forum and Annual Meeting. What a whirlwind! Even though the Office Expo is only two days, they were both incredibly busy!

Our booth stayed busy talking to attendees and showing off our new products!

I truly enjoyed talking to all the attendees because they understood the importance of recognition. Attendees went crazy for our new Premium Cheers Kits because of the ability to write a handwritten note on each of the kit components. It doesn’t hurt that the kits have unique keepsakes, too!

When it comes to practicing recognition, IAAP attendees must convince their boss to make the investment. This is common across industries and professions which is why we design products that are affordable (Cheers Kits are only $1 each time you recognize!) and easy to use. There’s no contract or high minimum to buy, and our recognition products don’t require intensive manager training.

I encourage customers to start small and try on recognition before they purchase tools for everyone. Plus, we have our 30 Day Employee Morale Guarantee. If you don’t see a rise in employee morale after using our recognition products for 30 days, we’ll refund your purchase with no questions asked. With that promise, you can’t afford not to recognize!

I also recommend reading our recognition white papers and sharing them with your boss. The Day-to-Day Recognition White Paper is full of valuable information and resources that demonstrate the value of regular recognition. Follow Baudville on Twitter and like Baudville on Facebook for regular recognition articles, blog posts and tips that can bring increased value to your organization.

Although our new IAAP friends are still in Boston today attending classes, I’m getting ready to continue our conversation. We will be following up with all of the attendees we saw at the booth with a special email offer, and for everyone who stopped by when our catalogs were gone, we’ll get one in the mail to you right away!

Thank you IAAP for a great expo and fun times in Boston!

One of the attendees recognized me from our webisodes, and she wanted to have her picture taken with the Director of Positive Mojo!

-------------------------------

On the surface, Kurt is Baudville’s mild-mannered Director of Sales, but when it comes to recognition, he quickly turns into the dashing Director of Positive Mojo. Using his powers as a Certified Recognition Professional, Kurt infuses his team with recognition knowledge and experience, while encouraging them to practice daily recognition with his energetic and creative flair. We’re pretty sure there’s a cape hanging from the back of his door. 

We just released over 250 new products at Baudville, which may leave you thinking: Cool products! But how do I use them at my organization?

I’m glad you asked.

Our new signature product, Tokens of Appreciation, has a lot of potential for creating an awesome employee recognition program, and I’m going to take 15 minutes next week to tell you some my ideas. Attending the webisode will be a great way to find out if the Tokens are a good fit for your organization.

Register on our Recognition TV page so you don’t miss any of my tips and ideas. Plus, there’s a chance there will be a special offer for attendees after the webisode. A very good chance. Wink wink.

See you next Thursday!

--------------------------

With the popularity of our Cheers Kits and the love our customers have for our Exclamations™ theme, it seemed like a no brainer for us to design more Exclamations Cheers Kits. After months of serious brainstorming we finally emerged with 15 premium keepsakes that made it into three different kits. And you know that three kits makes a Caboodle, so you can see we really thought this through!

Today, I’m happy to show you these new kits and give you some ideas on how to use them.

The first kit, Stop. Recognize. Repeat. is your reminder to keep recognition ongoing. With 40 tools in each kit, you have plenty of opportunities to “repeat.”

This kit includes five each of:

Buttons: Make someone feel like “kind of a big deal” with this button.  

Bookmarks: The bookworms on your team will love this cool bookmark—and they’ll be reminded of your praise every time they use it!

Next, don’t forget to Say Yes to Awesomeness!

Lapel Pins: This brass pin is perfect for anyone on your team. The simple exclamation motif lets you celebrate any time when you need to say “great job!”
 
Sticky Notepads: Employees love gifts they can use. Each time they peel off a note to use it, they’ll smile knowing you think they’re sensational.

Stickers: Some people you can always count on to get the job done. When they do, reward them by letting them show the world who makes it happen.

Lollipop Cards: Know someone with a sweet tooth? This lollipop, combined with an all-occasion sentiment on the card, will be a big hit.   

Motivation is the name of the game with our Fire Up the Troops! kit. Giving recognition encourages your staff and inspires them to give their all.

This kit includes five each of:

ID Badges: Another great piece of wearable praise, this badge clips to almost anything and lets the recipient proudly show off your praise.

Pop-Up Notes: It’s kind of a trophy, kind of a note card…but no kind of about it, this pop-up note will definitely brighten up any desktop.

Maze Games: The whiz kids on your team will enjoy taking a minute to solve this fun puzzle. When they get to the finish, they’ll find out you think they’re amazing!
 
Balloons: This attention-getting balloon is perfect showing everyone on the team who went above & beyond. And recipients will be proud to display it in their workspace!

Door Hangers: What a fun way to reward the geniuses at your work! No door handle required—you can hang it on a wall with a magnet or pushpin!
   
These kits include 40 notes total, and at just about a $1.00 per note you can give them out daily without breaking the bank! Plus, with an assortment of keepsakes to wear, display, or use AND a variety of messages to recognize great work, smart thinking, or just all-around excellence, you’ll have a note for any occasion.

Just don’t forget the most important part: making it personal. Choose a card that suits the recipient and recognition moment, then write a note that specifically mentions the attitude, behavior, or accomplishment you’re rewarding. Above all, don’t forget to say “thanks!”

--------------------------

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

Two weeks ago, we launched over 250 new recognition products as the finale to our major product development cycle. Allison talked about some of the exciting new products in her blog post when the products became available on our website. New products always get us excited at Baudville, and this year is no exception. We have 6 new themes, 5 new Cheers Kits, a new signature product and much more. We love introducing new products to our customers!

While we know you’ll find our products to be pretty cool, we also want you to see the practical value they can bring to your workplace in the form of increased employee morale, retention, engagement and motivation.

We want our products to work for you, so over the next few weeks we’ll be giving you detailed how-to instructions for using our new products. Each week we’ll spotlight a different product and explain how you can use it in your organization. We’ll include product images and videos so you understand the product size, look and feel. We’ll give you tips to help you get the most out of every product you purchase from us.

If you’re looking for new employee recognition ideas or you’re planning to start an employee recognition program soon, check back every week for valuable tips and ideas.

Our first how-to blog post will be up on Tuesday, and I hope that you’ll also join us for our Recognition TV webisode next week, July 22. I’ll share several ideas for creating a custom employee recognition program with our new Tokens of Appreciation. It will be a great way to get the ideas flowing!

------------------------ 

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.

The Baudville team took some time to reflect on their experiences at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference in San Diego, California. They each shared their favorite memory from the few days we spent at the conference. You can see the pictures from the event on our Facebook page. What did you like most about the conference? Share it with us here!

“I loved spending time with other HR professionals discussing the fun topic of recognition.  Because I am HR, it was an instant connection with the attendees. “  Cindy, HR Manager

“I really enjoyed the Tweetup on Monday night. It was a great opportunity for Baudville to meet in-person the bloggers we follow online. I also love talking to customers and hearing how they do recognition and use our products in their organization.” Cori, Public Relations Coordinator

“I would have to say some of my favorite memories from SHRM would have to be the exuberant reactions people had to our products. There was one lady who couldn’t proclaiming that our products were brilliant. It was just great to hear so many compliments and put faces to our customers.” James, Designer

“I enjoy talking to customers who take some time to linger in the booth, learn who we are and really look at our stuff. While the opening night is exciting and busy, I appreciate even more the people who are genuinely interested in starting or continuing recognition.” Laura, Creative Manager

“I was literally shocked at the amount attendees and how they surrounded our booth trying to get our HR tote bags.  I felt like I was in the running of the bulls with the amount of people coming at me.” – David, Inside Sales Representative

Didn’t make it to SHRM? Baudville will be exhibiting at the International Association of Administrative Professionals Office Expo and the Michigan SHRM Annual Conference. We hope to see you there!

----------------------