Baudville has been in business for almost 30 years, so we have a lot of expertise and insight to share with our customers on employee recognition! One of the most important tips we share with managers is that employee recognition programs need to be as dynamic as the employees they serve. To help you keep your programs fresh and exciting, we are constantly creating new recognition themes, gifts, and tools. Recently, we released two new recognition themes  and added items to our most popular lines of appreciation gifts.

For example, consider our proprietary recognition themes. Our themes make employee recognition programs and events easy to create. Each theme is made up of exclusive artwork and messaging that we apply to gifts and tools. Using a theme makes your appreciation more effective because the repeated message reinforces the value or behavior you’re recognizing.

Now available on Baudville.com, our two new recognition themes are ready to become a part of your recognition program. The new themes “You Rock ” and “We Appreciate You ” both have more than ten unique appreciation gifts that can be included in employee recognition programs. I know the bright colors and timely sentiments will be as popular with your team as they were with ours.

We also added new Twist Top Tumblers drinkware and lapel pins. I expect the Twist Top Tumblers to be a popular corporate gift for summer events this year!

Our artists have been busy designing new lapel pins, too! You can check out their thirty new lapel pin designs online. The new lapel pins help managers keep their employee recognition programs fresh by regularly updating the appreciation gifts and awards.

At Baudville, product innovation and design has always been a top priority. Every product is designed to the highest level of design and practicality for our customers. We want to create great looking tools and gifts, and we want them to work well for our customers.

Tell us what you think! What’s your favorite new product or theme?

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Kristy is the Vice President of Product and Merchandising at Baudville. Since joining Baudville in 2008, she has been integral in the development of the functional, innovative, and great looking products you see today. As the fearless leader of a multifaceted team of creative minds, Kristy always stays armed with her secret weapon of motivation: candy!

Thanks for joining me today for our Recognition TV, our 15 minute video webinar! Today I shared tips and ideas to give your recognition program a boost. How do you know when your program is in need of a boost?

a. Participation levels have dropped dramatically
b. Employees are grumbling about the reward options
c. Your program hasn’t experienced any changes or updates in a long time 

Keep your eyes and ears open for these symptoms of an employee recognition program in need of a boost. In today’s webinar, I shared ten tips that can give your program the boost it needs. For a copy of all ten tips, download our new eBook, “10 Ways to Revitalize Your Employee Recognition Program” now available in our Recognition Resource Center.

 According to Recognition Professionals International, a best practice for employee recognition programs is to be open to change and flexibility. As the architect or caregiver of your organization’s recognition program, you need to be frequently reviewing your program and making the necessary tweaks and adjustments to keep it running like a well-oiled machine.

Hopefully the ideas from our webinar, which you can watch on demand, and new employee recognition eBook give you the tools and ideas to keep your recognition program running strong!

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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.

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?

Today is our final post in our 5 day series on our recent employee recognition success story. You can read the story of Grace Haven Assisted Living in its entirety in the Recognition Resource Center. Today we’re sharing the exciting results Grace Haven experienced after implementing an employee recognition program.

Recovery: Imminent

Within one week of the program’s implementation, the level of interest and optimism increased noticeably. The employee engagement survey given at the initial evaluation was repeated every 30 days and revealed steady improvement at each interval. The positivity grew over time, and after 3 months many Grace Haven employees expressed satisfaction with the improved culture.

Win 1: A Whole New Attitude Evolved
With the recognition programs in place, management met the goal of increasing positive feedback. The number of employees who felt recognition to be a priority at Grace Haven increased 47% since the beginning of the program.

After 60 days, 78% of staff had given recognition and 68% had received it. One respondent said of the program, “I’m impressed at the progress!” And recognition has made employees feel more comfortable about communication in general. Both managers and employees acknowledge that communication has improved and verbal recognition has become a common occurrence.

Win 2: Collaboration and Respect Increased
Before Shout Outs were implemented, only 26% of employees felt their coworkers were committed to quality work. After using the program for 60 days, that measurement increased to 63%. Teamwork and trust increased among team members, and many employees were pitching in where needed. The Shout Outs helped them show appreciation for and become more aware of each other’s contributions. One staff member told us, “I feel it made us closer; people you didn’t think cared, do.” Employee confidence in leadership also experienced a 66% lift.

Win 3: Attendance and Accountability Improved
The increased sense of teamwork led to employees putting a greater value on attendance. After just 30 days—and then again at 60—managers needed more Tokens of Appreciation because they had given so many attendance awards. 90% of employees received at least one token award in the first 60 days the program was in place. Since the start of the program, attendance has improved dramatically.

In just a few months, the Grace Haven team saw improvement in every area measured. Overall satisfaction increased by 66%, with 64% of staff believing that their work culture has improved since the start of the program.

Grace Haven Assisted Living Director of Resident Care had this to say about the changes:
I just can’t get over the change! I see smiles in the hallways and a true spirit of cooperation among most of the staff. And, our attendance issues are all but solved. Plus, giving recognition has been such a rewarding experience. Seeing the pride and satisfaction on the faces of the recipients not only tells me it’s making a difference, it makes me feel good inside, too!

Get a Case of the Positives

You don’t have to be in the caregiving industry or in a morale crisis to benefit from an employee recognition program.

Simple day-to-day acknowledgements improve communication, and expressions of appreciation make team members feel valued. Overall, staff members feel more satisfied with their jobs, increasing both engagement and retention. In addition, incorporating peer recognition into your program gives team members ownership as well as a greater appreciation for the work that others do in the organization.

The Grace Haven team discovered that implementing regular recognition into their routine was easier than they expected. With the right tools in place, the organization has transformed into a highly engaged, positive workplace where employees are proud to work.

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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.

Your culture plays an important role in attracting talent, retaining valuable employees, and succeeding as an organization. So what do you do if your culture is described as negative, employees are fighting, and turnover rate is double the industry average? We recently worked with a Michigan organization with these symptoms and helped them implement a strategic employee recognition program. After the program had been in place for merely 30 days, the organization experienced dramatic improvements.

Our most recent episode of Recognition TV shared the story of Grace Haven, the organization described above, and how they transformed their culture with recognition.  You can read the entire Grace Haven employee recognition success story on our website and watch the Recognition TV episode in our Recognition Resource Center.

After working with Grace Haven, we created a Prescription for Success that you can use in your organization to create a more positive and successful work culture. There are only seven steps outlined below that are simple and low-cost.

1. Form a team.
When we worked with Grace Haven, two recognition specialists dedicated their time to working on the project. You may be too busy to dedicate all your time to the recognition program, so recruit some help. Build a small team with a mix of employees and managers from several different departments. They will serve as your champions in their respective teams and serve as recognition liaisons for the organization.

2. Get employee feedback.
Gather employee feedback and measure employee engagement by administering an employee survey, holding focus groups, and conducting interviews with employees. You can download a copy of the Grace Haven employee engagement survey. Conduct the survey before the program start and at 30 day intervals after its implemented to create a baseline and measure your progress. Whenever you receive feedback on your work culture, it’s important to be open to listening to criticism. It will be the hardest part, but also the most helpful in turning around your culture.

3. Determine recognition program goals.
The data collection process provides valuable input into what areas of improvement you should focus on with your recognition program, and involving employees early on will make them feel like part of the process.  Some example goals include:
 Areas that need improvement
 Ways to improve those areas
 What behaviors do you want to reinforce
 Any culture issues

 4. Create programs that align with goals.
Your strategic recognition programs should be tied to your goals and objectives. At Grace Haven, we connected the programs to our goals of increasing morale, teamwork, and improving attendance. At this step in the process, determine what tools you want to include in your program. At Grace Haven, we used Shout Outs, the Pintastic Manager, and Tokens of Appreciation. Use your survey results and input from your team for reward ideas.

5. Communicate with your team.
Communication is key to a recognition program! You will want to keep employees updated on your progress and make information readily available. At Grace Haven, we attended multiple meetings and held a kick off the day the programs launched. Take the time to explain how the programs work, and how employees can participate. You’ll also need to do some basic training.

6. Implement your recognition program.
Now, use the program!  Your team needs to take the lead and be the champions by practicing recognition regularly and answering any questions from staff.

7. Encourage change.
Your recognition program is never complete, so regularly seek feedback from employees. Tweak things as necessary to keep the program enticing to employees. For example, a Grace Haven employee suggested that the rewards change periodically to remain a strong incentive for employees. Your constant attention to the program and willingness to make changes will maintain momentum in the long run and ensure long term success of your program.

Download the complete Grace Haven employee recognition success story.

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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.