Yesterday, I read a press release announcing that the Best Western River North Hotel in Chicago is using social media to recognize one of its star employees, Wallace. Wallace has recently been nominated for the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association’s Star of the Industry Award, and a Facebook page was created to support Wallace (and maybe influence the judging!).

If having a Facebook page dedicated to him wasn’t a big enough compliment, customers quickly filled up the wall with their favorite Wallace stories. Some of the stories were from hotel stays two years ago! Other repeat customers confessed that they stay at the hotel because they want to use Wallace’s extensive knowledge of the city and ability to get the best deals.

I wasn’t even aware of this hotel before, but the stories of the exemplary service and great city knowledge made me want to plan a visit to Chicago!

Since many organizations are still becoming familiar with social media as a communication tool, the Best Western River North Hotel is certainly a leader in the employee recognition arena. Other than the standard “happy anniversary” or “happy birthday” tweets on Twitter, employee recognition hasn’t made it on many social media platforms - yet.

Wallace is a great example of the impact you could have when you praise your employees on social media.  Combining social media and employee recognition has three powerful effects:

1. It makes the super star feel super proud….and committed.
The Facebook page is a great way to give Wallace public recognition that reaches beyond the walls of the hotel. Not only is Wallace being recognized in front of his co-workers, but customers, friends and family can all be a part of his accomplishment. Do you think an employee who’s treated this grandly is going to think about leaving? No way!

2. It motivates others.
Didn’t those stories about Wallace make you feel good? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone wrote those nice things about you? I’m sure the employees at Best Western River North Hotel are already inspired by Wallace’s performances, but I think they’ll have a little extra spring in their step after they see the Facebook page.

3. It makes your company look good.
Visitors to Wallace’s page will look around, read a few customer stories, and decide where they’ll stay on their next Chicago trip. Not only does the company treat its employees well, but those employees create a fantastic experience for the customers.

While many companies aren’t using social media to proclaim their employees’ good works yet, I predict we’ll start to see much more of it in the coming months, thanks to Wallace.

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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.

Celebrating birthdays at work can be tricky. Some people love a big production, and others prefer to be more private about their big day. Some managers go all out with for their employees’ birthdays and others aren’t even aware birthdays exist.

Something as simple as birthday celebration inequities within your organization can hurt employee morale, loyalty and camaraderie. Creating a company-wide birthday program can level the playing field and make all employees feel appreciated and valued on their birthday.

I’ve prepared a 15 minute video webisode all about celebrating birthdays in the office. I’ll share best practices to guide the creation of your birthday program and lots of ideas that you can use. My ideas are easy to implement and show that you can celebrate employee birthdays without spending a lot of time or money.

To register for the Birthday Best Practices Recognition TV webisode, visit Baudville.com. I’ll see you next Thursday, August 12 at 11:30am EST!

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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.

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.

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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.

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!”

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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!

Hello everyone! As I mentioned back in my February blog entry we added product videos to help you get a close-up of some of our best-selling items along with ideas and ways to use them. Well, I wanted to let you know that we have added more, so make sure to check them out.

Look for the icon on the product pages and click on the link to learn more about the product. You can watch some of our latest product videos on these best sellers:

• Jade Glass Award Trophies
• Pocket Praise
• Character Pins

We've also added a Video Hub that is a central location for all Baudville videos including product videos, Recognition TV recorded webisodes, recognition videos, and the Cubicle Chronicles. Visit http://www.baudville.com/videos to view any video, any time!

Stay tuned, over 200 new recognition products are coming out at the end of June and more videos are on their way!

Employee engagement has been an important issue for Human Resources and management since Gallup published its Employee Engagement index and estimated that disengaged workers cost U.S. businesses as much as $350 billion a year. This staggering figure got many to pay attention to employee engagement. Today, companies are focusing on improving employee engagement levels that were damaged by the layoffs and cutbacks of the recession.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently published an article on the current state of employee engagement in its May issue of HR Magazine. I highly recommend you read the article in addition to my thoughts here.

One of my key takeaways from the article was the loose definition of employee engagement as an employee’s sense that she contributes and adds value to the organization. When employees feel their work matters to the organization as a whole, they’re more likely to put their passion into action. Knowing this, managers can tailor their communication and recognition to reinforce the unique value each employee brings to the team.

Secondly, the article mentions a Harvard Business School survey and points to the importance of using recognition to improve employee morale. Teresa Amabile, the professor who conducted the survey, found that employees rank progress as the number one workplace engagement factor.

“Workers reported feeling most engaged on days when they made headway or received support to overcome obstacles in their job,” said Amabile.

Can you imagine how powerful recognition could be on those days? What if you regularly recognized employees for making progress on projects, both big and small? Since progress is a primary engagement factor, it’s safe to assume you could make a serious impact on the engagement level on your team.

Regular recognition – and higher employee engagement – is not an expensive undertaking, but it takes effort. As you recognize individual’s progress, you’ll learn the type of recognition you use will vary by individual preferences.

That’s ok. In fact, it’s a great problem to have.

To better recognize employees, you’ll get to know them on a more personal level. In the progress, you’ll form a greater connection that can improve loyalty, morale and – what else? – employee engagement.

Improve your relationship with employees and increase employee engagement at the same time? What a sweet deal!

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If you’re reading this post, then most likely you’re an advocate of employee recognition.  If you’re a recognition advocate, then I’m sure at some point you’ve felt like a lone wolf.  Even though the link between genuine expressions of appreciation and improved performance is intuitive to us, it seems like “fluff” to many managers, supervisors and informal leaders.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are in location surrounded by like-minded people—colleagues in the science, application and advancement of employee recognition practices.

Sound too good to be true?  It’s not a dream!  Last week I was privileged to attend the 13th Annual Conference of Recognition Professionals International (RPI) in Henderson, Nevada.  The conference delivered one-of-a-kind educational opportunities to gain tools, tips and techniques that the 200 attendees can apply immediately in the workplace.

Baudville, Inc. was a proud sponsor.  In fact, our sister company (IDville) donated the custom lanyards, badge holders and badge card stock!

There were numerous networking opportunities allowing attendees to meet, exchange ideas and expand their reach globally with Recognition Professionals from all over the world.  Here I am pictured with Rita Maehling (l) and Kevin Cronin (r), the Director of Education and the new President.  I made new friends from both the Netherlands and India!

Conferences like RPI's provide a vital forum on effective employee recognition strategies and tactics to help boost employee morale and productivity.  Current research proves that employee recognition and satisfaction is important for all organizations, especially during these challenging times.

I was able to hear from leading experts in the field of employee recognition, and of particular interest this year was “proving the value of recognition.”  As business leaders, we’re all familiar with the concept of return-on-investment (ROI).  This respected accounting measure, which has its roots in capital expense evaluation, is a critical success factor to C-level executives.

But… nearly 85% of today’s business investments are not capital in nature!  Things such as training, technology solutions, organizational development, change initiatives, marketing, and—you guessed it—employee recognition and rewards fall under operating expense categories.

What’s an HR, training, or leadership professional to do?  Enroll yourself to become a Certified Recognition Professional (CRP)!  The CRP designation will give you expertise in the “Seven Best Practice Standards” for employee recognition programs developed by RPI:
1. Recognition Strategy
2. Management Responsibility
3. Recognition Program Measurement
4. Communication Plan
5. Recognition Training
6. Recognition Events and Celebrations
7. Program Change and Flexibility

This conference placed special emphasis on “Recognition Program Measurement” including practical examples and techniques for developing evaluation plans for your recognition initiatives, collecting the data and isolating it from other factors, converting that data to a monetary value, and then calculating the ROI based on the costs of your program.

Another great part of the conference is seeing real-world employee recognition practitioners from businesses just like yours receive accolades.

RPI announced that the employee recognition programs from four organizations, Scotiabank, Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare, TD Canada Trust, and TELUS Communications were honored with RPI’s 2010 Best Practice Standards® Awards.

Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., Recognition Professionals International is an international non-profit association of employers. It exists to study, develop and promote systems that enhance employee engagement and performance through employee recognition.

And yes, I did manage to have a little fun too.  After all, I am the Director of Positive Mojo!

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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. 

Thanks to everyone who attended our live video webisode 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.

Today, I shared three steps to starting a recognition program and hopefully showed you that a recognition program isn’t hard to start or maintain. It just takes a little bit of planning up front.

Step 1: Identify what you want to recognize 
Take inventory of any kind of recognition you’re already doing and look for any gaps where performances aren’t being recognized. Maybe you cater lunches for meeting goals or give service awards to recognize anniversaries. That’s great! Now you can build on it with more frequent recognition.

For recognition to be effective, it needs to support your organization’s values and goals. Spend some time reviewing your company’s values or team’s goals and brainstorm what behaviors your team could exhibit that would accomplish them.

Step 2: Decide how you will recognize
Your means of recognizing are extremely important in motivating your staff. You need to consider your employees’ preferences and your budget when determining your recognition tools. Ask employees how they want to be rewarded by having them complete a survey or our Tell Us About You form, free to download in the Recognition Resource Center. While a lot of employees may say they want cash rewards, it’s not the most effective way to reinforce behaviors.

I recommend using note cards as your primary recognition tool. Handwritten notes are one of the most desired forms of recognition, and you can give it immediately after the behavior.

Step 3: Start recognizing!
You’ll need to go out and look for recognition-worthy moments and make recognition a new discipline and habit. Set reminders on your calendar or use a calendar that will remind you to write notes or give recognition to your employees. Keep your recognition tools within sight, so you’ll have a constant reminder to give recognition.

Start giving recognition with your own recognition program.

That’s it! Follow these three steps, and you’ll have a recognition program that will motivate, engage and retain your staff in no time!

Recognition Program Product Recommendations
If you’re serious about starting a recognition program, I recommend a few of our exclusive Baudville tools that make recognition easy.

• Cheers Kit – All of the tools have room for a handwritten note and a memento for the recipient to keep.
• Pintastic Manager – For a slightly bigger impression, these lapel pins and note cards are the way to go.
• Shout Outs – Get the entire team involved with recognition and take some of the pressure off yourself with a peer-to-peer recognition program.
• Peel and Stick Recognition – It can’t get any easier than this. Jot a quick note and stick this to just about anything for instant praise.
  

Cheers,

Brad Darooge

Baudville President and CEO

You know a recognition program can help improve employee engagement, morale and retention, but “starting a recognition program” has always seemed to be a large and intimidating project. After all, a recognition program is expensive, complicated and requires layers of paperwork, right?

Not so!

Join me on Thursday, April 29 to learn my three steps that will help you start a recognition program immediately. Sign up on Baudville.com and watch my live video broadcast next Thursday at 11:30am EST.

You can ask your questions live via chat, and we’ll work together on getting around those recognition program obstacles you’ve had in the past.

Our webisodes are only 15 minutes long, so it’s easy to fit into your busy schedule. If you’re unable to join us for the live broadcast, we’ll post a recorded version here and on Baudville.com shortly after the websiode concludes.

I look forward to seeing you next Thursday!

Cheers!

Brad

Baudville President and CEO

Located in West Michigan, Baudville often experiences lake effect snow storms during the winter months. This makes the driving conditions slow and dangerous and the wind is cold and brutal. Yet employees make the trek into work, often leaving incredibly early to make it in on time.

Is that dedication or what?

Our company is really good at recognizing the effort it takes to get to work on such a snowy day, and this week has been no different. The local meteorologists predicted the onslaught of a blizzard yesterday afternoon, so employees were given a casual day. Casual days are highly coveted around Baudville, and they give employees the ability to wear jeans for the day.

Today, the snow really hit, and many of us woke to 6 inches of snow or more in our driveways. The snowing and blowing have continued all day, so the company treated employees to lunch and delivered sandwiches for everyone. Employees don’t have to drive in the poor conditions and receive a treat for making it into work.

Although the weather is frightful, it truly is delightful inside Baudville.

Regardless of your location, your employees face challenges that make it difficult to get to work. Recognize their efforts, and their dedication will grow.

 Here are some employee recognition ideas you can use on your own “snow day.”

• Give a casual day
• Provide lunch or a treat
• Brush the snow off employees’ cars
• Write thank you cards to express your appreciation
• Warm up with a team building activity
• Give employees an extra 15 minutes at lunch or break to relax

These are some pictures taken at Baudville this morning. You can tell we have a lot of snow!