Each year, Baudville celebrates its accomplishments with a Year End Party.  The theme of the party is always a surprise and isn’t revealed until the day of the party.  This year, the employees arrived at the party to discover that they had taken a walk back in time and were celebrating New Years Eve 1929 aboard the Orient Express.  They also found themselves in the middle of a complex murder mystery drama involving interesting characters and a snake.  As the plot thickened, a delightful dinner was served aboard the train.  Finally, the deception and motive was revealed.  One table of super sleuth Baudvillians successfully solved the mystery and was awarded a prize.

A large portion of the evening is spent recognizing the accomplishments of each department.   Special recognition goes to a few select individuals for submitting great product and process suggestions and perfect attendance.  Two employees who best exemplified Baudville’s core values in 2009 also received one of our most prestigious award the INSPIRE Award.

In this economy, many companies have decided to cut back on parties, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful event.  Planning the Year End Party is a true team effort and a great source of collaboration and creativity. Thanks to our cross-departmental SPIRIT Team, the evening ran smoothly and was enjoyed by all!

While year end parties are a popular setting to express employee appreciation, there are many ways to recognize accomplishments that do not require a special event.  We show appreciation year long at Baudville in many different ways utilizing pocket praise, marks of appreciation, award certificates, trophies, peer-to-peer recognition and more.  The management team loves the Recognition Binder, “You’re a Winner in my Book.” 

I love to hear how other companies recognize their employees.  I am always taking notes on how we can continue to improve and let our employees know that we really do appreciate them. Our Year End Party is one of our employees’ favorite events. What are some of your employees’ favorite ways to be recognized?

You can see more pictures from Baudville's Year End Party on Facebook!

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Cindy is the Human Resources Manager at Baudville and has over 14 years HR experience. In addition to her HR Generalist duties, she’s the center of positive mojo for the company and heads up many of our recognition initiatives, events and awards. In other words, she’s got it going on!

The holidays are an important time of year to express appreciation for friends, family and especially employees. It’s not too late to order thoughtful holiday employee recognition gifts for your entire team. And with employee morale, engagement and loyalty nearing rock bottom, managers can’t afford not to recognize employees this holiday season.

I’ve put together a small selection of holiday employee recognition gifts that have been so popular this year, customers are already submitting positive feedback on our website. You can view all holiday recognition gifts here, or visit their individual product pages.

Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time to get your gifts. We have same-day shipping to ensure your recognition can happen in a timely manner!

Spinner Ornament – Customers like the personalization options on the ornament; you can add recipients’ names or a logo. It also arrives in a gift box, so it’s ready to give.

Character Pins – The Character Pin is a popular holiday employee recognition gift because of the themed message and collectable lapel pin. Managers can read the story out loud to the group and avoid the struggle for the right motivational words.

Travel Mug – Employees love to receive gifts that they can use everyday. A handy travel mug will serve as a daily reminder of your appreciation for everything they do.

Major kudos to Kelly for sharing the twelve days of recognition with us in her product review of the Thank You Book of Notes! Kelly gave each of her department managers the Thank You Book of Notes and her version of the Twelve Days of Recognition to encourage them to practice recognition during the holidays. What a great idea!

"On the twelfth day of recognition, my manager gave to me:

Twelve minutes of personal attention,
Eleven excellence awards,
Ten lapel pins,
Nine pat's on the back,
Eight kudos,
Seven success awards,
Six holiday cookies,
Five bucks,
Four gift cards,
Three warm smiles,
Two thank you notes,
And a piece of my favorite candy!"

We’re certain Kelly’s employees will like her recognition suggestions a lot more than a partridge in a pear tree!

Each year, Baudville throws a holiday party to celebrate our team’s efforts and accomplishments. It’s the most anticipated event of the entire year and has earned quite the reputation! The party is known for its secret venues (revealed only a couple weeks ahead), surprising entertainment, delicious food and memorable employee recognition. The event takes several months of planning and is championed by our dedicated SPIRIT team (learn more about the team in my previous post) who strives to make each year more fun and memorable than the last.

The party is an important event for our company’s culture, which is why this year we chose to throw a more modest party rather than no party at all. For many organizations, the holiday employee party is the only time of the year employees are encouraged to socialize outside of work. It’s also one of the primary venues for formal employee recognition, an important part of an employee recognition strategy. Cancelling this event can have a demoralizing and discouraging effect on our staff.

62% of organizations, a record low, are hosting holiday parties for the employees this year, compared to 77% in 2008. But cutting back doesn’t have to mean cutting out holiday celebrations altogether. If your organization has decided not to have a holiday party for employees, you should consider having a smaller team celebration. Here are a few ideas:

- Organize a potluck lunch
- Send a greeting card with a handwritten note to their homes
- Take the team bowling for an afternoon
- Have appetizers and drinks at someone’s house
- Cater lunch at the office to avoid venue fees
- Give employees a gift they can use in the office

The holiday employee party is important to employees because it lets them know you value their work and contributions from the year. Be sure to express sincere appreciation during the holidays for their efforts. If you can’t think of the right words to say, you can let us say it for you. We’ve designed exclusive Character Pins for the 2009 holidays that say it all: appreciation, motivation, sincerity. Pick the message that best fits your team and situation and present pins to individuals at your team get-together. Our holiday Character Pins are currently 25% off, so you get even more appreciation for your buck – a welcome message this year!

Check back December 14th or sign up for our email subscription to catch my next blog with details and pictures from our party!

Don't miss out on the opportunity to recognize and motivate your staff during the holidays! Use one of Baudville's holiday themes to find just the right words.

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Cindy is the Human Resources Manager at Baudville and has over 14 years HR experience. In addition to her HR Generalist duties, she’s the center of positive mojo for the company and heads up many of our recognition initiatives, events and awards. In other words, she’s got it going on!

The holiday season is underway. All the usual signs are here: retail stores have put up the holiday displays, toy advertisements are in circulation, and that one annoying radio station has started playing Christmas music. At the same time, companies are beginning to consider the state of their holiday company celebrations. Typically, organizations take the end of the year as an opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of staff and the successes of the company. However, this year, it may seem like there are fewer reasons to celebrate…and less to celebrate with.

After a challenging 2009, many organizations are wondering if they can afford to have the traditional holiday party. Even if budgets are tight this year, we recommend not giving up on the holiday party altogether. This event is a primary employee morale booster and an important demonstration of good will for your employees. Instead, brainstorm ideas that will help cut back on the costs of the event without sacrificing the appreciation employees receive. This Associated Press article by Joyce M. Rosenberg has several ideas to pare back your company celebration costs.

Baudville’s also risen to the challenge to help organizations give their employees some much needed recognition this year. We’ve created three new holiday themes and coordinating employee gifts that help managers and company leaders give appreciation during the holidays. Most of the products in the collections are under $10 each, making recognition extremely affordable.

This year, when you select your employee holiday gifts and awards, you may find yourself recognizing different behaviors. Instead of broken sales records and exceeded revenue goals, accomplishments this year may be more subtle. Recognize the effort and hard work that helped you get through the year. And if you’re lucky enough to be able to recognize exceeded goals, make a big deal about it!

Don’t forget that for appreciation to be truly effective, it needs to happen more than once a year. An excerpt from Joyce Rosenberg’s article says it all:

“The boss needs to let employees know their work is appreciated no matter what time of year it is. And along with the positive feedback an owner needs to give, there should be periodic events to lighten the collective spirit…If you lay the groundwork throughout the year, it makes for a much richer environment, and people are much more willing to share."

Try “laying the groundwork” of recognition all year with day-to-day recognition practices, and extend employee cheer year-round.

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of the Millennial generation.