Do you celebrate a recognition holiday? Throughout the year, recognition holidays celebrate important members of your team. Whether they’re professionals, volunteers, or peers, recognizing them on a special day can be a memorable recognition moment and an effective retention tool.

Prepare for upcoming 2012 recognition event holidays by visiting our Recognition Event Calendar and marking the dates that are important for your team! Here are some of the major holidays you should be aware of.

 National Pharmacist Day is Thursday, January 12, 2012.
 Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 13-19, 2012.
 Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 2, 2012.



 Dentist Day is Tuesday, March 6, 2012.
 National Doctor’s Day is Friday, March 30, 2012.
 School Librarian Day is Thursday, April 5, 2012.
 National Volunteer Week is April 15-21, 2012.
 Administrative Professionals Week is April 22-28, 2012, and Administrative Professionals Day is Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
 Teacher Appreciation Week is May 7-11, 2012, and National Teacher Day is Tuesday, May 8, 2012.
 National Nurses Week is May 6-12, 2012, and National Nurses Day is Saturday, May 12, 2012.
 National Police Week is May 14-20, 2012.
 National Doughnut Day is Friday, June 1, 2012.
 National Postal Worker Day is Sunday, July 1, 2012.
 System Administrator Appreciation Day is Friday, July 27, 2012.
 National Newspaper Carrier Day is Tuesday, September 4, 2012.
 National Custodial Worker Day is Tuesday, October 2, 2012.
 Physician Assistant Day is Saturday, October 6, 2012.
 Customer Service Week is October 1-5, 2012.
 Boss’s Day is Tuesday, October 16, 2012.
 National Make a Difference Day is Saturday, October 27, 2012.
 International Volunteer Day is Wednesday, December 5, 2012.

Which recognition events do you celebrate at your organization? Tell us in the comments!

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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.

As the business day approaches its end, hushed whispers bounce around from cubicle to cubicle. “Do you think we’ll get one?” “I heard that we were going to have one.”  4:30 comes and goes… no word, 4:45… nothing. The realization sets in as Baudvillians shuffle papers, finishing their final projects of the day, sighing from the unfulfilled rumors. 4:50, out of the corner of my eye, an email pops up on the computer screen. Casual Day Tomorrow!!!

No email brings greater enjoyment then one proclaiming a Casual Day. Casual Days are cherished events here at Baudville. Rejoicing rushes through the entire building. “Yes! We get to wear jeans tomorrow.”  Being a college student I am personally all for casual dress, so I can’t help but look forward to a Casual Day. For me, Casual Days mean pushing the snooze button 1 extra time.

There are a number of reasons as to why your company can offer Casual Days. Your employees could have achieved a goal of theirs, they might have gone above and beyond by working late, or the company could have had a good sales day. This week several of our teammates were out of the office representing Baudville and Idville at the annual SHRM conference, back at the office, our CEO enticed us with a few Casual Days.

But there was a catch; to obtain our Casual Days we had to wear an “I’m Casual Today” sticker with a creative reason stating why we deserved to be casual. These reasons ranged from I am casual today because: I dominated a project, to I can recite the Jabberwocky passage in Alice in Wonderland. Allowing for lots of conversation and laughter throughout the day, as we read everyone’s I’m casual today stickers.

Casual Days for us are not a day to slack off in our jeans. It is a day when we are appreciated for doing a great job. To keep our morale going, we receive casual days to reiterate the fact that we have been working hard and to keep up the hard work.

As I finish up this blog post its 4:30, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed tomorrow will be day 3 of Casual Days!

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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.

As Baudville’s copywriter, I am responsible for a lot of the words you see in print, online, and in your inbox. Do you know what happens when you write about recognition day in and day out? You sometimes repeat yourself, without even knowing it. (And sometimes fully knowing it.)

When I realize this is happening, I usually try to spice things up a bit by interjecting ridiculous words into our marketing materials. They most often get intercepted and put back into my rotating arsenal of absurdities; but I still keep trying.

The other day, I was making a hard case that “hoopla” is a completely appropriate word to use when talking about trophies and certificates. I lost that negotiation, by the way, but I still stand behind my position. Though, I will admit that it might be a little too informal of a word to capture the sophisticated fanfare of an award celebration.

However, it is definitely not too informal to attach to National High Five Day, which is today—always the third Thursday in April.

Now, you might be thinking: this sounds familiar…

Well, it is, because I have actually written twice about the power of a high five. Once for National High Five Day proper, and once after I received a high five that came precisely when I needed it.

But my timing is perfect on this because, as it turns out, my desire to see hoopla in print and my love of high fives go hand in hand. Here it is, straight from Dictionary.com:

hoop·la [hoop-lah]
–noun Informal
1. bustling excitement or activity; commotion; hullabaloo; to-do.

When someone does something noteworthy at your workplace, it’s not only OK to make a big deal about it, it should be a requirement. It doesn’t need to be an expensive or shiny award. The important thing is that it’s on the spot and meaningful to the recipient.      

So, today, National High Five Day, surprise a coworker (or even a stranger) with a high five for a job well done. You’ll make their day and yours, too.

(Today is also my Birthday today; so, if you see me, you know what to do!)

Looking for other highly affordable (ahem, FREE!) ways to make someone’s day? Check out our free ePraise and Print & Posts!

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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 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!   

It's that time of year again when schools, colleges and universities are starting to think about end of the school year recognition awards. That's where Baudville comes in! We've created a special catalog focused on the education industry so that it's easy to find the perfect student rewards and instructor appreciation gifts for your upcoming events.

Some great new recognition awards that you'll find in this new catalog are: Over 60 exclusive education-themed lapel pins 15 new affordable student trophies with 30 design options so you can customize them for any student recognition award Fabulous new gold foil certificate papers with options such as Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, Academic Excellence and Class of 2011 Coordinating gold foil certificate folders that your students will be proud to show off 3 new certificate paper bundles that include the certificate paper, certificate folders, certificate seals and certificate ribbons for 50 finished awards

Employee Appreciation Day is around the corner (March 4th!), and since we’ve recently implemented a health and wellness program here at Baudville, I’ve been thinking about how some of our festivities for this event might change.

When I first started at Baudville, I definitely indulged in all the employee appreciation that was happening around the office. From popcorn and potlucks to pizza lunches, I partook, partook, and partook. And woke up six months later with an extra ten pounds on me!

Food is a great motivator and a great reward – I mean, we’ve all got to eat, right? But the very nature of a reward is that it is something extra. And, I think we all know what extra leads to!

So, I was thinking it would be great to share with everyone some ideas for celebrating Employee Appreciation Day without so much focus on food. But then I realized I really had no ideas. I stared into space for awhile, annoyingly tapped my pencil for five minutes straight (sorry, cube-mates!), and finally picked up the phone and called Cindy, our HR manager.

Much to my relief, she agreed to get together with me for a brainstorm. Our meeting actually turned into a much broader conversation about how we need to change our mindset—and become more health conscious throughout the whole year, not just on special occasions like Employee Appreciation Day. Which means:

Grape-Nuts instead of donuts: We have a great tradition of celebrating pretty much anything with muffins, bagels, or donuts. But the last time we had a good reason to cheer, we decided to rethink this ritual by bringing in fresh fruit, low fat milk and cereal, and all-natural juice. We still got our moment of camaraderie, but without the “forever on the hips” repercussion.   

Casual days instead of casual grazing: The thing about food rewards is that they’re so darn easy. But you know what else is easy? Letting everyone wear jeans. I don’t know what it is about this reward, but everyone here at Baudville goes bananas for casual days. Replace food incentives with something just as valuable (or more) and you’ll all continue to fit in your jeans for years to come.  

Doing instead of chewing: Last year’s theme for Employee Appreciation Day was Winter Olympics. We had tons of fun activities throughout the day that kept people moving and energized. It was a total blast, and rescued everyone from the cubicle coma that comes with having a desk job. Whether it’s event-driven diversions, or a few laps around the building on an everyday basis, finding ways to rejuvenate your team members is good for the both the body and mind.

   

Cori & Lilly participated in Office Chair Luge             Kurt ran the olympic torch through the entire building!

As you plan your Employee Appreciation Day celebration, you can resolve to rethink, replace, and rejuvenate, too. Plus, Baudville has plenty of affordable (calorie-free) gifts you can use as give-aways and prizes.  

Oh, and I almost forgot! Cindy (the one with all the ideas) will be sharing her Employee Appreciation Day tips in our 15 minute Recognition TV webisode next Thursday, the 24th. You can sign up here.

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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 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!