If you follow our blog, you know that we’re in the middle of a campaign to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. Get all the background information on Movember in Brad’s blog post and read Allison’s profile on a couple Baudvillans who are involved.

Raising money for a cause is always a feel-good event, and the benefits to your organization go beyond the charitable contribution.

One of the most important critical factors to retaining staff and maintaining employee engagement is employee sentiment that they have a purpose. In fact, Inc.com put having a purpose number one on their list of ten things employees want. When you offer employees social responsibility opportunities, you help them achieve a greater sense of purpose. You also reduce their stress and distraction by doing all the coordination for them. In short, you meet employees’ needs for social responsibility without losing any productivity. It's a win-win.

It’s also FUN.

During the month of November, our team is committing to the very important and serious issue of men’s health. We’re simply doing it in a light-hearted manner. After all, what’s not funny about a group of grown men growing mustaches together?

Our amazing Movember coordinator and designer April (read more about her mustache fascination) is engaging the entire company with fun posters, regular emails, and weekly activities. We’re making them all available to you here and in the Recognition Resource Center so whether you’re growing your own 'stache or making a small announcement, you can do Movember in style.

Mustache Cut Outs. Our Mo Sistas who can’t grow mustaches are sporting their own cut-out versions. Print a copy of this page, cut out the mustaches, and tape them to a pen or pencil for an instant stache! Download Now.

 

Mustache Types. Need a little inspiration for the month? We’ve compiled images of the most popular mustache styles in this poster.  Download Now.

 

Famous Mustache Quiz. How well do you know your mustaches? We’re pretty sure these celebrity staches will stump you! Download Now. We reveal the answers on our Facebook page. 

 

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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.

Each year thousands of people across the nation raise awareness and support women and breast cancer research  throughout the month of October by wearing pink, donating their time and money to breast cancer foundations, or participating in fundraising events. It goes without saying (but I am going to say it anyway), that I am proud to be part of a nation that values supporting one another and raising awareness for such important causes!

With October behind us, now it’s time to show our support for MEN! Our team at Baudville has joined with thousands of men (and women) all around the world by participating in the celebration of MOVEMBER!  What is Movember (pronounced MO-vember), you ask? Read an excerpt from the source below for more details or check out www.MOVEMBER.com

"During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. Men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health."

So it’s pretty easy to see how men can get involved in this campaign to raise awareness for men’s health, but how do the ladies make a difference? With their support! The Mo Sistas pledge to support the Mo Bros throughout all of Movember – after all, growing that moustache can be hard work! 

Here’s how we’re sprouting ‘staches, and supporting the cause at Baudville:

- Each man participating came clean-shaven on Movember 1st with a donation of $5.
- Men who were already blessed with a hairy face could commit to not shaving for 30 days with a $10 donation.
- Men, women, and anyone else who wanted to support the cause, came ready to acknowledge a man in their life or support a Baudville ‘stache participant with a $10 donation.
- Baudville will match all employee donations, with all proceeds going to a local cancer-focused charitable organization.

All participants received 5 (that’s one whole work week around here!) casual days  to be used in the month of Movember.  Every Friday in Movember we will hold a fun activity – and photo op to gauge our facial progress – check out our Facebook page  for more! Our grand finale will be held on November 30th. Cash and prizes will go to participants and supporters alike – although super extra-credit will go to Baudville’s best and worst moustaches!

Our committed team of stache-ers, raising some CASH and making a difference in the future of men’s health. Fellas, may the ‘stache be with you…

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The gymnastics events are one of the most popular competitions in the Olympics, and they’ve always been one of my favorite events. When I’m watching the Olympians compete, I find myself in awe of the grace, athleticism, and strength that they display in every movement.

And the events this year did not disappoint! It was amazing watching 16 year old Gabby Douglas fly through the air and the exceptional performance of the U.S. women’s team. They truly are a Fab Five!

When Baudville employees applied their skills to Mental Gymnastics in our Baudville Games competition, “graceful” wasn’t exactly the first word that came to mind. Ladies and gentlemen, the Baudville Terrific Three!

Will you put the Baudville team to shame? We’ll find out this week as teams compete in Mental Gymnastics!

How to Play Mental Gymnastics:
1. Download, print, and cut out our free charades cards.
2. Choose an actor and a mediator to present to your team.
3. The actor will perform the word on the card that the mediator shows him. The player who answers correctly first gets the point.
4. The player with the most points when the deck is done is the winner.

We’re excited to see your team’s pictures from Mental Gymnastics this week! After the event’s complete, submit your picture by emailing us at contest@baudville.com. We’ll upload it to our Facebook page where you and all your teammates can “like” it. The picture to receive the most likes by Monday wins the $200 Baudville credit!

The bar has certainly been raised for this week’s event. We had seven teams compete in Binder Clip Diving last week, and each team brought their A-Game. See all the competitors on Facebook. In the end, team Great River Health Systems was victorious for the second week in a row! They also took gold in Rubber Band Archery during the first week of competition. Congratulations Great River Health Systems!

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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.

I just returned from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 2012 Annual Conference and Expo, where we’ve been chatting with HR Professionals from all over the US. Part of our fun is sending the Baudville team to this show outfitted in fun (and sometimes funny) T-shirts that are guaranteed to spark some conversations.

I’m third from the left with the shirt that says President of Positive Mojo…and I love my job.

You know what? I do love my job. Nowhere but the ‘ville would I get to work with a talented team of individuals who bring their creative flair and imaginative spirit to the office every day. Case in point? The shirt on my back.

Recently, we launched a company-wide contest to write the winning words for our team’s T-shirts. You can read more about that contest in Allison's recent blog post here. In short, it turned out to be a great way for everyone in the company to share their voices with the world—and we ended up with a wealth of fresh ideas, too.

So what’s my takeaway? People thrive and excel when they’re given the opportunity to play an active role in company activities—even when it’s something as simple as a T-shirt.

Want to share your two-cents? Leave a comment about your favorite Baudville shirt, or your favorite way to engage your team!

Cheers!

Brad

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Brad Darooge is President and CEO of Baudville and a positive mojo aficionado. He brings the positive mojo to work every day along with his bike. In addition to leading Baudville, Brad is also an amateur triathlete.