Baudville has been active on Twitter for almost a year. We post tips, offers and content that’s relevant to employee recognition and engagement. My favorite thing about Twitter – other than engaging with interesting and knowledgeable professionals – is discovering and sharing new content. 

On any given Friday, you’ll see a multitude of tweets including #followfriday or #ff for short. Follow Friday was started by a single Twitter user who wanted his friends and followers to each suggest a person to follow, and the trend grew. Follow Fridays have been going on for over a year now. In social media years, that’s old! 

This week, I wanted to share a few articles and Twitter accounts with you through my own expanded version of Follow Friday. I’ve listed a couple interesting articles from the week and the author’s Twitter account. If you decide to join Twitter, you’ll already know who to follow!

"What HR Can Learn from the Oscars" by @jpelliotphd

On his blog Managing the Curve, JP Elliot shares his insights into the true significance of the Oscars and – shocker – it’s not the fashion. It’s the recognition. For Hollywood, winning an Oscar marks the pinnacle of a career. Achievement awards can hold the same cultural significance in your organization, too. Read JP’s article for his tips to create your own award program.

"Working on your bracketology? The boss hopes not!" from the San Francisco Chronicle

Sunday is selection day for the NCAA men’s basketball championships, and next Thursday and Friday rival Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) for loss of productivity in the workplace. Although employees may spend work time filling out brackets and checking game scores, the common activity improves employee morale and camaraderie. Is the trade off worth it? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment. 

The Forum for People Performance Management on Twitter @FORUMForPEOPLE

The Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement has long been one of my go-to sources for valid research on employee engagement and motivation. Their Twitter account updates followers on their latest research topics, reports and relevant articles. A great follow for anyone on the lookout for workplace motivation strategies. 

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Cori is a Certified Recognition Professional at Baudville and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her daily Employee Appreciation Day tips and weekly deals by becoming a fan of Baudville on Facebook.

When Baudville employees started working on the marketing campaign for the launch of the brand’s new identity and products, it was their goal to maintain and grow sales in a difficult economy that fueled their creativity.

Today, they’re receiving international recognition for their efforts.

The team nominated their marketing campaign to the John Caples International Awards, and this week received word that they are a finalist in the Agency Self-Promotion category. Baudville shares the category with some of the most elite marketing and advertising agencies in the world.

Being a Caples Award Finalist is powerful recognition for the employees who contributed to the marketing campaign. The finalists and winners are chosen by a panel of executive creative directors from around the globe who objectively evaluated all the campaign submissions. Their recognition of our work is positive reinforcement of our team’s talents, contributions and capabilities that couldn’t be achieved solely from internal recognition.

Naturally, I found a recognition lesson in all of this, and this is it: Don’t keep recognition within your office walls. Share the greatness of your employees and peers with the entire world! Nominate individuals, projects and products for industry awards. The motivation and pride that results will amaze you.

Congratulations Baudvillians! You certainly deserve this honor!

To read the full news release about the awards and Baudville’s campaign, visit our News Room or PitchEngine.

My co-worker, @kimhorn_ville , just told me about the Pink Glove Dance video today after she saw a report on ABC Worldnews. The video features staff from the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, dancing around the hospital wearing new pink hospital gloves.

They put the video together to encourage people to talk about breast cancer. They succeeded. The video has been viewed over 2 million times on YouTube and has received nearly 4,000 comments. 

What inspires me about the video is the collaboration and camaraderie that is apparent throughout the hospital. As you watch the video, you see nurses, doctors, lab technicians, janitors, cafeteria workers and administrative staff all boogeying down together. Even though many staff members experienced some stage fright, 200 employees cut a rug in the video.

Were the employees engaged in the making of the video? You betcha. They united together for a common mission and goal, and, if I do say so myself, they totally hit it out of the park.

The Pink Glove Dance is a sensation for two reasons. The first reason is the video’s central focus on breast cancer awareness, an important and emotional topic that has affected so many. Second, it shows a group of people working together for a greater purpose and enjoying themselves while they’re at it.

Your employees are no different. Employees desire meaning in their work, especially the up-and-coming Gen Y. They want to be a part of something larger than themselves which is why linking individual goals and projects to the company’s mission and values is critical.

When employees complete a project or make an important sale, managers should recognize the accomplishment and specifically state how it contributes to the organization’s mission and goals. Letting the employee know how their contribution matters can help employee engagement, motivation and retention – and you won’t even need a cameraman.

Last week, I spent three days in Fort Worth, Texas, at the HR Southwest Human Resources Conference. The folks in Texas sure know how to put on a fantastic conference! Everything is so well done and everyone treated with exceptional care. A big thank you to all of the volunteers and staff who made the conference successful.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the local Hilton Fort Worth, which I believe is the friendliest hotel on earth. I received a last minute shipment Wednesday morning just an hour and a half before the exhibit hall opened. It was raining in the morning, and this awkwardly shaped package was going to require me and my co-worker to carry it together the 3 blocks to the convention center and our booth. Before we got out the door, the hotel manager rushed out to get his car, and he drove us right to the entrance. If that’s not a true display of customer service excellence at work, I don’t know what is!

Once we settled into our booth, we talked to 400+ human resources professionals over the two days the exhibit hall was open. Many of them had the same story: budgets have been cut and money is tight, but they feel the need to boost employee morale in their organizations now. Easy and affordable recognition options are a must for the attendees.

The challenges facing the HR Southwest attendees aren’t isolated to Texas. Employee morale and employee engagement are low across state and industry lines, and your top performers have been most affected.

As the year wraps up and the economy slowly begins to recover, organizations are running out of time to convince employees to stay. The key is communicating to employees that they are valued and appreciated by individuals (managers, leadership, etc.) and the organization as a whole.

When it comes to solutions, we (obviously) shared the tools in Baudville’s arsenal with attendees. Since we’ve been focusing on day-to-day recognition, our tools are designed to help managers engage employees in positive communication on a regular basis. We stressed how simple this can be with a good handwritten note, simple training (more on that coming soon!), and the right tools.

You know that a little employee morale boosting is necessary to retain your talent, and you know where you can get the tools to do it (cough Baudville.com cough). Over the next few weeks, we’ll bring you more tips and ideas on how to boost morale at the end of the year. Stay tuned!

Our awkwardly shaped package with important tradeshow items, and a few of the tools that were popular with HR Southwest attendees.