When we set out to create our own internal peer recognition program, we had a pretty good feeling it was going to be popular. We’re Baudville, after all; if anyone knows how to recognize, we do. But I don’t think anyone expected that it would be this popular:

If you’re wondering what, exactly, you’re looking at, this is Baudville’s Shout Out wall where employees post recognition notes about their coworkers. It’s part of our peer recognition program, called Shout Outs, which encourages staff to recognize each other based on our company’s seven core values: inspire, nurture, share, perform, innovate, respond, & excel (it spells INSPIRE; clever, eh?).

At any point in the day, you can find a Baudvillian paused at the wall to read the latest post. People get excited to write them, read them, and most importantly, receive them. At the end of each month they get distributed to the recipients, who can’t help but post them up at their desks. What a way to spread positive mojo!

But, what we really love about peer recognition is the way it enhances our already thriving recognition program by giving staff the opportunity to share their input. Employees also have a better understanding and appreciation of the contributions of their coworkers—especially those they don’t work directly with. And, because managers see the Shout Outs, they get the inside scoop on all the day-to-day greatness going on.  

Thinking you want to try it at your office? Well, after test driving our program for about six months (and seeing amazing results), we decided it was a no brainer to bring this product to our customers. And we know you like variety, so we developed the program in three of our most popular themes: 

Shout Outs are inexpensive (only 50¢ per note), really easy to implement (you pretty much just need a wall), and a great way to energize a team without a lot of work from managers. See, really—a no brainer!

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Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than eight 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!

When I applied for this job at Baudville, it would have been an understatement to say that I REALLY wanted it. It wasn’t just that my current job was sucking the life out of me; it was more that I felt like this was THE job. If it wasn’t this, I honestly couldn’t imagine what it could possibly be. But as badly as I wanted the job, there was actually a “deal killer” for me—they couldn’t have a strict dress code.

The aversion goes years back to when I worked in a corporate job where the dress code was extremely conservative. I thoroughly hated that we were required to always wear hosiery and closed-toed, closed-heeled shoes. In Michigan winters, this isn’t really a problem; but in the middle of August it is. And, for someone with a disturbing number of shoes, the footwear limitations were unbearable. When I got out of there, I vowed I’d never do it again.



Well, I’m happy to report that Baudville maintains a corporate casual dress code, with jeans allowed every other Friday. That’s casual enough for me! And, if you interpret the dress code rules the way I do, then just about anything goes when it comes to shoes (except where safety is concerned, of course). This is good news for adequate rotation of my collection!

I’ve shared this fascinating story with you to make a point about how little things like dress code can make a big difference in employee morale. Studies show that most employees prefer a casual dress code over a formal one. It allows more freedom—including freedom of expression—and helps even the playing field for those who simply can’t afford formal business attire. I’ve also read that in addition to improving morale, it can give employers a competitive edge in attracting (and maintaining) talent.  

There has been buzz around the ‘ville that we may go totally casual, but I have a theory that we never will for one big reason: casual days are used as rewards. When teams finish a big project or reach a goal, they get awarded a casual day. People look forward to the possibility, and with the absence of that option, the company would lose a 100% free (not to mention fat free) way to reward us. To some, it may seem like a minor perk, but I can truly feel a different vibe on impromptu casual days and casual Fridays. Baudville has seen enough of this positive mojo to know that it works, too.

If you’re not already wearing jeans every day, then think about using casual days to reward for your staff or raise morale around the office. These coupons are a fun way to do it:



Need other ways to affordably recognize your team for everyday wins? Try our Recognition Binder System!

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Allison is Baudville’s one (and only) Copywriter. She’s been writing for a variety of media for more than eight 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!  

I have the key to a supply room in my office that is attached to a Baudville lanyard - Imagine Believe & Achieve.  Each time I see it in the drawer or pull it out to use it – it makes me stop and think about the power in these three words.   As I was mulling over possible content for this blog, I saw the lanyard.  As Cori knows, writing is not one of my strengths but, she always has some encouraging words that inspire me to push through the challenge.  I also know that I can count on her to correct my errors – did I forget to mention how great Teamwork is?  It is amazing what a little belief can do for me – both belief in myself and the belief that others have in me.

I recently prepared material for a recognition training class for Baudville’s management team.  Along the way, it was an amazing reminder of how much leadership and recognition are intertwined.  Simply put – Great leaders recognize.   Leaders have a tremendous amount of influence on their followers – probably more than they know.  They have the great honor and responsibility to mentor, guide, encourage and nurture their followers to levels of success and excellence that may be difficult to imagine. 

I found studies that show that if we predict and believe that something will occur (good or bad), a person’s behavior frequently changes to make that prediction more likely to happen.  Test it out for yourself, believe, recognize and speak positively into someone’s life on a consistent basis and watch the results.  The best outcome of all is how you feel when you see the positive impact that you can make on that individual and their success.  It’s truly a Win-Win.  It’s fun to watch our employees put on their Recognition Glasses, search for the positive in others and post notes from Baudville's exclusive peer to peer daily recognition.  We’ve definitely got some Positive Mojo going on here at Baudville.  Join in the fun. 

In closing, I must say, “Believe in yourself!”  It all starts with imagination and a vision for the future.  Let’s hold on firmly to the picture of achievement in our mind and watch it become a reality.   Imagine, Believe & Achieve - this is one of my favorite themes – it truly inspires me every time I see it.  Although I absolutely love our new products that are cool, hip and contemporary, this theme will remain on my top 10 list for years to come. 

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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!

This blog entry defines Twitter vocabulary for all of those still unfamiliar with Twitter

(*twitterverse = the body or community of Twitter users)

That’s right, Baudville is on Twitter. While our follower numbers are modest, we like to think our tweets (posts we make under our account) reach far and wide to our tweeps (friends on Twitter) around the world. We’ve recently contributed a new hashtag (trending topic on Twitter) to a majority of our posts, #positivemojo.

We pride ourselves on being the office of positive mojo at Baudville headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Daily recognition is our mission, and we strive to create a great working environment within our own walls. We carry out this mission in the recognition tools and products we design to bring positive mojo to our customers and our great customer service (talk to a real person when you call, for real).

Now we’re spreading positive mojo throughout Twitter! We’ll be using the positive mojo hashtag (#positivemojo) on posts that recognize someone or offer fun and humor for the workplace. Once you’ve received positive mojo, retweet it (a repeat of someone’s post)!

Here’s an example of a worthy #positivemojo retweet:

thisisjohnny* my officemate just got a performance award; told him it's the first of many for rm 112. we're going to make this place look like a dr office

( *This is an example of one of the many user names you'll find on Twitter.)

And here’s an example of a company in need of some serious #positivemojo. We hope this doesn’t sound like your organization:

beneubanks I used to work for a company that had an annual employee appreciation. They ignored us the rest of the year!

When it comes to spreading positive mojo on Twitter, the greatest challenge will be keeping it under 140 characters! Become a follower of Baudville, and watch the positive mojo grow!