I just returned from a vacation in Budapest, Hungary, where there was very little that wasn’t completely foreign to me. The language. The currency. The landscape. Really, pretty much everything.

After hiking to the top of Gellert Hill on day three, we were met with colossal monuments, a breathtaking panorama of the Buda and Pest cityscapes split by the Danube River, and a humbling military fortress, complete with rows of artillery cannons. Yep, we definitely weren’t in Michigan anymore.

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.

I attended a conference last spring, given by an organization who shall remain nameless because of what I am about to tell you. It was actually a good conference, filled with useful info that I was able to bring back and apply to my daily work. But what I also brought back was one hideous-looking Certificate of Completion.

I put it up on my wall anyway because I was proud of my accomplishment. But, within moments, one of my coworkers commented on it (quite possibly how that word hideous got planted in my brain). It was shoddily laid out and seemed to just scream that it had been thrown together both quickly and carelessly. Exactly not what a certificate is supposed to portray.

The thing about certificates is that they are meant to be shown off. Which means they should probably look nice. Not just nice, actually, but impressive. And if you’re going to the trouble of giving an award, it should represent the achievement accordingly.

This is not at all hard to do.

1. Start with the paper. Ask yourself: is this a formal or casual occasion? Can I use a preprinted sentiment, or is the award specific enough that it needs to be customized?

Our blank and pre-printed papers run the spectrum from elegant and distinguished to fun and informal. Really, if you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist!

Bestselling Scallop                 Completion                 Bright-Foil Field Day

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.

Most of the time, I cruise along, churning out competent work that everyone is happy with. Once in a while, I knock something out of the park and, on occasion, I flat out fail. This probably describes many people’s day-to-day work life, or at least I’d like to think so. (That you’re all human, I mean).

A couple of months ago, I had one of those crash and burn moments and, I have to tell you, it really stunk. It hurt my confidence so badly that I wasn’t sure I was going to bounce back. But eventually I did, and in doing so, redeemed my reputation with my colleagues. I also got a high five from someone whose opinion in this company really matters—our CEO.

It was around this same time that I was working on a really tough project that required me to think analytically, rather than the way I normally think, which is random, scatterbrained, and…ooh, look, it’s snowing outside!

Everyone knew this was so not the job for me; but, for a number of different reasons, I was doing it. At a particularly frustrating point in this task, our VP of Product & Merchandising stopped by and rewarded me with something she knows I value greatly: a casual day.

After these two experiences, I was really struck by how easy (and cheap) it can be to make a person feel good. I felt encouraged. And motivated. And really happy that I was noticed and valued for my contributions.

With so many companies still struggling through the economic downturn, it’s reassuring to know that there are affordable (even free) ways to recognize your employees for their hard work and dedication.     

As you plunge into the New Year, think about how you can make an impact on employee morale through simple acts of recognition and appreciation. That’s what we had on our minds when we developed this new, low-cost product:

Give out a casual day, consider these new “I earned a casual day” stickers.