The Oscars were Sunday night, and we all recognize that gold statuette as a sign of prestige and achievement in the entertainment industry. In honor of the Oscars, I thought it would be fun to share little-known facts about that famous golden guy and other popular award trophies.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and the best Valentine’s Day includes a small amount of planning and preparation. There’s nothing worse than waiting until Valentine’s Day and finding that all the restaurants are booked and every florist has sold out of flowers. 

Although you don’t have to take your team out to dinner on Valentine’s Day, celebrating the holiday can be a great opportunity for fun and team building. Whether it’s bringing in a plate of cookies (find lots of great holiday recipes on our Pinterest page!) or one of our free Valentine's Day downloads, February 14th is a lovely day to make your team feel appreciated.

Employee Appreciation Day is March 2, 2012, so you have one month to plan a celebration for your team. If you’re looking for theme ideas, register for our upcoming Recognition TV webisode. Lindsay, Baudville Product Manager, will share her favorite Employee Appreciation Day themes in a video broadcast on Wednesday, February 15. She’ll probably share her picks for Employee Appreciation Day gifts this year, too. Don’t miss it!

Employee Appreciation Day is all about your employees. Celebrating the value they bring to your organization as individuals is a great way to increase employee engagement, commitment, and motivation.

Tomorrow is National Compliment Day, and the day serves as a reminder of the power of positive words. When you give someone a compliment, you express appreciation for something that’s unique about them or something they did. Compliments can create a more positive work culture, improve relationships, and make your organization more successful.

This 2005 article from USA Today reminds us that compliments at work are not just about making us feel good, but it’s also “about company performance. Employees function better when their positive efforts are noticed and valued.” 

The truth is negative comments are much more prevalent in our world today, and they’re more powerful, too. Psychologists have found that it takes 10 positive comments to offset one negative comment. That means you’re going to need a lot of compliments in your workplace!

Make it a priority today to give five compliments to the people around you: your coworkers, boss, family, even the cashier at the grocery store. Here are five unique ways to give compliments and make someone’s day:

1. Send an ePraise. Browse our ePraise card collection and choose the ecard that is the best fit for your recipient. Add your compliment in the space available for a note and send. It’s a free, quick, and easy way to give a compliment. 

In this month’s Recognition TV webisode, we talked about Service Anniversaries. This is the one recognition program that you can find at all organizations! Recognizing years of service can affect employee morale, retention, and motivation, so make it count! Here are five tips you can follow in your organization that employees will fondly remember for years. 

Watch the Recognition TV websiode here: