An Employee Recognition Blog (253)

Hold the Cheese

I’ve written before about how past companies that I’ve worked for didn’t practice employee recognition. At my previous employer, the culture was such that it was hard to imagine them ever doing it. Former coworkers that I talked with about this new job actually thought it was a bit strange. Their attitude seemed to be that it was a nice idea, but not for us. Not for you, really? You’re so confident and content that you don’t need a pat on the back once in awhile? I didn’t buy it then, and I’m not buying it now.

What’s funny is that they were so quick to write off recognition. Maybe they were harkening back to the late 1990’s, when corporate corridors were lined with motivational posters that implored you to soar to new heights, but gave nothing in return. (Remember those?) Partnered with stilted award ceremonies, they garnered more cynicism than inspiration. But recognition doesn’t have to be exaggerated or contrived; in fact, it has the potential to be really effective if it’s not.

If you want to build a recognition program, remember that there is no prescription for how it is carried out—you are at liberty to write the rules and you can make it anything you want.

Think about your company culture. It’s often upper management that forms that culture and the people who stay there long term become an influential part of it as well. It’s up to those players to create a program that they’re comfortable with that’s in tune with the company’s vibe. Don’t like flowery cards? Don’t use them. Can’t imagine ever giving a trophy? Then trophies aren’t part of your program. The core of a recognition program is recognition itself—and that can take many different forms.

We took this to heart when we started developing our latest products. As a result, there is *literally* something for everyone. Within each product category there is a range from traditional to contemporary, simple to elaborate, cheeky to sincere. We’ve also taken the conventional recognition items like trophies and certificates and turned them on their heads (so to speak). So, if you’re thinking recognition has to be serious and formal, you might want to take a second look:

Peel-and-Stick Recognition Notes

Recognition, whatever its form, is vital to maintaining a happy, satisfied, and productive workforce. Find something that works for your organization and go out there and do it!

ePraise is Back in Action! Free ecards at Baudville.com

If you’ve known Baudville for a while – ok, maybe a LONG while – then you remember a program we used to offer customers called ePraise. ePraise was a pioneer ecard program of interoffice ecards designed to recognize, thank and congratulate co-workers.

Baudville is pleased to announce the return of ePraise FREE on Baudville.com!!!!!!! We hope the service will encourage more companies, managers and employees to do recognition daily. For the official announcement, you can read the press release in our News Room.

And the Shout Out goes to…

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:

(Wow, there was some serious awesomeness going on that third week in July!)

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; how’s that for clever?).

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 robust 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? Right now, Shout Outs can only be found inside the ‘ville (we have to keep something for ourselves!); but we have plenty more peer recognition programs you can try out!

Passionate Professionals at IAAP Conference Need Recognition, Too

I just returned from the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) Education Forum and Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s a rare thing to meet so many people passionate about their profession and dedicated to advancing it in today’s workplaces, but that’s exactly what I found at the conference.

It was Baudville’s first time as an exhibitor at the conference, and we received a very warm welcome! Attendees continually thanked us for being a part of their conference. How nice is that?