It may be hard to believe, but the holiday season is sneaking up on us! Have you started your gift shopping yet? It can be very difficult to find gifts for your team that express your appreciation for their contributions throughout the year and don’t break the bank. In our newest Recognition TV video, I shared my top five employee gifts for the holidays, and I’ve included them here on the blog for you, too!

My first holiday gift choice is Spinner Christmas Ornaments. These are by far our most popular and best selling holiday gift! The center part of the ornament rotates to show off exclusive holiday artwork on one side and a blank silver back on the other side. You can personalize the back with up to four lines of personalization, such as the employee’s name, the year, and company name, or you can customize it with a logo. Each ornament comes with a gift box with space for you to write a personal note. To make your gift more memorable, write a short thank you message in this space and sign your name. It shows the employee that you put personal thought and effort into the gift. 

 

 

The holidays mean winter, and winter means warming up with a hot mug of coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. I am never without my coffee mug, even in the summer! That’s why I chose a new

At Baudville, our Spirit Team is busy meeting behind closed doors and completing top secret projects in preparation of Customer Service Week starting next Monday. Who’s the Spirit Team ? They’re a group of employees representing several different departments at Baudville who put on their party planning hats and organize our employee events. Customer Service Week is one of their biggest since they have to plan for an entire week of appreciation and fun.  And they do a great job! Our Customer Service Week celebrations are always a favorite among the Baudville staff.

We’ve found two major benefits to planning employee events as a team. First, it helps distribute the workload among several individuals. Events like Customer Service Week require a lot of work! It can be too much for one person on top of their full time job responsibilities. Second, the additional minds lend to more creative, original, and unique ideas. With a recurring annual event like Customer Service Week, getting new ideas is imperative to making your team feel appreciated during this holiday. If you’re not currently planning this event as a team, consider recruiting a few individuals to help you next year.

In the meantime, you have the entire Baudville team at your disposal to come up with creative Customer Service Week ideas your team will love! If you’re still searching for a few great ideas to celebrate your team, try our five resources for last minute ideas. I guarantee you’ll find at least one idea both you and your team will love!

1. Browse our Recognition Resource Center. We have resources dedicated to Customer Service and Sales recognition, including lots of articles, tips, and ideas on Customer Service Week!

2. Shop our recommended Customer Service Week gifts and themes. Our team has pulled together some of our favorite Customer Service Week gifts to help you start shopping.

3. Call a Recognition Specialist at 1-800-728-0888. Our team is always ready and willing to help you plan your employee recognition event! They have great product and event knowledge that they are dying to share with you.

4. Engage with us – and your peers! – on social media. One of the best places to get ideas for Customer Service Week is from your peers. Ask us a question on Twitter or Facebook, and our
followers will share their ideas, too.

5. Get ideas on Pinterest. One of my favorite places for event and recognition ideas these days is Pinterest! We’ve created boards for all the major employee recognition holidays, including Customer Service Week, to inspire you and give you some great ideas. 

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Friday September 21 is World Gratitude Day 2012! Make the day all about saying thank you for the people you appreciate. Who are you grateful for? Let them know! It’s often the people we appreciate the most who hear “thank you” from us the least. Let’s change that! Use one of these ideas to express thanks and gratitude on World Gratitude Day.

Send an ePraise.  Free, easy, and fast, ePraise are a great way to say thanks on World Gratitude Day. Select your ecard design from over 100 different options and type a personal note to the recipient. You can even schedule the card to be delivered at the date and time of your choosing.



Mail a Thank You Card. Even though the volume of mail being delivered has dwindled, everyone still loves to receive a card in the mail! Drop a card in the mail today with your personal note, and your recipient will feel both appreciated and surprised!

Give a Thank You Gift. Giving a personal gift is a great way to express appreciation! Choose a gift that will be meaningful to the recipient, whether it’s an item for their favorite hobby, a book by a favorite author, or a gift card to their favorite restaurant. If you’re looking for ideas, shop our Thank You Themes.



Say Thanks in Person. It’s wonderful to give someone tangible appreciation in the form of a gift or a note card, but we shouldn’t underestimate the power of saying thank you face-to-face. Seek out the coworker or neighbor and use these four tips to give a sincere thank you.

At a loss for words? We’ve put together over 25 positive feedback phrases and 101 Ways to Praise to help you start writing. We have tips for writing a great thank you note  in our Recognition Resource Center, too.

Next Thursday September 27 is National Thank You Day! Keep the thanks flowing by acting on one of these ideas for that holiday, too! 

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook. 

 When it comes to celebrating Customer Service Week, we recommend taking advantage of the holiday to express appreciation for customer service professionals. Customer Service Week is a nationally-recognized observance week taking place October 1 – 5, 2012. The recognition holiday provides companies the opportunity to put the spotlight on frontline customer service representatives. 

We recommend companies start by brainstorming Customer Service Week themes. Using a theme makes the event more memorable, and saves time and money during the planning process. A theme serves as the branding for your event or program. Our designers spend weeks perfecting themes and searching high and low for the newest gift items. 

The last summer holiday is upon us, which means offices turn into ghost towns with a large number of people taking an extra day off around the holiday. Just because you’re still in the office instead of enjoying the last of the summer sun doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun! We’ve created a new free download of While You Were Out printable notes that you can use to surprise your co-workers when they return on Tuesday.