Employee recognition programs can boost employee morale and reduce workplace negativity. Click for ideas and tips on how to recognize your star employees!
You can talk all you want to about creating a corporate culture and building employee engagement. But if you’re starting out with an environment of negativity, you need to banish that first…and fast! The signs of a negative workplace are pretty easy to spot, including low morale, poor teamwork and high turnover. If you’re an […]
Give Your Employees The Best Recognition Many managers often find themselves in a position to give speeches to recognize their employees. These managers may not always be the most gifted, or talented, public speakers. If you are one of these managers, do not despair. I’ve written this article for you and the rest of those […]
ATTENTION ALL MANAGERS. March 4th is right around the corner, and you know what that means: it’s time to once again show your employees how much you love them. That’s right, next Friday, March 4th, is Employee Appreciation Day. Hopefully you’re already recognizing your workforce year-round, but if you feel like your people could use a […]
What’s Christmas morning without packages to tear open? A birthday without cake and presents? Valentine’s Day without flowers and chocolates? Everybody loves to get gifts on special occasions – in fact, we expect them and can get pretty annoyed when someone forgets! On the other hand, we’ve probably all received “just because” gifts: expressions of […]
In a word, yes! Many of us remember our dads or grandfathers retiring from their companies after 35, 40 or 45 years…in many cases a lifetime of service. Employment trends have changed dramatically over the last generation, with workers today changing jobs on an average of 4.6 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. […]
Frequent employee recognition has a number of benefits, including increased employee engagement, higher productivity and lower turnover rates. However, there’s one drawback. When an employee makes a truly outstanding effort, you have to try a little harder to distinguish that accomplishment from others. Here are ten extra-special ways to recognize extra-special effort: Establish a “Gold” […]
We recently covered pet projects, or activities and goals pursued as personal favorites. For many of us, the ideal pet project would be about…you guessed it, our pets! Which brings us to the question of pets in the workplace. Paws up or paws down? Paws Up: The biggest benefit of allowing pets to cuddle up […]
It might seem counterintuitive to reward an exemplary employee with more work. But if it’s the right kind of work, it might be just the ticket to boost engagement and keep that prize performer on your payroll. Pet projects are defined as activities and goals pursued as personal favorites. Many of us have pet projects […]
We’ve all got them: those “pet peeves” that drive us crazy the minute we step into the lobby. If we’re lucky, they don’t hit us until we’re settled at our desk. Just for fun, here are some of the leading office offenses…see how many you can identify with! Chatty co-workers. Not that you have anything […]
There are two reasons NOT to wait for a five-year milestone to recognize an employee. First, while corporate loyalty and longevity are certainly cause for celebration, are they really accomplishments? Second, as we’ve pointed out in many past articles, frequent recognition has a direct effect on employee satisfaction, engagement and retention…which takes us right back […]
It’s that time of year everyone in the office looks forward to…and kind of dreads at the same time. The weeks leading up to Christmas can be filled with fun or fraught with social peril (usually both). Parties, activities, gift giving – there’s an upside and a downside to everything. Here are some suggestions for […]
Whether you’re in HR or management, or work for a small start-up or a large organization, following these five essentials will make your employee recognition pay off big dividends in satisfaction, engagement and productivity. Be timely. If you administer formal years-of-service awards, invite employees to choose their gift ahead of their actual anniversary. Congratulatory emails […]
Okay, we’ll concede that Bosses’ Day 2015 – October 16 – is another ploy of the greeting card industry to drum up sales. But it’s an interesting idea from a recognition standpoint. Where traditional recognition flows from the top down, and peer-to-peer recognition works laterally, Bosses’ Day is the one time when it comes from […]
Fostering an engaged workforce may start at the top, but it’s the next folks in line who drive it through the ranks and make it happen. Middle managers are the vital link between the corner office and the cubicle crowd. They set the example for engaged behavior, communicate corporate news and policies, and facilitate feedback […]
As a manager, the last thing you need is another action item, right? But if you add this one task – and do it on a regular basis – you’ll be amazed at how much time it will save you on annual performance reviews. Ready? Here it is: Provide feedback. You might be thinking, “But […]
It might sound like fostering a culture of employee engagement is a simple sort of “touchy-feely” process. Get everyone to feel connected, make them happy, and you’re golden. True, it’s not hard to do. And it does involve an emotional appeal. But it also takes thought, resources and planning. If you’ve read our last few […]
You thought you’d heard the last word on employee engagement, right? Wrong! Because it’s so important to your organization’s success (and your personal success), we’re going to expand on the keys to fostering engagement among your workforce, starting with team building. Volumes have been written on team building, but you can save yourself a lot […]
One of the most fundamental rules of employee engagement is also one of the easiest to implement: internal communication. Here’s what employees want to know: “How are my contributions to the company making a difference?” Tell employees how they’ve helped to streamline processes, save money, increase profits and satisfy your customers…and be specific! “What’s going […]
“We’re engaged!” That ecstatic statement doesn’t only lead to the altar. Apply it to your organization and it leads to improved morale, higher productivity and greater profitability. For all the benefits you’ll reap from employee engagement, surprisingly it doesn’t take a great deal of effort to get their heads – and hearts – in the […]
It’s about time for some good economic news! After a long period of recession, recovery seems to be well underway. Corporate earnings are trending upwards. So is hiring…which can be bad news if your workforce is disengaged and looking to greener pastures. You might ask why you would want to keep unhappy employees. After all, […]