 | "Welcome to the team" flowers on the first day of work |
| Whenever something positive happens, put it in the "smile
box" -- read once a week -- draw one for a winner ($25 gift certificate) |
| Put gold stars on employee computers or name badges along
with note of thanks. Brown bag welcoming lunch to meet new employees |
| Post a sign at entry with employee's name |
| Have a group picnic with ice cream sundaes |
| Get to know exactly what an employee really wants |
| "You da" awards: Monthly trophy where individuals
nominate one another |
| Written thank-you notes |
| The All-Star Award: $50 gift certificate and paperweight
(Quarterly with public announcement in company newsletter) |
| Department pizza party |
| Birthday club (to support department team building) |
| Read letters from satisfied customers to all teachers at
faculty meeting |
| Do survey and share the results with coworkers; post on the
"Way to Go" bulletin board |
| Star Program: If employees do something beyond their normal
job, they are given a star in public recognition |
| Star button for "The Employee of the Month" |
| Post picture on the wall of "The Employee of the Month"
|
| The Chief Operating Officer (COO) distributed ice cream to
employees himself -- not one of his employees |
| Give an employee a giant Tootsie Roll |
| Golden Nugget award and certificate to employees who do an
outstanding job |
| One-on-One Praising: Set interviews and meeting times with
employees, who set the agenda |
| Dinner certificates |
| Continuous improvement team lunch |
| Trip to home office |
| Certificates for course completion |
| Shirts and jackets |
| Steak dinners |
| "Way to go" letter sent to individual and faxed to all
locations |
| Vacation hours to be used whenever employee wants |
| Time off certificates |
| Safety Recognition Day: Upper management allows "goofy"
hats, pies in face of managers, etc |
| Thank-you notes: Challenge middle managers to write 10
notes before the next staff meeting |
| "Smile About It": Secret shopper (retail) issues $50
certificate on the spot for great customer service |
| Coffee cups |
| Casual dress |
| Pass-around trophy |
| Employee of the Month: Free lunches for the month |
| Online greeting cards |
| Extra Mile Award: For doing anything extra |
| Publishers Excellence Award: If you make the company money |
| Accuracy commendation |
| One-on-one lunch with manager |
| Monthly cash reward for top sales producer |
| Casual day |
| "All Hands on Deck Meeting": Quarterly meetings with award
presentations. Managers Club Award: Voted on by employees |
| Top sales award |
| Top volunteers award |
| Take time for spontaneous peer recognition |
| Group get togethers (tickets to Orioles game and lunch at
Camden Club) |
| Rent out movie theater |
| Gift of $50 or less, but very personal in nature |
| Flying in an employee's spouse when the employee has to be
out of town for an extended period of time |
| Treating people as professionals |
| ZAPP Awards embracing empowerment philosophy (peer to peer,
peer to management, etc.) within the following categories: Bright ideas,
customer focus, gold star, and more |
| Empowerment training taught by company president: Teaches
employees that they have the belief, ability, and opportunity to change &
improve their own environment |
| Yearly awards named after commendable employees who have
retired. Given to current employee who exemplifies similar characteristics |
| Extra lunch time |
| Rewards for good deeds |
| A simple "thank
you." |
| "Hall of
Fame": Display employee awards and certificates on company's "Hall
of Fame." |
| Result Incentive Awards: Bonuses based on goals (such as
safety); tied to group and individual incentives |
| Movie tickets |
| Peer Award: Team member to team member |
| Candy jar award to pass around among team members |
| Thank-you note from manager with penny taped to it |
| Flowers or candy with thank-you card |
| Staff meeting outside the workplace in a more relaxed
environment |
| Monthly offsite staff meeting over breakfast, lunch, or
dinner |
| Department luncheons not relating to work |
| On-the-spot awards |
| Birthday cards |
| Welcome aboard cards for new employees |
| Verbal pats on the back |
| Morale Squad: Small group of volunteers with a small budget
that they use for any type of morale building event |
| Get everyone together for a company-paid dinner |
| Floating holidays |
| Service awards for "above and beyond" performance on a
project |
| Offer to do something for someone that they would not
expect |
| Send an item of recognition to someone's home |
| Spontaneous appreciation: Thank-you cards that employee can
cash in for small gifts |
| Spontaneous appreciation: E-mail message with copy to
manager |
| Events tickets: Baseball, football, golf |
| Quarterly perfect attendance: Choice of ½-day pay or ½-day
compensatory time off |
| Annual perfect attendance: Lunch with president of division
and engraved pen or pencil |
| Massage therapy |
| AIMS Award: Attractive antique gold card preprinted with a
carbon set. Recipient gets the original and the copy goes to an awards
committee for further consideration (among others who got the award during the
same time period) |
| Secret pal (peer-to-peer): Periodic gifts or remembrances
commemorating special personal events |
| Free use of a cell phone for a week |
| Let employees leave work early if they are meeting their
productivity goals |
| Bring something back from vacation for your staff |
| Post a letter of thanks from a customer |
| Write a letter to the
spouse of an employee to thank him or her for the support enabling the
employee to do his or her best. |
| Attach thank yous to employee paychecks |
| Bring popcorn for
employees to share |
| Outdoor meetings during the summer |
| Software bug-of-the-week contest |
| Free use of cell phone for a week |
| E-mail thank-you note to person with copy to his or her
boss |
| Decorate your business
cards with stickers and a personal note -- end as a thank-you card to
others. For example, a light bulb sticker for good ideas/suggestions. |
| Be creative with birthdays. Instead of a cake, have a
balloon tied to the person's chair that everyone can sign. Send an
e-mail reminder to other staff members asking them to stop by and give well
wishes |
| "Lifesaver Awards" -- Rolls of decorated Lifesavers candy
given quarterly to high achievers with e-mail announcement of individuals and
their achievements sent to the division by senior vice president.
Lifesavers delivered personally by the senior vice president |
| Name tags with the
number of years noted -- in colors! |
| Business cards
personalized with nicknames! |
| Give out $2 bills -- these always have a longer-lasting and
more meaningful impact than $1 bills. Probably because the recipient
appreciates the effort to go to the bank made by the presenter |
| Take employees to a really nice restaurant and make a toast
to each employee for their effort |
| Buy a very large bottle of wine and have everyone sign it
in commemoration of a special team achievement. Display the bottle in
your office to remind employees of the achievement whenever they visit |
| Give out free sodas to employees on hot days |
| Have a marshmallow fight |
| Always take time to
greet your team members |
| Give daily feedback on employee performance |
| Give praise publicly |
| Acknowledge employee milestones |
| Post positive customer feedback |
| Give employees company products in thanks |
| Time off for completing tasks on time |
| Thank-you doughnuts for team |
| Personal recognition given directly to key employees by
senior management (direct manager steps out) |
| Put a Velcro wall in your parking lot and let all the
employees have fun launching themselves onto the wall or just watching |
| Star coffee mugs |
| Applause cards with balloons attached to be given to
employees by their supervisors |
| Mugs and t-shirts commemorating achievements |
| Bouquet of flowers given to employee who keeps it for an
hour then passes it on to an employee he or she feels deserve it. That
employee keeps it for an hour before passing it on. This can go on as
long as the flowers stay fresh |
| Bouquet of thank yous |
| Recognition in company newsletter |
| Write three things you appreciate about each member of your
team and give it to them |
| Lunch barbecue for employees hosted by management |
| "Night-on-the-town" certificates including child care |
| Catch people doing
something right! |
| Celebrate holidays not usually celebrated...such as Polish
independence day and summer solstice |
| Take a ferry ride along with sack lunches as a field trip |
| Let individual departments set up their own recognition
programs |
| Thank people publicly by e-mail |
| Pizza certificates -- good for a free pizza |
| Give out large, gold chocolate coins |
| Team treats (cookies, bagels, lattes) |
| Ping pong table |
| Tickets to sports events |
| Handwritten notes |
| Company-wide morale-building meetings (music/slide shows) |
| Flexible work arrangements (starting/ending time) |
| Adoption assistance |
| Recognize improvement,
not just top performers! |
| Secret pal (peer-to-peer) -- periodic gifts or remembrances
commemorating special personal events |
| When introducing new employees to current employees,
describe each current employee with an example of something great that he or
she did on the job |
| Celebrate Customer Service Week and other appreciation days |
| Have families of all the employees meet with the top brass
of the company |
| Manager covers calls for an extra paid break
|
