An Idea a Week - Workplace Recognition in 2012

Start 2012 on the front foot and say thanks to your people every week of the year. Research by Gallup has shown employees are like goldfish – they forget a thank you in as little as seven days.

Regular praise keeps employees committed, which is why we have pulled together 52 fun and effective ideas to help managers inspire their people all year round. If you like this but want to keep it in your wallet or on your desk - Get our FREE Pocket Planner version!

  1. Say thanks and mean it. People want to feel honoured and special. Some prefer a quiet note from their manager, others, acknowledgement from and in front of their peers.
  2. Be specific. When you give a gift or reward, acknowledge the individuals contribution to the company and thank them specifically for what they achieved.
  3. Travel power. Give up your (or your bosses!) car park space for a week or let them use the company car or buy their weekly travel pass.
  4. Be a fly on the wall. Notice what employees across other parts of the business do, ask them about their projects and roles, and make a mental note of their day-to-day stories. This gives you the grounds for praise – so they know you’re listening and interested.
  5. That takes the cake. Have cupcakes or a cake made with the name of, or message about, your star employee written on them. Then share them around the office.
  6. Sports fanatics? If you’ve got a budding sports star in your team give them golf lessons, tickets to the football, sessions with a personal trainer or yoga classes
  7. Ice creams on me. What better way to cool down during a hot summer than with an ice cream. Delight your team with a surprise round of icy treats for everyone!
  8. The gift of time. Next time someone does something spectacular acknowledge it with a longer lunch break, sleep-in or early mark – and the choice of when to use it!
  9. Fuel the fire. Help fuel your team’s performance with a brekkie surprise like a caffeine hit, smoothies, fruit platters or egg and bacon rolls. Or if the day is turning into night, shout them pizza to keep them going.
  10. Remember the date. Always remember and acknowledge key dates like birthdays or anniversaries. Mark these occasions with a card, early mark or a public mention.
  11. Just ask. Take the time to get to know your people to build up a unique rewards ideas bank for each of them, include their interests, favourites, kid’s ages, hobbies and dreams.
  12. Winners are grinners, so don’t forget to smile! Happiness is contagious and laughter encourages wellbeing. People are drawn to happy people – so start a trend.
  13. Driving efficiencies. Remove the road blocks to performance by asking people what their stopping points are. Get them to write a love and loath list about their role, ask them what would make them perform better and offer an incentive to help them improve.
  14. Message in a chocolate. For the ultimate message and yummy gift RedBalloon have an experience where you can write a personal message with actual chocolates!
  15. Sing it from the rooftops. Share customer or supplier compliments. If you get some great feedback about a colleague use your blog, website, email, or print it out and stick it up on a notice board to share it with your team or the whole company.
  16. Inflate it. Imagine the buzz when a RedBalloon voucher floats into the office attached to three bouncing red helium balloons! Everyone wants to be the person whose desk it ends up landing on, and others will want to know how that person achieved their reward.
  17. APREC8. Send a text message to an employee at the end of the day to let them know you appreciate what they have done for you. Or, leave a voice message on their phone for the next morning.
  18. VIP treatment. Reward employees who travel frequently with a free upgrade to business or first class, five-star accommodation, or fly in their partner to join them over the weekend.
  19. Get the rewards right. Three words: Know Your People. Random, inappropriate and useless rewards can be demotivating and interpreted as lacking care or thought.
  20. Get in early. New starters make judgments about their new company and decide on whether they’ll stay or go within their first month. Ask them what has been their best recognition moment ever, and why, to help understand their expectations.
  21. Spoil their spouse. Imagine the impact of giving an award that could earn them brownie points with their partner. The husband who goes home with a full body massage, luxury spa day or glamorous photo shoot gift will thank you for it.
  22. Theme it. Theme annual, monthly or weekly targets. Think: ‘Climb the Mountain’, ‘Get in Rhythm’, ‘Action August’! Use images, songs, props and games to get people involved, and give the best team or players a themed experiential reward once the game is over.
  23. Live the values. Competitors can copy what you do, but they can never copy who you are or how you live your company values – and that is ultimately your point of difference.
  24. Keep it simple. It’s often the little things that make a lasting impression. Like a personal handwritten note from a manager, a thank you card, some thoughtful words or applause.
  25. A star is born. Have you got a super star in your team? Why not name a real star after them. For as little as $200 RedBalloon has an experience that lets you do just this.
  26. I don’t want your money honey. Cash-based gifts can be confused with compensation and become expected. Experiential rewards have been proven to work best as they are memorable – the experience grows each and every time the story is told.


    TIME OUT!!! Ok, you've managed to get half way through the year. Your eyes must be hurting. Go grab another another coffee and settle in for the rest....

     
  27. Cooking up a storm. There is no better way to celebrate, or get to know colleagues than over great food. Why not find out who the MasterChefs are on your team with one of RedBalloon’s gourmet cooking experiences.
  28. Choose wisely. Giving people choice over the gift they receive is a powerful motivator. (Plus you want them to love their reward and not re-gift it!) A RedBalloon Dollar Gift Voucher lets them choose their ideal experience from a range of more than 2,500.
  29. Read-a-thon. Do they like magazines? Find out what they read and get them an annual magazine subscription so each month they will be reminded of their accomplishment and your great gift.
  30. I wish, I wish. Ask your team to create a wish list of 50 things they’ve always wanted to do, including personal and career aspirations. Get an intimate insight into who your team are, and acknowledge each of them by helping to make their dreams come true.
  31. Repeat, repeat, repeat. What gets noticed gets rewarded and what gets rewarded gets repeated. Reinforce behaviours you want to see.
  32. Take a break. When was the last time you just said STOP and took a break? Most of us race through the day with barely a pause for lunch. Set up a surprise afternoon tea and insist that everyone takes 20 minutes out.
  33. Structured awards. Create a big, overarching, pie-in-the-sky business goal. Set clear, short-term goals and celebrate along the way to maintain momentum
  34. Tools of the praise trade. Give your people the tools to recognise and reward each other, like an online voting system, thank you emails and notes. ‘The Big RED Toolkit’ from RedBalloon includes post-it-notes, thank you cards, experience vouchers and more.
  35. Who’s the boss. If someone in your team has gone above-and-beyond and made a real impact, share it with your boss. It’s not brown-nosing to let them know how well your people have performed.
  36. Adrenalin junkies. Give adrenalin junkies their next hit. RedBalloon’s skydiving, bungy jumping, forward abseiling and jet fighter flights will satisfy their craving, and then there’s zorbing or jungle surfing for those who really can’t sit still.
  37. Frame it. Use the office camera to document team events, awards and group experiences and make sure you share the photos with everyone. For special achievements or length of service put together an album and get people to write comments.
  38. The yearly wrap. The end of the year is the time to make your people feel special, to notice what they’ve done, honour their contributions and celebrate what has been achieved.
  39. Get away from it all. Great getaway prizes are exciting motivators. If you fancy a three night escape to Brampton Island in the Whitsundays, a chalet mountain getaway in Victoria, or a relaxing retreat in The Blue Mountains, RedBalloon can make it happen.
  40. All ideas welcome. Encourage team members to bring along ideas to weekly meetings that will bring return on investment to your company. Giving your team the opportunity to share ideas and problem solve through innovation is empowering and motivating, especially when winning ideas are rewarded.
  41. Holiday treats. Next time you go away on holiday bring back some little treats to let your team know you were thinking about them.
  42. Chillax. During a busy or stressful period relax your team and ease the pressure by organising a trained masseur to come in for the day and work their magic.
  43. Shared rewards. Involve their family – the people who matter to them most. Give your team the opportunity to take their family cruising on a tall ship, dolphin watching or horse riding, or share skateboarding or surfing lessons. They’ll (all) love you for it.
  44. Motor heads. There’s bound to be a few in every company. Give those who love the classics an exclusive RedBalloon drive day, sampling deluxe sport cars like Porches, Audi TT’s, or E Type Jags. For the real rev heads try our V8 off-road or track days.
  45. Slave for the day. Help lighten the load during peak times by offering your services. Get your team’s lunch and coffees, help answer calls, take on a task, or organise a temp.
  46. It’s ok to have fun. A manager doesn’t need to be a comedian, but should encourage fun in the workplace. No fun at work makes it a boot camp, and too much fun makes it a kindergarten, so find a happy medium that supports commercial realities.
  47. Horses for courses. Rewards are not a one size fits all solution – use a mix and make them relevant to the individual. Ensure the size of the prize equals the effort!
  48. The art of storytelling. Experiences are gifts that keep on giving. RedBalloon experiences have that ‘brag’ factor and get people talking. Capture your team and client stories in your newsletters and blog, and create hero boards around the office – watch the ripple effect.
  49. Wear it with pride. Celebrate an outstanding team member by having t-shirts printed with their photo and a fun message. Get everyone to wear one as a surprise!
  50. The bonds that bind. A RedBalloon team experience can break down barriers between teams, encourage healthy competition and simply deliver some fun
  51. You’ve got a right to party. Group celebrations are a must for a happy and cohesive team. RedBalloon’s most popular team events include ‘Race Around the CBD’, ‘Secret Agent Adventures’ and paparazzi events.
  52. Come in spinner! To create reward buzz, rig up a ‘Wheel of Fortune’. Include all sorts of prizes and give your team a spin of the wheel.

Wow - Congratulations for making it all the way to the bottom! Thats one hell of a long list to try and digest, so if you’d prefer to talk to a human please get in touch with one of our consultants.

Author: Matt Geraghty, RedBalloon

Date: 01/02/2012