On-Boarding Recognition

31% of people have quit their jobs within the first six months (Peterson, 2005).  Remember, less than 1% care about free food and perks! What matters most is giving your employees (especially the new ones) attention, recognition, clear guidelines, and a friendly environment! (Peterson, 2005).

All employees deserve recognition, especially the new hires. This makes them feel comfortable and confident in their new work environment. The on-boarding team members should have a basic package that includes these:

1. Welcome Letter 

It is important to include a warm welcome to the new employee and provide brief background information regarding the company. It is important to share the company’s mission statement and the company’s core values. It would also be nice to include the name and contact number of the new hire’s direct supervisor or team leader along with the letter.

2. Information Form

This is a basic form that the new hire needs to fill up submit to the company’s Human Resources or to the team leader. This form should encourage the employees to share the basics: mailing address, birth date, emergency contact info, health issues. Why not add something quirky that would match the workplace environment such as favorite writer/author or favorite quote (for jobs that deal with writing), recommended apps or gadgets (for those that deal with technology), etc.

3.  Company Handbook

You would want your new hires and team members to be in the loop as they start their new jobs. The Handbook should include a history of the company, the mission statement, core values, job description, disciplinary actions, safety codes, etc. Include everything that new hires should know and update the company’s handbook every so often. This could be in digital form to save paper and be easily updated and shared.

4. A welcome gift

You do not need to spend so much money on a welcome gift. However, it would be thoughtful and nice to personalize it to the nature of the job itself. General gift packets, however, can include these suggestions:

• Mints
• Chocolates
• Office supplies (pens, notepads, etc) with the company logo
• Coffee mug (with the company logo)
• Tumbler
• Lanyard
• Keychain
• Trail mix snack pack
• Flowers
• Fruit Basket
• Sachets of juice mix drink / juice boxes
• Snacks (like Goldfish crackers)

Don’t forget to add a gift tag! Here are some ideas on what you can write:

• “Welcome to the team!”
• “Mix and Mingle!” (awesome with a bag of trail mix)
• “Get your CREATIVE JUICES flowing!” (great with a gift tumbler with juice drinks)
• “O-FISH-ially part of the team!” (best with Goldfish snack pack)

It is important that new hires feel comfortable and confident in their new work environment. GO RECOGNIZE your new employees and/or team members with a fun and simple welcome package!

Thank your employees or team members with Gift Cups that won’t break the bank!

Here’s an awesome idea I found while surfing the net. This is a fun way to recognize your team members or employees without breaking the bank!

It’s so simple and so versatile!

All you need are:

1. A cup or a mug

2. Sachets of instant tea, hot cocoa mix or coffee powder

3. Chocolates, marshmallow, or anything that can be added to the drink

4. Stirrer

5. A witty gift tag (The sample photo says, “You are TEA-rrific!”)

That’s it!

from: http://www.happyclippings.com/2013/05/gift-idea-thanks-for-being-tea-rrific-free-printable.html

You can also add a Gift Certificate to your team member’s favorite coffee or tea shop.

What are you waiting for? Got that team member who finished the project before the deadline? Got that very productive team member who delivers quality work all the time? GO RECOGNIZE your awesome team members and employees with this fun idea!

Gratitude = Healthy Heart = Lower Employee Absenteeism

This post is spot on! This emphasizes the importance of recognition in the workplace! What are you waiting for? Go recognize!

Awesome Economical (some are even FREE) Ideas to Recognize Your Team Members

Being a team leader need not be financially daunting especially when it comes to giving well-deserved praise and/or recognition.

Here are some ideas that I want to share with you. I have given these a try for my team, and I must say that these definitely boosted their employee morale.

1. Chat with them and say “THANK YOU!”

2. Praise an employee during a team meeting and ask him or her to share his/her best practices at work.

3. Write an inspiring quote or a note of thanks on a sticky note and stick it on their work station where your member/s can see it.

4. Set up a white board and encourage your members to praise their fellow teammates.

5. Establish a peer-to-peer recognition program within the team.

6. Have lunch together and offer to pay for your top member’s lunch.

7. Stock up on mini chocolates and give them out to the most productive members of the team.

8. If you have members who work from home, call or text them once in a while so that they know what they are still part of the team and are recognized.

9. Send E-praise cards. I use Baudville for this because they are awesome!

10. Walk around your department or your aisle and compliment your team members at least once a day.

Infographic taken from: http://www.tmxgo.com/employee-recognition-infographics/

Go ahead and try these with your team!

Importance of Employee Recognition

Take a good look at your team, your department, or your company. Is there a high turnover rate? Are your team members leaving? Are your full-time employees switching their status to part-time? According to Mayhew, “High turnover occurs when employees aren’t satisfied with their jobs. Job dissatisfaction occurs when employees feel unappreciated and taken for granted by their employers”. I see this first-hand, so I decided to take action and start this blog. I hope that this can motivate leaders and employers to realize the importance of employee recognition.

Here are some interesting figures I found while researching. According to TMX,

“Lack of recognition is the top reason people quit their jobs”

“41% of companies that use peer-to-peer recognition have seen marked positive increases in customer satisfaction.”

“Companies with strategic recognition reported a mean employee turnover rate 23% lower than retention at companies without any recognition program.”

“Managers recognizing employee performance increases engagement by almost 60%.”

Did I get you to thinking now?

As I develop this blog, I will write articles that will help you recognize your team members and/or your employees.

Let’s do this together and let’s keep each other motivated so that you can motivate your members and/or your employees!