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When an employee gives impeccable customer service, celebrate it. Providing words of thanks and feedback to the employee not only boosts their confidence and shows your gratitude, but it also confirms they are adhering to the ideals and goals of the company. In moments like this, the employee’s supervisor should consider writing an employee recognition letter for customer service.

Not sure where to start? We’re pros at positive communication exchanges and know how to recognize a job well done. Let’s start writing.

Preparing Your Employee Recognition/Customer Service Letter

As you sit down to handwrite a beautiful card or type up a letter on company stationery (both are perfectly acceptable!), you’ll want to focus on three things:

• Summarizing the admirable customer service moment
• Why it was a notable exchange with a customer
• Gratitude for the employee’s performance

The purpose of writing this letter to a stand-out staff member is to show how much their attentiveness is appreciated and noticed by customers and senior-level employees at the company.

Sample Letter to Celebrate an Employee

Here’s an example that you can customize to fit your profession, situation, and/or company structure to celebrate an employee’s interaction with a customer or a general trend of excellent service over time.

Dear Employee Name,

Here at Acme Health Supplies Inc., we strive to celebrate greatness when we see it, and this week you’re in the spotlight! We received a phone call from Mrs. Smith regarding your exchange on Friday to set up her new home delivery service. She was thrilled with your helpful tips, attention to detail, and complimented your courteous tone. This moment of stellar customer service was also noticed in the office by a few of your coworkers, who shared words of praise for your customer service skills.

We’ve always believed in giving our customers our undivided attention and working with them until every aspect of their transaction has been explained and understood. You achieved those goals and went above and beyond by tending to Mrs. Smith’s extra questions with patience and grace. You’ve set a noteworthy example in our office and for that, we thank you!

We’re so appreciative of your natural talents with our clientele that we’d like to use your phone call as an example of successful customer service in our training program. And of course, no good deed should go unrewarded. Please enjoy lunch on us this week at your favorite cafe with this gift card. Once again, we appreciate your outstanding representation of Acme Health Supplies Inc. and feel honored to have you on our team.

Sincerely,

Your Supervisor

That’s all there is to it! Recall the positive interaction, explain why it was great, and then show your appreciation. Whether your note is three sentences or three paragraphs long, your recognition will be appreciated.

As you start to brainstorm what to include in your letter, consider browsing our line of greeting cards and stationery. We are sure to have the perfect paper to complement your sentiments.

Downsizing and restructuring is often part of business management, and ultimately, structured growth. If your company is preparing for a round of layoffs to improve the stability and positioning of your business, you need to make a conscious effort to boost employee morale after layoffs. Don’t let concerns or confusion linger among the remaining staff.

The Harvard Business Review reports that a “heightened level of employee dysfunction” is common after a downsizing situation. Thankfully, supervisors and top-level management can ease tension and fears regarding the future by implementing these ideas.

5 Ways to Boost Employee Morale after Layoffs

After the pink slips go out, and the remaining staff has been honestly informed of the purpose behind the company changes, the real work begins. Focus on career development, solidifying trust, and listening to the staff’s needs.

1. Focus on team-building. Hiring an outside speaker to conduct a workshop or creating an internal activity can help stimulate creativity, conversation, and trust among the staff. Be sure to reward top performers with small gifts to reinforce the company’s dedication to recognizing stand-out participation and skills.
2. Encourage open communication. Distribute information to senior staff regarding active listening skills and open-door policies they can use to encourage junior staff members to reach out with concerns during the transitional period. Employees want to feel heard and understood.
3. Present future plans. Be candid with the staff about how their work duties will change and future hiring plans to ease their new workloads. Is an increase in tasks temporary or a new long-term expectation? Be clear about timelines and job description changes in the new office environment.
4. Offer a support system. As your company adapts to changes, roll out helpful training courses, bring in workplace morale counselors, and schedule team meetings that empower employees to do their best. You can’t expect success from employees who feel unguided or confused about a shift in duties or new co-worker collaborations.
5. Celebrate current value. Everyone loves to know what they’re doing right and receive praise. After a round of layoffs, a little reassurance can help stabilize trust in the company and the employees’ places in it. Take the time to thank individuals for their contributions, positive office attitudes, and adaptability to the changes.

Boost the morale at your company by keeping employee recognition gifts on hand and presenting them often. From certificates to trophies, PaperDirect offers a variety of motivational products to boost the spirit and confidence of your hard-working team.

Naming an employee of the month is a great way to recognizing your top performers’ hard work and dedication to the company. With all the effort they put into their job, they deserve more of a thank you than their picture on the wall. Why not give your employees of the month a unique treat instead? Transform your employee of the month recognition from a rather ho-hum honor to an enticing goal with these five spectacular ideas.

Free Lunch

Employee of the month recognition can be delicious when it means a free lunch. Pick a trendy restaurant near the office, or let the honored employee choose one from a pre-approved list. Then tell your employee to order in or head out on their lunch hour, with you picking up the tab for their meal.

Goodie Basket

Get a basket and fill it with items you know your employees would like. Choose a collection of munchies that fits the particular employee, with options that include fruit, granola bars, gourmet cheese, or candy. Non-food items can also work – think sketch pads, gift certificates, scented candles, or coffee mugs.

Supply Box

Keep your employee of the month recognition work-related by gifting a supply box filled with items they can use on the job. Ideas here run the gamut from colored sticky notes to pen sets to personalized memo pads to planners.

Certificate or Trophy

Certificates and trophies are superb for letting your employees of the month display their honor on their desk or wall as long as they wish. Get a batch of high-quality certificate paper and print up your own awards every month, or choose to have them custom printed and framed.

Choose from trophies shaped like stars, circles, or half-moons, all of which can be engraved. If springing for a trophy every month may be a bit much, invest in a single trophy that gets passed around month-to-month to the person who nabs the honor.

Paid Time Off

While you may want to reserve a paid week of vacation for your employees of the year, add an extra day to your employees of the month’s allotted PTO. Review the employee’s schedule, and then have them pick a day that works for you both. Even your best employees would love an extra day to relax!

With so many enticing options for employee of the month recognition, it may be tough to pick just one. Feel free to rotate the recognition ideas every year, or even on a quarterly basis. And yes, if you’re a big fan of the photo in the hallway, you can still keep that tradition, too. Just strengthen the honor with an additional perk that makes sure employees know you truly value their work. Check out PaperDirect for more ways to recognize your hardworking employee of the month.

The primary goals of employee reward and recognition programs are simple: attract and retain amazing talent. So, we shower them with awards, praise, and tokens of appreciation to express our gratitude for their service and dedication. But, are we doing it right? And well enough?

The research pros at Gallup, Inc. found, “only one in three workers in the U.S. strongly agree that they received recognition or praise for doing good work in the past seven days” and that many workers feel their best efforts are ignored. These folks are twice as likely to quit their jobs in the coming year.

In short: We need to do better. Here are a few ways for leaders and managers in your organization to recognize accomplishments, boost employee motivation, increase company loyalty, and meet employee retention rate goals.

Individual Personalized Outreach

The gold standard for employee recognition relies on one-on-one communication from a top-level colleague. We want to hear positive words from our supervisor or the head of the company. Gallup, Inc. found the most memorable and meaningful recognition came from the employee’s manager (28 percent), the company’s leader or CEO (24 percent), or the supervisor over the individual’s boss (12 percent).

The outreach should be genuine and personal. Taking a few minutes to chat about accomplishments and share a handshake speaks volumes to an employee. Writing a note on quality stationery or in a thank you card also makes a big impact.

Employee of the Month/Year

The next most effective form of recognition is based on individual outreach in a public forum. When a supervisor presents a certificate, award, or verbal praise for an individual employee in front of his or her peers, the impact is two-fold. The employee feels appreciated, and the staff learns more about the company culture, possibly feeling inspired to aspire to a similar experience.

Explore this option by creating your own employee of the week, month, or year depending on what feels appropriate for your industry. Make the announcement public and available for the entire staff to enjoy, whether it’s in the form of a meeting or morning announcement.

Individual Evaluations and Reviews

Although it’s not glamorous or public, employees feel valued when you take the time to sit with them and review their goals and performance within the company structure. These evaluations give both the supervisor and employee a chance to discuss improvement, promotions, and future opportunities. Again, personalization and direct communication with a superior at the company is key.

This form of recognition is usually part of an annual employee performance review. In a smaller office setting, this sort of check-in would be valuable after completing large company projects every few months or even on a monthly basis. Consider pairing the reviews with an employee appreciation day to enliven the workday.

Peer-to-Peer Recognition

Gallup, Inc. finds that you really can’t give too much feedback or recognition. They feel it should be all-encompassing and come from supervisors, peers, clients, and customers to really make an impact.

Share shout-outs for individual employees on customer surveys. Allow peers to nominate their co-workers for company awards. Encourage immediate supervisors to recognize when an employee excels in accordance with the company culture, purpose, or brand.

Are you ready to overhaul your company’s employee reward and recognition programs? Find everything you need to acknowledge your amazing employees at PaperDirect today!

If you work in an office, you know the classic cast of characters – the office gossip, the overachiever, and the rookie seem to make an appearance in every office. While you may think that you’re above labels (except, of course, “greatest employee of all time”), it’s likely that you fall into a certain employee category just like all your coworkers. Instead of guessing what kind of employee you are, take this quiz from PaperDirect to learn whether you’re a social butterfly, disappearing act, or something in between. Click the image below to start the quiz!

Link above didn’t work? Access the quiz here.