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Will you get a Christmas bonus this year? Have you ever gotten a holiday bonus at your job? If you’re the boss, are you giving holiday bonuses this year? If you’re not the boss, have you been recognized or rewarded in some other way besides monetarily during the holiday season at other jobs or in previous years? If not, maybe you can slip an anonymous suggestion into the boss’ “in box” at work or casually leave a note in the break room. If you are a boss, and you have good employees who work hard all year, you really should think about employee reward and recognition at the holiday season.

In these tough economic times, if you are the owner of a thriving business, you need to remember who is behind your business’ success–you and your staff. If your business is not doing well, you can still show your appreciation to those who deserve recognition without spending a great deal of money. Fewer team members, larger workloads and job stress may have your staff needing a little “atta boy” to keep up morale and provide incentive to keep plugging along. Any small token of appreciation will make your employees very happy and make them feel valued. This, in turn, provides incentive to keep working hard.

If you’re the boss, why not show them you appreciate all their hard work with one of these employee recognition ideas:

• Paid time off. If you cannot afford to give monetary bonuses, then offer your employees an additional day off around the holidays. Those traveling, especially, will greatly appreciate this generous reward, and those with small children may appreciate the extra day more than money. Time with family is priceless; money comes and goes.
• Surprise your staff with an “early dismissal.” Remember snow days in school when you got to leave after lunch because a snow storm was coming? Adults will be no less excited with an early dismissal the day before their first real day off for the holidays. If Christmas falls on a Friday, and they’ have Thursday and Friday off, why not close down shop Wednesday afternoon? You will be amazed at how excited your employees will be about such a small gesture that surely won’t cost you much at all.
• Gift card to an employee’s favorite store or restaurant. Regardless of the amount, a gift card to a store you know an employee frequents lets him or her know that you genuinely care about giving just the right gift. Gift cards are one of the most popular ways to reward and recognize employees’ good work. Be careful about giving different amounts to employees. They will talk about the amount, so be as fair as possible. If you give one hundred dollars to one secretary and twenty to another, you may have a problem on your hands. Sadly enough, instead of just being appreciative, there may be feelings of resentment if one workers gets “more” than another.
• Group recognition activity such as a lunch or dinner out or an in-office party with food, drink and even a gift exchange. Even something as simple as having pizza delivered one afternoon will be appreciated. More extravagant events such as a holiday party at a local hotel’s banquet room will be greatly appreciated, and your employees will know you really do recognize their hard work.
• Monetary bonus. If you can afford it, your employees will be THRILLED to receive a little extra money in the paycheck before the holiday season. Give what you feel is fair and what you can afford. No matter the amount, your employees will be very appreciative of this kind gesture. Bonuses can be based on how long the employee has been there, their status in the company, and their contributions that year. Even though bonuses should never be discussed amongst employees, they will be, so if you devise a system for deciding who gets what amount, stick to it. If the vice-president gets a thousand dollar bonus, and the receptionist gets a $1500 bonus, people may talk. Bonuses are like salaries; they should never be discussed with coworkers, but, amazingly enough, some employees do share this information with their colleagues (which often leads to jealousy and resentment).

If you are looking for ways to reward and recognize employees, PaperDirect has a wide selection of certificates, trophies and plaques, and our blog also some employee recognition ideas that really work.

Who doesn’t like to hear the words, “Good job!” or “Thanks for taking care of that” or “Great work!”? Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done, and in today’s ever-evolving and growing workforce, it’s important to take the time to tell your employees they’ve done good work.

In tough economic times, the money for raises and bonuses may not be available, but there is always time and money for other means of employee recognition–printable award certificate templates are a great place to start.

If you’re an HR employee or a company boss looking for a new, inexpensive way to recognize employees’ good work, you can use a printable award certificate template to create several awards to distribute throughout the year. Employee recognition will help to keep morale up and boost energy in the workplace. If you never recognize your employees’ contributions, they may stop working so hard.

An award certificate hung on the wall or placed on a desk or shelf is a constant reminder that that particular employee’s work is appreciated. Also, other employees will see them and that will serve as encouragement that they, too, can receive an award certificate.

PaperDirect has printable award certificate templates so you can find one perfect for your business or company. Find your perfect certificate paper, click “Download Template” and follow the instructions to create amazing certificate awards for your employees!

An unmotivated, apathetic employee can do some real damage to your business. Think about an unpleasant experience you have had with a less-than-helpful employee, customer service representative, or restaurant server. Employees with bad attitudes or workers who simply don’t care about their performance can ruin a business exchange for a customer in seconds.

Because employee/customer interaction is so very important to the success of any business, it is important that employers take the time to think of ideas for employee recognition that will motivate their staff members and instill in them a desire to do a good job. In the long run, the effort you put into recognizing employees (and the cost, if there even is any) will pay off greatly.

1. Engaged, enthusiastic employees will pass their enthusiasm on to their customers, and customers will know when they are being served by an employee who truly cares about their experience and satisfaction.
2. Employees who feel they have some type of interpersonal connection with their boss (a totally appropriate relationship, by the way) tend to feel more engaged with the work they do and subsequently, tend to be more invested in their work.

Inexpensive Employee Recognition

Employee social functions do not have to be costly, and while it is best to arrange a gathering outside of the office environment, you certainly don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars hosting a catered event. Social gatherings to boost morale and recognize employees’ hard work are usually more fun than simply receiving a gift card, an employee-of-the-month certificate, or plaque .

One of the most enjoyable employee social functions I attended to boost morale and recognize standouts for that particular year was a company picnic/softball game. The CEO of the company organized it, and the only expenses were hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks for the staff and the cost of renting a softball field for two hours.

It was a blast, and what’s even better is that colleagues who had never spoken two words to each other that entire year were cheering each other on, high-fiving it, and just having good old-fashioned wholesome fun. The following Monday, there was a new energy in the air, and even the employees who grumble about Mondays (and Tuesdays, and Wednesday and Thursdays, even) were in better moods.

Ok, now hold onto your hats for this one because many people have forgotten how to even do this task: Hand write a thank you note. Yes, hand write. Actually find a paper thank you note and use an ink pen to write out a personal message to an employee who went above and beyond the call of duty. A hand-written thank you note says so much more than an email. If your employee could take the time to go the extra mile, why can’t you reciprocate by handwriting a thank you note instead of emailing one or having your secretary type one up and send it for you.

Obviously, the ideas for employee recognition are endless. Think outside the box. Think inexpensive. Think “How would I want to be acknowledged for a job well done?” You don’t need a lot of time or money to tell your employees how much their work means to you and how the company values them and their contributions.

PaperDirect has many employee recognition ideas to get you started.

Most people are motivated by money to do well at their job, but employee recognition is equally important if you want enthusiastic, motivated employees working with you.

In difficult economic times, when money isn’t necessarily available to reward employees, creative employee recognition ideas can certainly come in handy.

Ideas for rewarding employees in creative ways are limited only by your imagination!

Pro Tip: When acknowledging an employee’s good work, keep in mind that not all people appreciate the same type of recognition. Some employees may want their recognition given publicly, while others prefer a more private acknowledgement of a job well done.

Here are some creative employee-of-the-month recognition ideas to start your creative juices flowing.

Thoughtful Ideas:

• Handwritten thank-you card
• Letter of appreciation in employee’s file
• Recognition posted on employee bulletin board
• Recognition in the company newsletter
• Verbal praise either privately or at a company gathering
• Take the employee out to lunch
• Send the employee to a conference she/he wants to attend
• Ask the employee to represent his/her department at a meeting
• Give the employee company merchandise (shirt, hat, coffee mug, etc.)
• Award certificate
• Plaque
• Banner
• Larger work space
• Better equipment
• Privileges (leaving early, work-from-home, etc.)

Obviously, these ideas can work for any type of employee recognition–not just employee-of-the-month awards. Use these and any other ideas you can think of to remind your employees how valuable they are to the company. Remember that positive reinforcement is a great motivator!

PaperDirect has a full line of employee recognition tools perfect for all types of companies.

Employees appreciate being appreciated by the company they work for. While certificate awards are definitely morale boosters and plaques and trophies look great on the wall or shelf, there really isn’t a way an employee can carry it around with them to show others they’ve been honored. However, if you give recognition lapel pins as an award or as an addition to the award they receive, they can put that on their lapel and go anywhere with it.

Recognition awards not only validate the employee and show the company appreciation for them, but anyone who sees the certificate award, plaque or trophy can see that the company does pay attention to how well employees are doing. Whether it’s an award for achievement such as a Five Year Employment Award or an award specifically for appreciation of performance like an Employee Of The Year Award, employees are inspired to do their jobs better and more effectively because of them. But having a lapel pin that the employee can wear every day keeps that encouragement at a higher level because other employees see that lapel pin and know what it means.

With all kinds of great lapel pin styles available and being able to have custom pins means employees can have a pin for virtually any recognition occasion. From Team Achievement Awards to Service Awards, there are designs that will enable your employee recognition program to go to an entirely new level. As powerful a tool as employee recognition programs are, you want yours to be the best.

Employee recognition programs serve a dual purpose. They’re designed to show corporate appreciation for employees that deserve to be recognized and they’re designed to help boost morale amongst the other employees as well. Having a recognition program that is capable of using certificate awards, recognition lapel pins, plaques and trophies as well as other incentive based awards gives them a very flexible and powerful tool in keeping employees happy. While a raise is always nice, being shown recognition and appreciation by the company may mean even more to employees.

Seeing all the awesome recognition lapel pins that are available will definitely give you ideas about how to incorporate them into your recognition program. You’ll like how they look, you’ll like what they represent to your company and your employees will love them when they receive them as part of a recognition ceremony. Take your employee recognition program to an entirely new level with lapel pins to drive employee morale.

All companies like the good employees, but companies also want to find ways to encourage and uplift all employees to that same level. And in today’s economy, human resource department’s area always trying to find ways to make sure the good employees stay with the company and also find ways to encourage other employees to do better. By having an employee recognition program that rewards employees who are good and motivates other employees to become better, you can “kill two birds with one stone” as it were.

You want to find ways to reward good employees for their efforts. Giving them award certificates that they can hang on the walls of their office or set on their shelves or credenzas not only reminds them of the recognition they’ve received, but other employees that see them will get the encouragement that they too can receive those same awards. But there are other ways to show appreciation for effort and motivate other employees as well.

Mentions in the corporate newsletter are good ways to boost morale and give recognition. Even verbal mentions during team and corporate meetings are good morale boosters. Thank you cards for a job well done are very positive ways to show employees their efforts are appreciated. And even perks like early lunch or a preferred parking place are good ways to express appreciation and encourage productivity. There are lots of ways that companies and HR departments can motivate employees and show good employees that their work is appreciated.

The best part of these ideas is the fact that they are relatively inexpensive. With blank certificate templates and a little creativity, not only can you reward employees for good work, but you can also create certificates that motivate as well. “Most Improved” and “Great Progress” certificates encourage employees to continue to build on their gains and helps them to become the great worker all companies need. Building on success with encouraging awards and rewards makes for happier employees as well.

Take a look at all the different ways you can reward good employees and to encourage others to progress. You can develop a very successful employee recognition program that doesn’t have to have a huge budget. You’ll find that employees are happier, more productive and easier to worth with and that’s the kind of results everyone appreciates.

When it comes to having an effective employee recognition program it is essential to Achievement Specialty Certificates make sure that each time employees are recognized that the quantity and quality of the awards is similar. This ensures that employees feel like they’re all being treated fairly. Nothing undoes the encouragement and morale boosting effects of a good recognition and awards program like inequity in the “prizes” being awarded. So having a plan and sticking to it keeps employees from feeling that the awards they receive are tainted with any kind of favoritism.

Developing a consistent employee recognition program from the start is what will prevent this situation from occurring. Regardless of what you build your program around, whether it’s intangible awards like perks with prime parking places and mentions in the workplace newsletter or more tangible awards and rewards like awards certificates and reward coupons, keeping the awards consistent is the key. There are ways to scale the awards to show levels of accomplishment.

Whatever your recognition program revolves around, having a good program is important for employee morale and encouragement. Employees do appreciate the fact that the company sees them as a person, and that their work and efforts are seen as beneficial by their bosses. Recognizing them for their efforts on a personal level lets them know that they are important to the company. And it doesn’t take an expensive award to do so.

Even something as inexpensive as a thank you card or a note in with their paycheck expressing appreciation for their effort goes a long way in the “feel good” department. As a matter of fact, award certificates, the coupons, the preferred parking place and most other ways to boost morale really don’t cost much at all. Implementing a recognition program that is consistent and that doesn’t break the budget isn’t difficult to do.

From blank certificate templates to blank card stock for congratulation and thank you cards are inexpensive ways to have everything you need on hand to create great recognition and appreciation awards. Being able to be consistent with awards and rewards is easy when you’ve got the ability to create the awards you need. Check out all the great ways you can build your recognition program so everyone feels the motivation and encouragement to be the best employees they can be.

Each day, when employees come to work, they’ve got choices to make. Most of the time those choices involve doing a good job, getting tasks accomplished and in general being an asset to the company. However, there are times when employees may not feel quite as “plugged in” to the company and its goals. That means their performance may not be quite as positive as the company would like. Finding ways to bring employee performance back to the standards that are expected is essential.

When employee performance slips, many companies would have a tendency to use the stick part of the carrot and stick approach. Reprimanding employees, putting black marks on their performance analysis and even threats of firing aren’t unusual. However, using the carrot part of the carrot and stick method may actually be more beneficial. Employees that may not be hitting the mark may be more interested in an uplifting pat on the back more than they would a reprimand.

That’s where using tools like employee recognition to boost morale and pick up spirits can make a huge difference. Using award certificates to give recognition for meeting and exceeding quotas or completing large jobs shows employees they’re appreciated. Reaching out with thank you cards and notes in their paychecks that express that appreciation go a long way towards boosting morale as well. Even having perks like a preferred parking slot as a reward for a job well done or as the “Employee of the Month”

Rewarding employees with appreciation and recognition means a lot to employees. That shows them that the company is paying attention to them as a person instead of just another employee. Not only that, but when an employee is singled out for recognition, not only does it boost their morale, but other employees see the recognition and realize that they too are being looked at as people. This encourages them to become more productive and better at their jobs as well, perhaps in hopes of being the one being recognized with a certificate or in the newsletter next time.

As important as customers and clients are to a business, the backbone of any successful business is its employees. Good employees are hard to find and keeping them can be even harder, especially in these economically challenging times when bonuses and raises are few and far between. This gives HR departments an added challenge when it comes to employee retention. One way to boost morale and to encourage employees to stick around is to develop a solid employee recognition program. A popular part of these programs are certificates of appreciation.

Blank certificates are inexpensive and there are FREE certificate of appreciation templates available for download for your favorite word processor. This means that certificates can be printed up in a matter of minutes because all the hard work, layout, and wording have already been completed. All that’s left is to put the person’s name and the date on it, hit the print button and you’re done. Generating several certificates for an awards program can be accomplished in only a few minutes!

There are templates for virtually any occasion you can think of. Appreciation for attendance, excellence, safety, and production are just a few of the dozens out there. And if you’ve got an occasion that requires a certificate of appreciation template that isn’t out there, since they are templates, making changes to cover your needs is a snap. Most templates can be downloaded from the company that makes the blank certificates. The best part is that they have designed the templates to the exact specifications of the paper so there is no chance of error.

And to dress up the entire process, putting the finished certificate in a frame takes only a couple of minutes for each one. Great frames can be purchased for as little as a couple of dollars each. Combined with the minimal cost of the blank certificate, being able to give out certificates of appreciation is one of the least expensive, but most productive ways to implement an employee recognition program. Low cost, ease of production, and flexibility with the certificate of appreciation templates makes presenting those certificates the most beneficial part of your program.

Safety is a concern for all companies, if you’re an office or a manufacturer you will want to keep safety fresh in the minds of your employees.

Safety Border Paper

Safety is a Bright Idea Recognition Pin

Safety Casual Certificate

Safety First Vinyl Banner

Employee recognition has become one of the most useful tools that a human resources departments has in its arsenal to build employee morale and improve employee retention. In today’s economy, bonuses and raises can be a little difficult to build into a budget, so alternative methods for rewarding employees for their efforts and accomplishments have to be put in place. One great way to show employees how much they’re appreciated is with a plaque award.

Plaque awards come in a couple of styles. The first style is a full plaque. These are very nice for special presentations and when the employee needs to have a special honor bestowed on them. The prices for these plaques can be in then $10 to however much money you want to spend range, and makes for a very nice award. However, if you have quite a few employees that need recognition, this can get very expensive, very quickly.

The other type of plaque awards is an expandable one. These have a main plate with the award title on it, such as employee of the month, with space for additional, smaller plates to be added. This means that the plaque can be awarded multiple times and displayed in a prominent location like the reception desk where everyone can see the award. Not only will the employee know they’ve received an award, but everyone who sees it can know that their efforts have been appreciated.  Having their name on one of those smaller plates and receiving a certificate or small plaque to go with it gives them a sense of satisfaction on multiple levels.

Finding the ways to let employees know the company does appreciate their work and effort isn’t as easy as it used to be. With bonuses pretty much out of the budgetary question, the alternatives have to be ones that will show that appreciation in an economical manner. Plaque awards are a great way to build employee morale and to boost retention and you don’t have to break the budget to do it. Check out all the great plaques available and see just how they can work into a recognition program in your company.

Keep employee morale positive with office humor posters, notecards, mini cards, and gifts.

Dreams I Humor Print

Creative Accounting I Humor Print

Finance I Large Poster

Low Hanging Fruit I Humor Print

The Bermuda Cubicle I Humor Print

If you walk around virtually every office in the world, you’re going to see a lot of common denominators. You’ll find the usual computers, pens and pencils, family pictures on the desks and walls and even some plants. But somewhere, either in an office or in a public area, you’ll find something that will make you laugh out loud, or at least give you a chuckle. Most of the time the culprit is an office humor sign hanging on a wall.

Some are simple drawings with a funny caption below it that is designed to garner a laugh. Some are like the motivational pictures, but the heading is something totally hilarious. Regardless of which type it is, these signs not only bring a funny moment to whoever sees it, but they do a great job of boosting morale in the workplace.

When employees work a job for a while, especially doing production work, the tasks can become tedious. This tedium can cause an employee to be a little less attentive to detail and can even slow production. By having signs in break rooms and in public areas that are funny, the employee sees it and the humor breaks that tedium. An employee that’s thinking about the sign they just saw is an employee that’s plugged back in to their job.

One way to really take advantage of office humor signs is to change them out on a regular basis. Signs that have been hanging for a while have been seen by everyone and have lost their appeal. But swapping them out for new ones keeps the humor level high and employees will look for new signs all the time. This keeps a level of anticipation in the office and that also works to boost morale.

Humorous signs in the office definitely builds morale and used properly can work on multiple levels to do so. And the best part about is the fact that these signs are very inexpensive. Even the large ones aren’t very expensive and the humor level can be increased with the size of the sign. Regardless of what kind of sign it is, or even the content of the humor, these signs give everyone in the office something to look forward to.

When it comes to giving inexpensive awards for any occasion, there are almost as many choices for awards as there are occasions to give them. There are all kinds of certificate designs and styles from the rather plain all the way through the super fancy that look absolutely awesome and the recipients will be pleased to get. And they can be used for any occasion as well, since you are buying blank certificate stock, so you can define what they get used for.

For instance, doing certificates for school projects and as awards for special events is a breeze. All you have to do is select the appropriate pre-designed certificates and you’re almost done. After that, all you have to do is fill in the recipient’s name and the reasons for the award print it off on any laser or ink-jet printer and you are done. There are templates for most of the stock certificates that load up in your favorite word processor that makes taking care of the layout and wording a snap. After that, just have the certificate signed by the principal or event sponsors and you’ve just created a fantastic award that anyone would be proud of.

And certificates are inexpensive as well. Certificate stock is very inexpensive, and even if you add in labor dollars to have them laid out and printed, they’re still going to be about the most cost-effective award you can give. Even if you put them in a nice frame for a full presentation, you can still expect the entire award to cost less than $10. That makes inexpensive certificate awards cheaper than just about any other award you could give.

Regardless of why you’re giving a certificate for, whether it’s as an award at a dog and cat show, for success at completing a class or course of study, or as an award for a fishing or hunting competition, the ability to create the awards in a very few minutes means you can give the actual certificate at the close of the event. You don’t have to wait weeks, or even months, to distribute the actual certificates to the winners. This kind of instant gratification is a great encouragement for future events, and means the recipient can show off the award when they win it.

There are other awards you can give, but in terms of bang for your buck, and to give the recipient something they’ll appreciate for years to come, an inexpensive certificate award is certainly one of your best options. Take a look at the certificate stock available and see what would be best for your next event. You’ll be amazed at what all you can find, and what occasions you can apply it to.

As with every department in an organization, especially in this economy, trying to find ways to make that dollar go as far as possible has become more important than ever. However, finding ways to improve team morale is just as important. Even more so, actually, as morale is impactful enough that cutting a few dollars here and a few dollars there can mean the difference between having a job and having a company that has to shut its doors. Even when it comes to something as seemingly unimportant as the employee recognition budget, making sure you’re getting your money’s worth is a definite key to success.

Right off the bat, one would think that dropping an employee recognition programaltogether would be the best way to recoup those dollars. The truth is that will cost the company more dollars in terms of lowered team morale and decreased productivity than it would if the employee recognition budget were actually increased. Employees need to have that recognition and acknowledgment that the team’s efforts are being noticed and that the company actually cares. Without that recognition, it affects how they feel about working for the company and their overall attitude. So that means cutting the program out completely is the absolute wrong answer as a way to improve team morale.

The best way to improve team morale is to show the company appreciates their efforts. While the team also understands the need to economize, that need for recognition to build and keep team spirit is worth the money. With the difficulties everyone seems to be having, there is a level of gratitude that there are jobs to begin with, let alone one with extravagant bonuses, perks and benefits. However, even with that need to economize, employees still need that recognition. That means finding the ways and means with the existing employee recognition budget to give out the awards and rewards that will keep morale from slipping.

That’s where doing such things as printing your own certificates and awards in-house comes into play. Also, using inexpensive, but personalized, employee gifts can be used as incentives and rewards that will improve team morale. The need to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of the employees is important, however that doesn’t mean you have to spend tons of money to do it. The employees appreciate the recognition as much or more than the award that memorializes it.