Recognizing Employees at Year End

I especially wanted to do this topic, um, here in the holidays because traditionally, you know, if companies do anything, they'll do something at the year end with the holidays and whatnot. And, uh, of course, recognition, you know, should be done throughout the year, and it should be done ideally in response to desired behavior and performance, core values, objectives, um, and whatnot. But, um, as a catchall, because I know a lot of companies don't, don't do that, uh, I wanted to talk about how to make this time of year more, more meaningful in, in whatever you do, whether it's a, a big party or you, you've got, uh, not much budget, and that's okay. I'm gonna try use ideas at the, the whole spectrum. So, um, things that don't cost anything that could be meaningful and things that don't cost too much, that could be fun. And, um, of course, want to, if any of my ideas trigger one you have, uh, please, please add a comment, uh, and share, uh, ideas that you have or, or things that you've seen or, or you've experienced that have worked well. So, um, we're going to, we're gonna cover, uh, these things, uh, strategies for increasing mean and fun. Um, office party ideas, activities and games. How to incorporate virtual and remote employees was an issue for many of you. Uh, creative and trending employee gifts, you wanna be cutting edge, uh, and, and just for fun, what, what not to do at your holiday party. So, uh, some things should go without saying, but, uh, maybe they, they should be, just to make sure. And, and then, uh, questions. I, I got a bunch of questions in, they're all over the map, uh, which I like. But I'll probably just gonna address the ones that tie to this, the topic of our webinar today on, on, uh, things to do with, um, holiday at end of the year. Um, I, I will respond to all the ones that came in, by the way. And, um, with that, kind of start with the philosophy for year in recognition. And, uh, my advice is to start with your employees. Okay? Uh, don't have, uh, don't have the, the whole thing. Decide by one executive or a team of, of two or three, but, uh, really, really, uh, reach out to employees and say, what do you wanna do? What do you wanna do this year? Or, and, and, uh, if you had a hard year, you know, uh, and it's okay to acknowledge that. Um, I think part of all this is, is to use the context of, of, uh, of, of the times, the times that you're in. So, uh, it's, it's, uh, companies have good and bad years and, and up and down years. So it's, uh, whatever you do, uh, give a context and say, you know, we're able to do what we are because we had the success this year. Or, and, and even if, if, um, even if you don't have a lot you can do, you're not doing the big party, that's okay to still have sincere messaging to say, this is a time of year where we, we value the people that have helped us throughout the year, and we thank, thank them and thank each other and, and look forward to the, the next year. And so it's, it's okay. And you should do, you should do some of those things to provide a context for the whole event. If it's just, um, solely a party or, or a, a dinner, um, you're, you're, you're missing some of the, the leverage you could have to give a context to the times, uh, and the specific individuals that you have in your organization. You, you want to, uh, personalize what you do as much as possible. Generic recognition, that's, everyone's did such a great job this year. Uh, that's not, that doesn't resonate very, very well. I mean, you can, you can make a statement like that and, and you'd be proud of the team and what, what of the, the company and what's happened. But if you can, if you can wade into the, you know, specifics of the projects and the departments of functions that, that really shined this year and, and maybe maybe even calling out some individuals, um, and publicly, if people don't like public, that's okay. Um, find, find ways to make it more personal. Uh, you can, you can have, uh, and I'll, I'll come back to that, that topic. Um, be creative and have fun. You know, um, I, I find that, uh, the worst is to say, well, what'd we do last year? Let's do that again. You know, it's kinda, uh, you know, uh, I, uh, 66% of companies are planning a, a holiday party for 2024. That's up from, uh, 57% last year. So, uh, the trend, and, and you know, along with the easing of the pandemic is, is people like to connect in person. And this is a classic time to do that. Uh, this, it's a little more challenging if you've got a, you know, percentage of people or maybe a great percentage of people that are, are virtual. And, and then you gotta think about how to do something maybe more online or, or to include them even as you have a physical in-person meeting, how can you have a, an open camera? How can you have a, a station where people can say hi to people that are remote? Things like that. Um, but, uh, most companies are, are, are leaning towards doing, um, an event. And, and on that, uh, lemme just give you some examples again, the spectrum. Uh, so if you, uh, you can host an event activity that is, you can go do something that's just for, for lunch or just for dinner, but you can also do an activity that at, at some place that already has an entertainment involved with it. So, give you an example. A few years ago, my, my, uh, wife came home and said, well, we're doing a, we're doing a, uh, kind of a cafeteria thing for Christmas this year at work. And I go, really? We, we can do a better job than that? And she went back and, and told them and said, okay, well, show us, you know. And so what we did is we took all the, moved all the furniture out of our house, and we hosted a, uh, casino night, and, uh, we, we got the budget they had, and, you know, you'd have a sit down dinner that could be expensive if, if you're doing fun and games and mingling, you don't need a big heavy dinner. You got snacks and nuts and some beers. And, and so, uh, you save a lot of budget there. And, uh, and, and we, you know, go beyond. Always go beyond what you have money for and look for other ways to do things. So, for example, we went to the executive team and we asked them each to donate something, uh, for the, uh, casino night for the, for a door prize. And so one guy, you know, had a cabin, he donated a a week at this cabin, the summer, uh, someone else had a boat, and, you know, a, uh, a afternoon out on, on the boat was, was an item. Um, you, you, I remember one, one, uh, executive could, could play guitar. And so, uh, he offered to do a erno serenade, somebody as a, as a thank you, you know, uh, at, at the, uh, recipient's, uh, calling, you know, sometime in the future, et cetera. So you could, you can have, you don't need a lot of money to have fun. You just need a creative, you need to kick around some ideas. You gotta, uh, think of what, what happened, what's something we've never done before? If you just do the same old thing, you know, it's gonna be boring, you know? And, uh, so, so kick it out. Some, you, you can, uh, you can do, uh, uh, um, something like, at medieval times you are having a dinner, but you're having a show too, and it's, uh, it could be families. Uh, I, I had a executive that said, you know, he used to always decide what to do, and, um, and it never really worked for everybody. So he, he, he, uh, stopped. He stopped that, and he, he, he found a millennial and had put it in him in charge of, of doing it. And, and, and the guy checked with everybody, surveyed people and, and came up with something and, and they did a medieval times and everyone loved it. Uh, Topgolf, David Busters are all, um, oh, hey, sorry. Um, bowling party, an escape room. If you haven't done some things like this, you know, maybe it's a, a a throwback. Maybe it's something that's, that's new in, in your, uh, in our community, we just gotta a top golf. It's kind of fun. We, we, we did a neighborhood thing there and, and lots of activities, and they have kind of snack foods and, and whatnot. So, uh, think of, think of something that's, that's maybe different than you've done before. Now, another idea, um, uh, that, uh, is, is a great one that, that I've, I first experienced when I worked with, uh, Ken Blanchard companies and, and then I've done it several times with my own company, with people, is that, is that, uh, you get everyone together and say, okay, we're everyone gets, uh, 50 bucks cash, or, or, or 30 bucks cash, whatever you got and, uh, and can afford. And what we're gonna do is, uh, for the next hour, we want you to team up with someone that you don't know, uh, here in the company and go out shopping. And we want you to buy something with that money for yourself. 'cause holidays is always about giving to the, your spouse and your kids. And people never get anything for themselves. So it's, it is kind of a, it puts a twist on the whole event, and they, uh, and then everyone comes back and they, they report what they got and why. And it's just a good time. It's fun, it's funny. Um, and so you might try something like that. Uh, it works very well. You can have a, uh, when I worked with Hallmark Cards, they, uh, I thought it was very, very cool that they had a remember of store manager. He got everyone together for a, a holiday lunch. And, and then he handed out some certificates, achievement certificates, and, but he did it a different way. He, he, um, would read the achievement and he'd ask the group, who's it for? And they would debate, and they would, you know, go back and forth and, and then they'd, they'd usually get the person that was for, but just by turning it into an activity and just hand out pieces of paper, it made it more fun and more of a, a group, a group effort. Uh, so that I thought was, was kind of, kind of cool. Now, uh, again, um, to me, uh, especially, you want to add meaning to whatever you do. So, you know, uh, currently, uh, more than half of employees say that they worked and have not been recognized for the contributions they made to their organizations. It's really sad, because if you wanna, eventually you get demote into people that, uh, you're gonna, you're gonna lose them if you, if you don't value what they've done for you. And so, this is a good time. If you've, if you've had a busy year and, and you haven't gotten around to it, it, uh, this is a good time to do that, to call out, talk about the successes you've had, the projects, uh, the, the activities. And, and again, I know some people don't like to, to be called out publicly. And ideally, you, you'd know who that was and you wouldn't do that to them. But, uh, a lot of other people, like, like, uh, something being said publicly. So, but making, making time to, uh, uh, focus on the context of the achievements and successes, I think is important. Um, you want to, uh, uh, another no cost thing that's very powerful. You cut to the meaning is write a letter to your direct reports. Uh, I, I did this a couple years ago. I had 16 people reporting to me, and I, I, it was maybe I took maybe two hours, and I wrote e each of them a letter. I hand wrote it. And what I did is I just reflected on that person over the last year and things that they had done that stood out, and things that, uh, I was proud of and successes they've had. And, uh, that was it. And it, you know, it was, it wasn't that hard. It took a little time, but not that much. And, and I passed out these letters to everyone. I had two my employees cry. They were so, so touched by it. So you never know where people are at, and everyone likes to hear, uh, that they have value to you, the manager, and to the organization, because no one's just working for a paycheck. Uh, so if you don't add this value along the way, you end up losing the people. Uh, if you do have the opportunity to hand out bonuses, personalize it, uh, allow individual managers to do that with their team members. Um, some companies like, like the, uh, CEO would pass around, uh, you know, checks and he'd write a note on the envelope, you know, beforehand, a little personal message, simple, but meaningful to the person that gets it, that, um, you might consider if you're giving cash or, or gift cards to, to have a puzzle box. They got, I got a sample here. These are, you can get these online. This is like nine bucks. And what it is, you put, you put cash in it, and to open it, you gotta, you gotta solve the maze and make a little game out of it. And, um, and also they make 'em for credit cards, not credit cards are, or gift cards rather, as well. So again, adding, adding something different, uh, makes it a little bit more interesting, a little bit more fun. Now, if you have a party, no one wants to come. It's not much of a party. I had a number of people ask questions about what if no one wants to? Well, if there's people that, that don't wanna do anything, well, you know, uh, first of all, don't force 'em if they don't wanna do it, don't make them come. Don't make them speak if they don't want to do it, because then they'll really resent you. But do keep inviting them to ask them, tell 'em that you'd like them to, to come, uh, you know, they had some, some hesitations. And, and then also, don't let them muck it up for everyone else, you know? Yeah. Oh, it's a waste of time, it's a waste of money. We should, we, they should, instead of putting money into the party, they should give it to us. You know, you gotta shut that down and, and say, Hey, Jerry, I know, I know you got your opinion, but I'd ask you not to, not to not to, uh, be a downer on what we're trying to do at an uptime of the year. It's okay if you wanna participate, but, but don't, don't be the, the rotten apple in, in the barrel that spoils it for everybody, please. And then, and then if they don't take that seriously, you gotta come down a little bit harder and, and say, I thought I made it clear, but, you know, don't do this anymore. You know? Um, because it just doesn't, doesn't help. So, um, give you some other activities here. Don't just do what you did last year. You know, one of the keys to making an exciting party or event, or, or whatever it is, get people involved. Ask people to do, play different roles. And if someone is, is handling decorations, ask them to have them get, uh, some other people to help them more hands, make lighter work. And, and as people are involved, it becomes more their event instead of something that's put on for them. One of the things I learned from Ken Blanchard is the best management is what you do with people, not what you do to them. So involve people in, in the planning and activities in the event, you know, uh, as much as possible. And trivia, trivial Pursuit with annual company facts and the prize for the person that that, uh, does the best. You can have posters of the years, successful projects for people to, as you're mingling, you could go around and, and, uh, have a, have a, a picture, a picture of the team and what they accomplish, significance to the company, and have, have those around the, on the walls, on, on, uh, where you're meeting, uh, again, simple, simple idea, but, uh, kind of bring in that context. Again, you can have party stations with different activities. I, I'd, uh, you know, these are all things I've done for different events. Magician or comedian, having a, a fortune teller, you know, and for those people that that use, that they really get into it. And then that kind of made the whole, you know, event for them. Uh, a pianist or a guitarist, uh, is nice, especially if you know, if that's from your employee population, even that, that, uh, you get to see a different side of the talent that you have, showcase that you can have a photo booth. And there's all sorts of ways that you could do that. Very low cost these days that I've got a neighbor that does it with a, you could do it with your laptop, and it's very cool. Um, you, you can have, uh, dance lessons if you have music and you're doing, um, you know, maybe you do some Western songs and have, have some line dance, uh, uh, instructor or just someone that, that knows how to do it, to explain it to everybody. Uh, door prizes and, and contest, again, simple to do, gives another activity during the event, uh, that, that tends to make it more fun. Give you some other examples here along we go. As we go. Um, uh, this, the companies that this, this one company in, in Cleveland executives, they, they know they had not the best year, and they wanted to do something for employees. And, and so they said, uh, they made a commitment and they announced that over the upcoming winter, they were gonna, the executive team was gonna keep, uh, clueless snow off all cars. So every time it snowed, they'd go out in the, in the, in the parking lot. And it, it, you know, it was a personal gesture, which made it more meaningful. And, and, um, I, you know, I have some people complain about that. And, but most people would, would appreciate the, the intent and, uh, that they're, they're trying. And if it was a, a tough year, uh, something, uh, again, not that expensive, but again, maybe not for everyone, but you got some people on your team, you want to call out Cameo, uh, is kind of a cool, fun thing. This, this, uh, you can get you. It's unbelievable. You gotta at least just go check it out and look who's available. 'cause there's actors, there're there's sports people. There's, uh, like this guy, uh, Elvis, he looks like Elvis. He talks like Elvis. He plays guitar and sings like Elvis. I've got someone I work with that's, uh, Elvis Nut. And I, I commissioned this guy for like 50 bucks to, to, uh, here's, here's, uh, the guy's, uh, favorite songs. And, and he just did a fabulous job. And, and just like, in, in five minutes and did a, a, a thank you. You've had a really good year. And, and, uh, this one's for you from the king, you know? And he, uh, he played a couple of his favorite songs. And I, I, I gotta think that, uh, that employee, uh, showed it to a hundred people, you know, so you get a, a lot of mileage out of it and, and just, it, it was fun. And, uh, so yeah, some, some people are gonna cost more. You know, I, I saw that George Santos is doing, doing cameo now for like 400 bucks a pop. Um, that, that'd be a kind of a bad joke though. So, uh, give you some other ones that don't cost money. You can use time. It was, uh, a Boston company that, uh, created Winter Fridays that they lit. Uh, some people leave early on, on, uh, during, during December, on, on Friday, if they had, uh, achieved, you know, their, their goals this, this week or this month, that type of thing, or at, uh, it to come in, in Los Angeles that they gave at, at the end of the year, they, uh, gave all employees two extra vacation days. Essentially. They, they called 'em, I don't wanna get out bed days. And so, uh, and, and they said, you know, we know people are stressed. We've, we are, we're really, we're shorthanded, whatever it might be. And we just want you to know that you know better than anyone when you need a break. And so, uh, the upcoming year, we want you to call in. We want everyone to call in, uh, and, and, you know, and say, uh, I'm not calling in sick. I'm calling in, uh, uh, I don't wanna get outta bed. I don't, and, and go to the park. Go to your kid's school, uh, go to a museum. Do something different just for, for you, for fun. And, and again, uh, that time has some cost to it. But again, if you're looking to create something from nothing, um, the use of time or, or favors, you can have, uh, give people favors that they can call on. I have one company that, um, aaa Southern California, they have what's called dump a Dog that, uh, they, uh, if you have a, any employee, uh, can give a, uh, if they, if they get this award, they have the option to, it's like, to give one of their assignments to their boss to do for them. It's quite popular. You know, you think it's so easy here. You try it, you know, and again, just again, creating from nothing, something that, that can be fun and, and have some meaning. And that now, uh, got a number of questions about virtual remote employees. Again, we're kind of on a, on a new, new turf here, uh, that, uh, most companies, like 86% of companies have a mixed in-person and hybrid. 16% have a total virtual, um, employees at this point. And, uh, most companies are, are working it out. They don't know where it's gonna end. But right now, there is a mix. So you wanna make, you wanna make them feel included. You know, if you have an event, have a video link where they could, they could be seen, and people can come up and, and, and talk to them. Um, acknowledge people that aren't physically present. Um, if they are listening, you can call there. Even if they're not call calling out, uh, the work they've done, you want to be equitable in your treatment. Um, so for example, in the dollars you spend, so if you have a party and you end up spending X numbers per person, you know, whatever it might be, say it's, it's $75, you know, maybe send that person a Amex gift gift card that has a, you put an amount, and they could take it anywhere for, uh, dinner with their spouse certificate, other, um, as an example. So, so be creative, but also be equitable. You don't want it to be that, uh, the people that are working remotely already feel out of sight outta mind. So you wanna make sure that you have them firmly in mind, and you have a, a way to reach out to them and include them as best you can in, in the activities. I ideally, if they came in for then that'd be great, but if they can't, and, and that's the reality, then you, you gotta do something, um, where they're at. And that could be, that could be something on Zoom a, a zoom thing for, for, um, the company or for your department. You, you don't just have to rely on what the company overall is doing. You can have your immediate work group where you do something different special, um, for some ideas for a customizing holiday fund for your virtual team. You can have secret Santas. Um, I know Hyatt does this. They have, for their virtual people, they have the secret Santas, they actually do it throughout the year. It's, and they ask, uh, one person is assigned to someone else to keep an eye on the things they're doing to be able to call out, uh, uh, and thank them for successes they've had. And share this with the group. For example, um, you could have a holiday decoration contest and, and people send, you know, a picture or maybe even show you, here's what, here's what we did, here's how we did our tree, or here's how we did our lights, um, again, and then the contest, you know, have some prizes. It could be swag or it could be, uh, you know, some fun things. I, you can do, um, an activity together, uh, baking Christmas cookies together, for example. Or, um, it's, it's, uh, you, you can do team stuff, even with people that are virtual. And if you haven't tried this, you gotta do, you gotta try it, you know? So, hey, we're gonna, we're gonna make, uh, we're Christmas cookies. We're gonna make, we're gonna send everyone pancake batter. We're gonna make pancakes together, you know, as a group activity. And again, just, uh, it's a time of spending, getting to know people off business is what we're talking about. Increasing rapport, getting to know people you don't know. And, and sharing all rapport comes from shared experiences. And so you've got less opportunities to, to have shared experiences with people that are virtual unless you are intentional about creating something where they can be a part of, um, you know, you can, um, for, for creative and, and, uh, trending employee gifts. Again, this is all over the map, but, you know, like one, one place I've worked with that, uh, is especially good at this snappy at a New York City. They, you give them the price you want, you're willing to spend per person, and they, and they, they give them a curated list, everything within the budget. It could be $10 a person, or $30, $25 a person, or 30 $50 a person. And those people get a curated list within that price range of just the coolest gifts you've ever seen. You know, they're, they're very, it's not stuff you can pick up at a store at Costco or something. They're unique gifts, and they're fun. And, and so, you know, if you haven't, uh, that, that, that might be, there's other versions of this too. Of course, you can give people, you know, Amazon gift cards and they get whatever they want, but that's not quite, doesn't have the, the same pizazz to it as getting a, a gift where, you know, and Snappy has a whole electronic thing where you're opening the gift and confetti goes off and stuff like that, to, as they select what they, what they have, uh, have selected. And, and it's, it's really cool, um, just, uh, just cruising on some of the latest things, you know, uh, scented candle candles. Uh, here's, uh, and then there's, you know, these maybe ones you've used are not, but, uh, coffee mug holders, I've, I've got one, uh, here, and I use it. It, it's great. It works. And otherwise I'd, I'd have two sub sips of tea or coffee, and that would be it. 'cause it'd go cold, and now it stays warm all day. It's great. Uh, you can do a, a popcorn kit and, and that's kind of fun. Or, or even, uh, take it down a notch. Uh, this is a, this is a microwave popcorn maker. It's the coolest thing. It's, it, I think it is a seven bucks from, uh, Walmart. And you, you, it doesn't even take oil. You, you, you put, uh, half cup of popcorn in you, you hit the popcorn button on the microwave, and voila, you got a, you got a tub of popcorn. You could use that in the ongoing year to, to have a, um, you know, let's get some popcorn. Talk about this. You know, have a informal meetings. Uh, this, this one's actually collapsible, so you can store it easily as well. Uh, again, um, think outside the box. You could, this is a, um, a cell phone holder. Uh, some of you, I saw this latest, you can give out succulents. If you have a party and you have a party favors, bring a bunch of succulents. Have people pick one kind of a memento of the evening of the lunch or whatever it might be. Uh, this is a office desk vacuum, you know, and again, there's lots of, always lots of electronics and stuff like that. But, but, um, being, being creative and having fun, you know, like, uh, if you've ever, ever seen it, you get in a, uh, single, uh, bags, um, sandwich type bags. You, you can put in ingredients for hot chocolates and with a, uh, a candy cane and some marshmallows, and, and you give that to people. And it, it's a simple, a simple gift, but it's a season of the year and, and kind of fun. So again, be creative if you don't have a lot of budget and, and, uh, put a little elbow grease into it and, and instead, and then have that be an activity to get a group together to make those kids up for everybody. Um, what not to do at your holiday party. You know, this, this is all maybe common sense stuff that everyone should know anyway, but, you know, for some reason, some people let go and, and stop thinking, maybe goes with the increased drinking or what. And, but, um, this, this isn't the, the time to, to dance provocatively, or, I, I, I've got a good friend that, uh, he's an executive. I remember years ago he was, he was, uh, dating, um, a woman in the company, and no one, no one knew about it. And at the Christmas party, they, they went out dancing, and somebody said something to the chairman of the company, and honest to God, the chairman of the company went on the dance floor, put his hands on their shoulders, and said, you too, bear, get outta here. It's like, whoa. So, you know, so, uh, just, uh, it is a very public, public setting, so be careful on, on what you do publicly. LA later they had the, the company lawyer, uh, talk, took him out to lunch to see how things were going, I think, to make sure he wasn't going to sue the company. But, you know, the big one is not drinking to excess. And, and if, if, you know, some people might be prone to that, maybe, um, ask people to have a buddy system, someone you could watch out for each other, um, to, you know, if someone's, you need someone to tell 'em that, that maybe, hey, maybe it's, maybe it's time to go, or maybe you've had enough and, uh, without making a big scene out of it, uh, don't be kissing people on the lips, hugging people if you don't usually hug them, interrupting people, uh, interrupting the boss or the CEO just to introduce yourselves, that's kinda kinda rude. Uh, again, a lot of this should be common sense. Aggressively pursue people in power for a conversation. Uh, you know, ask a coworker out on a date. Engage in harassing behavior. Tell someone they work how hot they look. Yeah. Uh, and drive home if they've been drinking. You know, I, I, the first company I worked for in my career, we, we'd, you know, we'd have Christmas parties and, you know, a lot of it's easy to get outta hand with, uh, alcohol and, and they had hard drinks and, and whatnot. And, and some people would just get bombed. And, and then some would, you know, I'm okay to drive. And we had, we had a guy, um, left the party. Little tipsy was killed on the way home from an accident. You wanna have a downer in your Christmas season. Don't have that happen, you know? So, uh, stick to, uh, wine and beer for starters. Maybe do, um, you know, two drink coupons, you know, so, uh, that can kind of keep a lid on it. And, and, uh, these are all ideas from the SHM HR Daily News Newsletter. Like I said, a lot of this might be common sense, but sometimes that's in short supply. So, um, again, uh, Zach mentioned that, um, for being with us today. We got a few, a few items, uh, everyone that registered, even if you didn't make it here, uh, you get a, a newsletter I did with ideas dedicated to end of the year holidays. Um, so everyone gets that. If you are on the call at this point, or if you checked in here, uh, you get, uh, this cool little book. I just love, I actually, it's not mine when my publishers did it, but, uh, it's, uh, it's 187 different, uh, great inspirational thoughts each by a creative artist. Very cool, very fun. It's like giving someone pure goodness. And, uh, you know, uh, you get one of those, and, and they're, I've, I've got this in all my books on sale. So if you like it, you wanna get 'em off, you know, for your team, whatever, uh, this is, this is the time to do it. And then if you did ask a question, even if it it isn't answered, I will try to answer all of 'em. But if you, if you have, uh, a question you sent in a question, um, do you get a copy of, uh, something to help you all next year? 365 ways to manage better, uh, practical ideas, uh, with a way to put 'em into practice. So examples with ways to put those ideas in practice by, by, uh, thought leaders and, and business people just to fund just a daily reminder to, to, to thank people and, and to acknowledge them along the way. 'cause we all need help doing this. Everyone needs this, and everyone needs help to remind the, the gratitude piece to remind you of, no matter how tough things in all the good things that are going well and all, and, and the fact that this person's in your life. And, and that's worth something right there. So, uh, you wanna celebrate all those things. Um, so the newsletter you get, uh, electronically, the other items, if you get those, you can't get 'em without an address. So I gotta get a address and, and, um, achieve is gonna send, or maybe has done it already, a, a signup sheet for, um, your address. Um, and, um, again, these are physical items then, and, uh, and you will get them if, if you submitted an address. So, on, um, questions, I got a bunch in, and they're all over the map, so I just wanna talk about a couple of 'em that, that relate specifically to the topic that, that we're on here. So, um, uh, Melanie Chandler said, how's recognition at year end different from recognition throughout the year? Well, actually, um, it doesn't necessarily, it's, it's an an occasion where you can do more, but ideally, you want recognition throughout the year, and you want it tied to performance more than presence. So a year end stuff is tied to the year end. So that kind of goes against the, the grain of the fundamental philosophy of effective recognition. But, um, ideally throughout the year, you want to tie recognition to job well done, desired behavior, performance as close as possible to when it happens. So, um, this, as I indicated initially, for some companies, they don't do that. And, and this is like the catchall to say, well, just make sure that we do it, you know, at least at year end. And, and talk about what everyone, uh, contributed and, and the projects that got done and the successes the company had, and who helped make those happen. Uh, pack that in as much as you can now, um, verbally in writing, um, you know, a, a letter from the president, everyone outlined some of those is, is another strategy. We had. Um, Carla Dewey ings, uh, submitted a question that said, uh, last year, the company I worked for gave the same gift to all employees, all right? Um, most employees were thrilled with the gift, but of course, there were always some that, that, uh, that were never happy. No matter what you did this year, uh, the next year, we, we decided to have each manager do gifts for their, their teams. And every, every manager had a per dollar amount per team member, and they could do what they want. Of course, it varied greatly how creative the manager was and whatnot. And, and so that caused animosity between teams. You know, someone's manager did a better job than my manager did. I've gotta, you know, uh, so what's the answer is the question. And, um, you know, I, I think whenever you can provide choice, it increases the motivational connection. So where possible to provide choice. So, so maybe it's one of a couple things, or ideally, it's, it's with each person in mind, you did something because you know that they're into that, or they, they've got this hobby, or they've got dogs, or whatever it might be. So it's tailored to the person, ideally. Um, but, um, I, uh, if I had a budget for each, each person that manager controls, I would say let the employees decide how we use it, okay? Because some, as a team, they'll decide, let's pull our budget and let's do an activity and let's go, go to a movie together, you know, uh, or, or let's do, let's go and, and work on, on, uh, on, um, uh, homes for ha, habitat for Humanity and go out for lunch afterwards, you know, so an activity and, and use a budget for, for a, a meal. Uh, others, others might say, you know, this, let's do a, let's give everyone the budget, have them buy gifts, and then do a gift exchange. And you could have, you know, you can have some joke gifts in there to, and, and that's, you know, that's, that's a kind of a classic. I, I did a, I did something like this with my group, uh, you know, a gift exchange. And I remember I got, and it was actually random, but I, as the boss of the group, I got, I'm not kidding, p*****g cockroaches. They were, they were about four inches long. They never seen anything like it. And they, they, uh, they had snakes, and that's what they fed them. And that was, uh, it was a, a fun, a funny gift. And, and the fact that the boss got had nothing to do with it, okay? But, uh, you know, in fact, another question I got was, what about doing something for the boss? And, and man managers need recognition too, you know? So, yes. And, and how can you do something? The person asks, how can you do something without, without, um, making it look like you're, you're brown nosing? And I'd say, just be from the heart. Be sincere. Have, have fun with it too. I had, I had, um, one, um, one year in celebration. I had employees that worked for me. They, they did, uh, I've gotten traditional gifts from employees, but I remember one year I got, and I, what's probably one I remember more is they, they got creative and they took a, they knew I write books. They took a book, and they put a, a cover jacket on, and then they, they, they, they titled it, if I'm in charge here, why is everyone laughing? You know, by Bob Nelson. And they had, and they had this, you know, quotes from different people in the company, and it, I'm sure they had a blast putting together. And it, it was fun. It was very fun. Um, and again, didn't cost anything. It just, just, sometimes the ones that could be you could be creative are, are worth more. I got a number of questions about what do we do when, um, we're nonprofit or government and we don't have the money? Um, well first stop hiding behind that fact. So every company I've worked with has, has constraints. You identify the constraints and you work around them. So, yes, you can't, if you work for the government, you can't give gifts, because that's, could be in the front page of the paper use of, of taxpayer money. And, and so don't do that. But what else can you do that's fun? You know? What else can you do? Is it a potluck where people, uh, of different, um, bring favored, um, family, family dishes? Uh, and if you have different cultures, that makes it more interesting to get to know people. Uh, is it, uh, you could be heartfelt and simple. It, it doesn't, you know, having a good, good, uh, recognition at year in is not a function of how big your budget is. It's a function of how, how creative you are and, and your willingness to do something you haven't done before. Uh, and, and to get, um, buy-in on doing that. I had. Um, so there, there's other, you know, uh, in my book, uh, 1,501 Ways to Reward Employees, uh, about two thirds of the ideas have no cost at all. So if you, if you don't have that book, if you haven't seen it, you know, um, take a look at that. And, and once you open your mind up to it, there's, there's really more you can do than you thought. And, and, uh, to to see something and, and try it, is, is, uh, it's worth doing. I had several people ask, um, what do you, what do you, how do you engage people that don't want to be a part of things, that don't want to be part of the holiday celebration and maybe even complain that, that we shouldn't be spending money on this? Um, uh, as, uh, Patricia Schneider was, uh, asked about that, uh, as well as others, and I, I say one, you know, first rule of having fun and, and, uh, we call out in, uh, our book, uh, work Made Fun Gets Done, I did with Mario. Tomorrow is, uh, rules for Having Fun. First one is, don't force fun on anyone. No one wants to do, do, okay? Are we having fun now? Okay, we're all forced to come do this to, and don't do that. You know, it's not worth it. And instead, uh, keep inviting them, uh, try to use their ideas, try to get them involved so that their ideas make it, and they're, and they're, uh, the things that they complain about, make it to people that could do something about it. Uh, you know, so they're not just throwing mud on everything. Um, but, uh, don't, do not force people to, to do things. Know the holiday party should not be required. You know, if you, you can't make it. I had, I had one person say, well, we've got someone that's grieving. They're really not, you know, they lost a spouse and they really aren't up for it. Please, please send them, you know, a great gift basket and say, we're with you during this tough time, and you're welcome to come. But we understand if you don't want to, uh, and, and be, you know, be human. Be considerate. Um, don't give up on 'em though. Keep keep inviting them. And, and then, uh, I had, uh, wow, I've never had this much time. I, this is great. I had, uh, you know, then, then questions got into more, not just holiday stuff, but, uh, uh, how do you foster end of year recognition to continue, continue throughout the year? Well, there you go. That's, that's what you really want. And, and, uh, take a step and say, how, what are we gonna, what's your strategy? What are we gonna do this year to connect with people? Uh, what, what things, and do you have the tools in place to do that? Which again, don't have to cost you a lot. Do you have a, a recognition platform where anyone could think anyone else that actually, even that ties to your, your phone. So you can do it on your cell phone as well. Uh, there's, there's wonderful platforms out there that are, are easy to use and don't cost that much, really. And then, and, and it doesn't even have to, it doesn't have to be, um, you know, all about the gift cards and points and stuff. I have, I work with one, uh, instead of company, um, online rewards, and they do, uh, they do a platform just for the, the recognition communication. They, one of their clients is Macy's. Macy's does 20,000 stories a month where people are sharing stories, success stories among the team with employees. It's very impactful. Uh, so, uh, you know, don't, don't think that, uh, you have to spend a lot of money to make a big impact when it comes to acknowledging people for the great things they've done. Um, and, um, so if you need help with the strategies where I do, you know, be glad to, to help out any way I can or to show, connect you with some, some firms that, uh, do demos, demos of what they have to offer, um, uh, there's a lot of incentive companies. I've mentioned a couple, and I've, I've worked with most of 'em that are out there. So, um, and going a little deeper into ongoing recognition, uh, how do we help get our supervisor leadership to, in the mentality to start recognizing, well, this is, this is a big question. And, uh, again, so not just for the holidays, but how do we make recognition part of our culture? This is what you really should be doing. You know, in research by Merits, they found that if you have a recognition culture, which is, we're always thanking people. We're never too busy to call out performance, that type of thing. We have spontaneous parties, you know, uh, and celebrations, that type of culture, which people love working that type of culture, they've actually tracked it to what does that, what's the impact of that? If you have that type of culture, your employees would be five times more likely to feel valued than a company that people are just coming to work for the paycheck five times, okay? They'd be six times, have greater agency. That is to tell everyone they know about a great company that they work for. Oh, and by the way, we've got some openings, you know, um, that they'd be seven times more likely to stay with the organization for their career. Here's the price of admission. If you are trying to decide, should we do recognition or not realize in a, in a time where the number one HR challenge for this year has been retention, the number one impact on retention is thanking people for doing a good job, for doing the job they were hired to do, to calling out performance, desired behavior, core values, uh, things that tie to the strategic objectives to do that systematically and have it open for anyone to do leadership management, yes, but even employees to thank each other. Okay? Even even involving customers. I've worked with companies that have a, they do a, uh, unsung Heroes Award, and they, they survey their customers for nominations for their employees that have been impressive to them. And then they, they then they, uh, they do a big thing and they, you know, end of the year, they, they, uh, give the Unsung Heroes Award, and then they bring, bring up Tony, you know, and, and then here, here's the customer that nominated him. You know, that, that personally delivered it to him, you know, again, having fun with it. And this would be the time of year to, to do something like that and to, and, and to be a start to make recognition part of your culture on an ongoing basis. They, uh, um, and finally, Amer's found that, um, companies with the culture of recognition are, uh, have employees are 11 times more committed to their jobs, to their managers, to the mission of the organization. You, you, if you're looking for a return on investment, it's like an infinite return because most of the stuff you do on this topic does not need to cost much of any money. And the value of someone filling, uh, valued, uh, it is hard to put a price on. But what you get from it is their, their, uh, willingness to stay, to work harder, to, to, uh, go above and beyond as part of a, a daily routine for them. You don't, you don't see that in, in cultures that aren't, aren't great places to work, where they, they don't have recognition as a priority. Um, and, um, so those are a few questions I, i, uh, picked out. Um, you know, uh, just to say more on getting managers involved, the companies I've seen that do this the best, they don't make it optional. You know, in most organizations, you got good managers, then you got okay managers, then you got bad managers. And it's the luck of the draw. If you happen to get one of the good ones, and you got a good, you got a good manager, you got a good job, you know, you're, you're happy. Your life is good. You're, you're at home, things are good. You know, the average employee spends 15% of their time at home complaining about their boss. This, this, make it, this up. The, the, the positive ante and, and, and let people feel good about where they work and who they work with, and what they're doing with their life and the mission you're achieving to the, for the organization. And the more you can do that, the, the better place it's gonna be, and the better, the easier it's gonna be to, to manage high performers. Um, but, uh, again, the, the companies that, that do this the best, they, they don't make it optional. They say, if you're a leader for our organization, if you manage people, we expect, we expect you to treat him in these ways. I don't care what, what your job is. If you're, if you're managing people, we expect you to make time, uh, with them. Uh, one-on-one meetings every couple weeks, maybe skip level meetings to talk to their boss's boss once a quarter. Um, we're, we're, uh, acknowledging successes, uh, having, having, uh, team, team, um, celebrations or team building activities as a, as a form of reward for, for successes, uh, along with feedback, uh, session for how things went, et cetera, et cetera. Um, and then, and then if managers have a problem with that, then you, you work on them. And you, I remember I worked with, uh, a Kentucky Fried Chicken they had, and they, they did some wonderful things that at Yum Brands, and they, they'd have a, they'd have a hall of fame and they'd have, uh, they'd give out rubber chickens, you know, for just a lot of things. And, and they'd have like a employee of the month. But it was, um, there was no limit on the number of people. It wasn't a quota, it wasn't one person. It could be, could be five this month. It could be no one this month. 'cause there was a clear criteria you want, records should be more meaningful, have a clear criteria when you do it, especially publicly. And if you did each of the core values, for example, you were on the list. And, and then what they do is that once a month, they, uh, they would bring in, uh, they ask whoever, whoever plays a musical instrument to bring it in. And they, and they'd take that motley crew of, here's a clarinet in the tuba and a drum, and, and here's a list of people who want you to go and, and recognize. And they'd go and they'd pack into someone's cubicle on three Louis Louie. And it was just a blast that people, how do you get on that list? Four core values, you know? And, uh, it was so successful, they started using a, a string quartet, you know, uh, and, you know, for high, higher level recognition. Long story short, they had their CFO said, I don't think this is appropriate. This is silly, this is unprofessional. And, uh, and the, the CEO said, well, maybe you need to think about, is this really the, the place for you? Because we will never, we will never shy away from celebrating excellence. That's what's gonna drive all our success. And, and three months later that, that CFO left and, and probably for the good of both that person and the company, you know, so you gotta call out, you gotta call out, uh, uh, make it a priority. Um, make it an expectation, and then give managers the tools to do it and the reminders to do it. And with that, uh, uh, let me just do a shameless plug and say that all my, all my books are, uh, uh, available half off, uh, through the end of January. Uh, any, any quantity, uh, please, uh, check out, uh, my website. Um, and with that, thanks so much for, for, uh, being with us today. I hope you got some ideas you could use.

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