Employee Recognition & Engagement Resources

Studies have told us for years that recognizing employee accomplishments and performance is a key component of creating a culture of engagement in the workplace. An employee who knows that their organization sees and appreciates what they do creates a more loyal, efficient, and motivated employee.

This only makes sense-- the research bearing out what great leaders and managers are already doing intuitively. However, recognizing the validity of the studies is only the first step towards benefiting from them, and good intentions simply aren’t enough on their own. In order to actually implement an effective relationship of appreciation and recognition leading to engagement, an organization’s leaders must have a vision, communicate it effectively, get the whole team on board, and set a clear, practical plan in motion.

*From The 7 NEW Rules of Employee Engagement

Workforce engagement continues to be a major point of concern for organizations. Based on a 2012 Gallup poll, it was noted that 70% of employees are not engaged. It's clear that many employees feel dissatisfied with their job and work conditions and feel unrecognized within the company scope. By creating an engaged company culture, you'll positively influence the emotional response of your employees' daily environment.

Here’s the thing. Technology makes all of our lives easier. We couldn’t do business without email, computers, and cell phones. No one is denying that it’s probably a bit more cost effective, and definitely quicker to offer everything via the Internet. However, we think that some aspects of business, including employee recognition, should be more personal than a simple email announcement. Do more than tell your employees they matter — show them. It's all about creating memories that last a lifetime.

The Importance of a Years of Service Award

A Years of Service Award Program is about more than just getting a gift for sticking around. A systematic service award program encompasses the event, the award, and the recognition experience. By providing tangible, personalized presentation options that fit with the organizational culture and budget, you are able to maximize the impact and improve overall satisfaction of the program itself.

Last week, C.A. Short Company hosted our annual service award program at our Shelby, North Carolina facility. It is always a great time to celebrate the hard work and dedication that our employees exhibit year after year. This is an exciting time for C.A. Short Company - we have recently launched our People Are Everything employee engagement platform, our PeopleAre™ mobile application, and we are continuing to grow our team and our product lines. With all the change and improvements to our company, the theme of this years’ service award banquet was, “Race to the Chase: Welcome to the New Age.”

You have been given a difficult, time consuming task. It's time to review your service award provider and you know you need a change.

Oh how you dread that transition! You know that being held accountable for the success of your program is a huge responsibility. Never fear, the answer is near!

What's Your #1 Objective?

Your number one objective is to have an experienced service award provider, right? By experienced, that means more than 15 years in this Industry. You need a provider who works with you to build a program that fits all of YOUR needs, not their's.

You need a vendor who:

1. Is open to suggestions and personalization
2. Is always moving forward with the generational transitions
3. Can lead you with today’s best practices

Of course, we always turn to Recognition Professional International (RPI ) for our best practice standards. As our workforces change, so do our needs for our service award program.

Employee Years of Service Awards have been a part of our American culture since the mid 1930’s. It has been said that the AMA (American Medical Association) was one of the first organizations to provide their member nurses and doctors with service award pins – pins for the nurses’ caps and lapel pins and tie tacks for doctors, all designed with the employers’ symbolism. For many years following, service award pins were the traditional standard recognition awards. 

It was jewelry manufacturers that were the providers of these awards, so as time went on, other jewelry items were added which allowed the award recipients some limited choices, which include items such as necklaces, bracelets, stick-pins, brooches, tie-bars, dangles, and other items on which the employers’ crest could be displayed. This became known as the traditional emblematic years-of-service program.