employee recognition

Restaurants Find Many Uses for Our Plaques!

by Adam Solender | on Jul 28, 2017 | No Comments

When you walk into a restaurant, what’s the first thing you see? You might notice the decor or maybe paintings on the wall, plants, hostess stand, bar, and so on. If it’s a fast food restaurant, your eyes probably immediately go to the menu board.

You might also observe plaques on the wall. Restaurants always like to brag about a write-up in the local paper. A plaque is a classy way to display the article.

When food inspectors visit restaurants, they typically hand out certificates for perfect or near perfect scores. Why not show-off all the hard work of your staff and display the certificate in a Presenta Plaque for customers to see?

While these are just a couple of reasons on why you should order plaques, keep in mind, there are plenty of other uses for them at a restaurant. When an employee goes the extra mile, what a great way to recognize all of their hard work than with a plaque? If you haven’t already done so, you could start an “Employee of the Month” program, giving a plaque out each time to the winner. Recognizing managers for a job well done is also another great idea for a Presenta Plaque.

In addition to presenting plaques to employees, make duplicate plaques so you can prominently display them for customers. It’ll send a strong message you care about your staff. You could even do a customer appreciation day where you offer discounts, displayed on a plaque at the front, or recognize loyal customers by presenting them with a plaque.

As you can see, there are so many uses for Presenta Plaques at restaurants. Order at least a box or two today! You’ll quickly be going through them.

Easy Ways to Motivate Excellence in Your Work Place

by Presenta Plaque | on Jun 28, 2014 | No Comments

Deadlines and work loads can very quickly make work a stressful place for everyone. In the midst of exhaustion and shortages of hands, it’s easy to forget what one is working for. While feet will keep moving and the job will continue to get done, it’s important that employees know their hard work is appreciated and is not going unnoticed, even when it sometimes feels that way. There are many ways to motivate a team and remind them that no matter how frustrating the job is, someone is always taking note of their efforts.

Not all of these methods involve ceremonies or a gold star next to their picture somewhere in the break room. Here are some fun, easy ways to keep the positive energy flowing in your place of work:

Positive Reinforcement:

From a simple “keep up the good work” email to a friendly card, positive reinforcement is an essential part of keeping a team with their eyes on the prize. Take the time to tell someone when they’ve done a great job at something; even if the task seems trivial, it’s always nice to hear. This doesn’t necessarily mean dishing out the compliments at every given moment, but an unexpected “great job” can go a long way.

Award Plaques:

If you’re looking to really make your employees feel appreciated, there’s no better way to do it than with a plaque. These are something you may want to use sparingly. Plaques are a nice way to recognize hard work at the end of trying tasks or big projects that required a lot of extra hours and hard work. Presenta Plaque offers beautiful self-assemble plaque kits which make an excellent token of gratitude for employees.

Drawings:

A drawing or a raffle is a fun way to get everyone involved. The prize doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, movie tickets or a gift card are enough to say thanks. Raffles are also great because rather than isolating one person in the group and recognizing their efforts, it gives the whole team an equal chance at winning something. You can go as big or small as you want with this one, depending on how often you’d like to do it.

Snacks:

You really can never go wrong with food. Cookies, donuts or any snack really are a nice thing to walk in to in the morning. Make sure you set out a nice note to let them know you’re appreciative of their hard work. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when there are cookies involved!

Recognize Them at A Meeting:

Simply acknowledging someone’s hard work is usually enough, but saying thank you in front of a group of people can mean a lot to an employee. It is always great to be recognized by colleagues and others that are regularly part of your team.

6 Tips on How to Display Awards and Certificates in Your Home

by Presenta Plaque | on Jan 03, 2013 | No Comments

Once someone has received one of our lovely plaques, they often wonder how best to display their awards. An award from Presenta Plaque can create an impressive focal point in a hallway or entry of a home. Here’s how:

Tip 1: Gather all of the various awards you have received so that you can display them together. This may include certificates of achievement, medals, diplomas, trophies, ribbons, etc.

Tip 2: Order plaques from Presenta Plaque to display your certificates. Choose from one of our two styles: Pocket Plaques, pre-assembled and ready for your certificate or award to slip right into. Or Plaque Kits which come with all the hardware and pieces needed to turn your certificate or award into a beautiful plaque. A grouping of these plaques will bring a polished style to the display.

Tip 3: Accent the plaques with gallery lights to create an impressive presentation of your awards.

Tip 4: To add interest to your display area, create shelves with adhesive hooks to display objects such as engraved trays, trophies or medals. Add drama and interest by creating shadowboxes to display on the shelves. Shadowboxes are ideal for grouping medals, ribbons and other memorabilia in one display case.

Tip 5: Find the wall studs to hang heavier plaques and awards by using a laser stud-finder. Use a level to make sure that plaques and shelves are level with the floor. You can use penny nails into the studs for lightweight items and screws with wall anchors for heavier items.

How Employers Can Provide Incentives for Employees

by Presenta Plaque | on Nov 26, 2012 | No Comments

Managers have the opportunity every day to provide little incentives for employees. Thanking people for their extra effort, asking how they spent their weekend, etc, helps show that you, the supervisor, care and have interest in the individual. While these words don’t cost any money, they do go a long way in helping employees gain a positive sense of the work place.

But, if you’re an employer looking to create an incentive program that is successful and builds trust with employees, specific reward and recognition activities should be established. One of the most important features of a rewards program is that it must be transparent. Problems can arise with employees if recognition:

Is not carefully outlined with employees
Appears to only recognize favored employees
Seems arbitrary

If this happens in your company, you risk demoralizing or alienating employees.

In order to use incentives successfully, we suggest employers:

Make sure that all employees understand the company’s objectives in offering incentives
Clearly outline and communicate the criteria for obtaining the incentives
Provide examples of how others have successfully met the criteria so employees understand clearly what they need to do
Give employees a timeline for accomplishing the expectations
Reward every employee who achieves the expectations
Explain to the employees who meet the expectations exactly why their efforts made them eligible to receive the incentive
In addition to providing the incentive, write a letter to employees to thanks them for their contributions
Announce recipients of incentives to other employees, personally thanking each for his/her efforts

Incentives can help employers reinforce the kinds of actions and contributions that will help the business succeed. Used correctly, incentives help build employee

Motivation
Engagement
Morale

Awarded appropriately, an employer can’t go wrong with incentives for performance and recognition.

Tips for Implementing a Recognition Program

by Presenta Plaque | on Oct 16, 2012 | No Comments

It’s a nice thought to imagine that implementing a system that supports recognition is as easy as giving credit to the most valuable employee, but executing such a system takes creativity and careful thought. It’s not just about awarding the shining star who does something particularly spectacular. It’s about recognizing the strengths of each individual supporting your team, making sure that their distinct merits don’t fade away behind the glow of team effort, and telling someone just how much you appreciate them in the day-to-day. It’s not just when they do something exceptional; showing appreciation for someone for any reason can be very motivating.

There are limitless opportunities to provide recognition to those around you, whether it’s your employees, your class or your family. Below is a brief list of different activities you can organize to recognize the good in those around you:

Host an Olympics meet. This can be done in the office, at school, at home (family reunion, anyone?), at a neighborhood block party, etc. A friendly competition is a great team building exercise to use whenever you have a large group of people, and it’s a great way to assess and honor individual strengths within a team.
Hold an awards ceremony. Have classmates or co-workers nominate their fellows for special awards. This will be particularly sincere for the recipient because it’s not just management handing out an award, but the entire team reinforcing the acknowledgment.
Hold an award ceremony for your students to distinguish their achievements such as high grades, perfect attendance, and completing work on time. Don’t forget about the students typically labeled as the class failures – they have their successes too. Figure out what they’ve done particularly well or what weakness they’ve overcome during the school year, and let them know it didn’t go unnoticed. Reinforce the good rather than dwelling on the negative.
Give your employees an award when they turn in a project early or display advanced commitment to the company. The key here is to be consistent; don’t award one person for accomplishing something that you wouldn’t award someone else for performing with the same level of skill or difficulty.
Surprise a deserving recipient for no particular reason other than to say how awesome they are.

It’s important to remember when recognizing individuals for their talents that you are making the gesture special and memorable for them. Give them memories they can walk away with and something they can hold onto and look back at with pride for their accomplishments. Most of all, be creative in your recognition to make it all the more special. Take a look at this website that provides a list of reasons to recognize your employees (although, it works just as well for other people in your life!) that goes beyond the typical awards you would give out for attendance and performance. So what will you do to create a recognition program in your class, home or office? To learn how we can help you accomplish your goals to recognize the people in your life, give us a call or visit our website.

Rewards and Recognition: What It Means to Your Employees to be Recognized

by Presenta Plaque | on Sep 19, 2012 | No Comments

Many employers believe it’s unnecessary to reward employees for a job they are getting paid to do, but what employers need to understand is that materialistic reward systems are not at all the same as recognizing employees and acknowledging the effort and commitment they put into their work. Rewards tend to be a broad and impassive “high-five” to the employee for an overall job well done, but recognition is entirely about being noticed for a specific task or series of tasks undertaken especially well. In fact, the more precise and singular the task being recognized, the more effective the gesture is in motivating the employee.

However your company decides to recognize employees, what’s most important is that the gesture is meaningful to the recipient and lets them know that their performance is being noticed for its exceptional qualities. People want to feel like the work they are doing is making a difference, and that their presence and effort means something to their superiors. When recognition gives their efforts a sense of value, their morale is uplifted, and as anyone in the workforce knows, morale is infectious. When one person feels valued, chances are others feel the same. Likewise, if one person feels bitter and underappreciated, their negativity is likely a sentiment empathized by the entire team. When morale is high, the chain reaction begins: negative stress among the group and individuals is considerably reduced, absenteeism drops and retention rates go up, and all of this leads to higher productivity.

To give the gesture of recognition the greatest meaning to the employee, make sure that you’re acknowledgements are made public. If the employee is being singled out in front of his or her peers, the acknowledgement feels all the more unique and consequential. This also sends the message to other employees that with hard work, their efforts will be distinguished as well. Bear in mind that each employee has strengths and weaknesses, so don’t recognize only the achievements that are great for the entire company, but give credit to employees who excel beyond their usual skill levels or who overcome a particular personal weakness on the way to accomplishing something new.

“Thank you” is a phrase greatly underused in business, and as long as there is meaning behind it, it can never be said too much. Distinguishing your employees for their hard work and making them feel meaningful to the company shows them that you are invested in their success. When you’re invested in your employees, you’re invested in the future of your company. Check out our website or give us a call at 1-800-824-2930 or 480-966-1175 for more information on how you can show your employees just how much they’re valued.