Increase your employees' spirit and improve their attitude.

 Today's posting features tips acquired from various companies about how to raise morale and not lose excellent employees. Striving to keep the office positive should be of major concern to CEOs and bosses. Losing money and time is a big concern. If workers are happy and like to come to work production rises. If they feel that they are part of the team and that they are valued they become engaged to the company. Factory made thank yous and anticipated pats on the back even raises and the exact same bonuses or gifts or treats lose their impact after awhile. In fact employees begin to bank on predictable gratitudes and gifts and treats. If you provide donuts every Friday it becomes the expected and just a natural part of the work schedule. If you provide a gift card for every 10 sales it becomes predictable and if you miss one you will get anger instead of thanks for the gift cards you have given. Remember the movie with Chevy Chase in the Christmas movie where he banks on the yearly bonus from work and when it is not given one year the supervisor becomes the bad guy in everyone's eyes. In the movie and in real life people just assume the bonus, money gift, turkey, whatever is the norm every year. Often they order products or spend the money before it even comes in. For that reason companies need to be cautious not to do the same thing week after week or month after month or year after year. Food treats should not be the same because they become expected and actually become rather boring. Some would say that dough is always the best way to go because everyone can spend it however they want. True, but it also can get repetitive. If you toss out a dollar at the weekly meeting one week for something, the next week you bring in a gourmet coffee cart. If you give a grocery card for Christmas one year you need to deliver a gourmet gift basket the next year. If you provide lunch a day one month you need to do something unique the next month. Most executives feel that this type of talent is not a part of their positions and it is not important. Morale boosters are very essential. Creative gift giving are the best way to say thanks for a task well done and to encourage hard work in the future. Most of the time organizations use secretaries to find ideas and put together the thank you. For women flowers and spa packages and gift cards work. For men beer tubs, hardware/home improvement gift cards are excellent. Restaurant gift certificates are good too. You just have to get imaginative. Corporate Gifts or Company gifts can be challenging when you are including a lot of people in one office--it could be a gesture of kindness or a thank you gift to a whole office or company. You either have food delivered or if you are worried about food spoilage send a large corporate gift basket with various items. My company has put the burden on me, the administrative assistant, to come up with two new ideas each month to spend only $300 on the 20 employees. They said I need to find gifts of thank you gifts to include everyone. I am looking for new tips for next month but this month we have seen a huge difference in favorable attitude around the office after my two appreciation gifts were done. The first was for each employee to find one dollar bills in various places during a week. This last week to thank them for their labors, we had an Appreciation Gift Basket arrive to overpower the snack table. After hearing workers talking about the Aurora movie theatre shooting victims, we chose an Aurora gift basket company, Baskets by Rita and we were not disappointed. So remember to thank your employees and show appreciation for a job well done and to encourage really hard work.

College Care Package

 Hard to imagine that school is almost beginning since August has already arrived. Summer goes fast. Youngsters are back in college and for me it is hardest to say goodbye to the young adults who are my relatives who are going back to college. It was so cool to see them all summer and now some are packing up getting ready to go to school. Most of the kids I know go to Colorado State University in Fort Collins or Colorado University in Boulder. Two are going to Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Actually there are two of my cousins kids who are coming to schools in Colorado. My best friend is making up little gift bags for each kid with cookies and goodies from the grocery store to help get them stocked up for dorm life. She has bought chips, dip, candy, nuts, and snacks and put them into a bucket. They turned out quite cute. When I asked her how much it cost she said she had no idea. I had a tough time finding a bucket and filling it with stuff to look good. It just did not seem like enough. Then I started adding up the cost because I knew I needed to go purchase more stuff to make it look good. I just that wow factor for college students when they get to school. I know they may be a touch homesick and this is the nicest thing I can do for them and probably more for their parents. Shoving the things in the bucket is alright and it gets the work done. After making two of the buckets my next door neighbor suggested I check out Ultimate Care Gift Basket. She shared with me this after she was dismayed at how much I had spent on each gift. Her firm uses Baskets by Rita for all the gift baskets they send to visiting clients. There are neat wooden crates with mountains and the word Colorado on them packed with products from Colorado. After checking out the website of Baskets by Rita I do not dare tell my husband that I actually might have sent a Colorado crate for the same price or even less expensive than I spent on my own. http://www.basketsbyrita.com

Thanks, With a Token of Appreciation

It is tough to find unusual and sincere and unique ways of saying thank you to someone you value or endorse. To pay honor to their abilities and work by commending them for service. You want them to be aware of your gratitude what they have done for you or for others or for the business. To recognize that is the first step. To let the individual realize you sincerely and truly appreciate them and acknowledge them is very important. Giving thanks is not just for Thanksgiving anymore. You must acclaim and endorse the behaviors you want to see continue. So the first phase is to be aware of showing appreciation and acknowledging it. That does not mean going overboard all the time and having to give lots of gifts or money for every little thing. Studies have found that people respond to acknowledgements of even the minimal kind such as a nod or look of endorsement or an actual pat on the back. Even a smile and a look of facial gratitute can be ways of endorsing self esteem and showing you just like and recognize what has been done or said. These expressions of appreciation and acknowledgment reveal tribute to the person and show that you value them. Saying thank you works. Now if you overdo it for every little thing it thanks and appreciation lose their value. It has to fit your personal way and must be genuine. Sincere gratitude and the word here is sincere is huge. For a firm commendation of any kind is good but eventually and periodically you need to put your money where your mouth is and give something as appreciation of service and recognition of gratitute. That token of appreciation could be money such as a raise or cash with a thank you note. And you have to mix it up a little bit too. If you know the person shops at a specific store or enjoys a particular coffee house or eatery you could give gift certificates. They are always appreciated. This works if you also do not want to make a big issue or applaud out loud for everyone to see or hear. Sometimes you do and you want others to step up so they too will get those monetary awards. So the looks, the thank you words, the notes and the random gift cards work. If you feel you want something with more of a wow factor then consider an authentic gift that wows. The problem with money or gift cards is that they are definitely appreciated but have an exact value and the amount given one employee can be perceived by others as a rating scale by what they get. My company has small gift cards that are consistent for certain things then we started going to get plaques engraved and people displayed them for a while but are now removed and seem to be old hat to everyone. The secretaries said it is taking too much effort to go out and shop for these prizes and that employees compare how much we spend on one compared to another. One of our secretaries found an Aurora based gift basket company that she now calls and has a gift basket or pail made up and delivered to us. It is so simple. Sometimes she just orders one of the baskets online from Baskets by Rita and tells them what to put on the card. More often recently she has been writing a note on the order or even calling and asking that the basket be creative. She just gives the price we want to pay and they put together a different gift basket crate box or pail every time. That way employees have no idea what amount we spent and theirs is unique. It is wonderful way to say, "Thank You!- A Thank You Gift Basket." http://www.basketsbyrita.com

Remember the people of Aurora!

 After the shooting tragedy in Aurora Colorado we are at a loss for what to do or how to help. Aurora is a suburb of Denver. We are all feeling such sadness and send our sympathy and best wishes and best hope for healing to that whole community. The shooting brought national news and what a devastating tragedy. I am so sorry and want to do something to help. The Aurora police department must be amazing with what they are dealing with. They made it to the scene in 90 seconds. People and businesses in Aurora must be comforted to know the department replies so quickly. Plus what must those heroes from the police department and all the medical facilities in Aurora Colorado feel now as they work to save lives and keep people safe. You cannot put a price tag on that kind of assistance. A few of friends yesterday had a discussion and we all decided to do something. Some are sending cards and others of us need to do something far more personal to help our own sense of healing the emotional wounds. My cousin is going to send some kind of food coupons and my neighbor is sending flowers with a message. My brother is a small business owner and suggested we find neighborhood Aurora Colorado businesses to support since they must really feel the impact. So we are going online to find coffee shops, pizza places, florists, etc. I was going to place an online order to an Aurora company Baskets by Rita to send a Sympathy Basket to be shared by everyone. http://www.basketsbyrita.com