I have said to anyone who will listen – I work with the best people.  They are the reason behind any success we’ve enjoyed.  They’re thoughtful, creative, courteous and come in every day wanting to do the best they can and treat others as they would like to be treated.

So I should not have been surprised, but definitely was, when a large gathering of associates (like 200+!) formed outside my cube today – all to wish me a happy birthday and offer congratulations (and have a good laugh about…) my recent inclusion on a ‘hot list’ in our industry (I know, my name and ‘hot’ in the same sentence…makes me laugh too!).

There was cake, ice cream, some gag gifts, but best of all a real barbershop quartet to seranade everyone. The fact that one of the voices in the quartet  is our own Orien (or Big O) from our web development team made it all the better. The guys hit it out of the park!

If you work with us, these are the folks who are here to support you – and as you can see you, and I, are in good hands.

Job stress comes with a hefty price tag, costing American businesses more than
$300 billion a year. Just how do all those dollars add up? Stress impacts our ability to perform, leads to workplace turnover, and is a direct contributor to medical and insurance costs.

Download PDF

Maximizing performance should be every company’s top priority. But when
it comes to performance, we must look beyond our daily to-do lists toward
big picture results.

Download PDF

With the announcement of the ‘50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For’ today at the SHRM Conference, many of us were debating and sharing ideas about what makes a company a truly ‘great place’. I posed this question via twitter:

“in 140 characters or less, what makes a company a great place to work?”

Here are a couple of the responses:

@imbrimful said: What makes a place one of the best places to work? Flexibility and caring, kind managers that take interest in their employees

@tlcolson said: decision autonomy within your sandbox, results oriented culture, “right-sized” company, market based comp/benefits

Jack Welch (at the Sunday keynote) stressed trust and communication (amongst a few other more colorful thoughts!).

What’s your take? Comment here or let me know via twitter:  @4imprintklt. It’s an important topic.

Especially in today’s economic climate.

What an exciting morning! Our team was recognized for the second straight year as one of the 25 Best Medium Size Companies to Work for In America by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Great Place to Work Institute.

I couldn’t be more proud of our folks and it was a thrill to accept on their behalf. There are some tremendous companies on this list and to be amongst them is pretty incredible.

All the great conversation and thinking about topics related to people/business/culture inspired by the SHRM Conference prompted me to pull together this quick list of several Blue Papers (which are our version of white papers, but if you’ve seen our Blue Boxes around, you’ll know why we chose blue instead!) we’ve published.

These papers will get you thinking – and maybe even implementing – which is a good thing given the critical nature of the topics involved!

• The Power of Recognition
• Teamwork Matters
• Employee Recognition
• Employees as Brand Stewards

The SHRM Annual Conference and Expo is THE event in Human Resource Management – it’s the world’s largest exposition dedicated to the HR profession.

It’s a huge show – but to me its size is proportional to the importance of human resource management to every business. 

My first exposure to this show was last year when we were named one of the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America (7th on the 25 medium sized companies) – honestly one of the most thrilling days ever – an honor for our team and an honor to represent them. It was wonderful to meet and be surrounded by so many people who truly recognize that people make the difference, and therefore professional, thoughtful and strategic human resource management is a fundamental building block of success.

This year, not only do we have folks from 4imprint attending the show as part of their professional development in HR, we’re also displaying at the expo for the first time as promotional products work in a variety of HR applications – recruitment, recognition programs, wellness programs, safety programs, corporate events and community outreach and much more. We got the booth set up yesterday (which always takes longer than you think it should!) with plenty of samples to look at and many more to giveaway (if you’re going to the show we’re at booth 3346-3348). I’ll be there when the expo opens this afternoon, and will be there tomorrow as well. Mary (our HR leader!), will be there from time to time (when she’s not at a seminar or checking out other booths) and John and Guenevere will be there throughout (thanks guys!).

I’ll be posting any additional thoughts (not only on the HR side of things, but also the trade show marketing side as well) while I’m here . The show atmosphere has also inspired me to pull together all of the HR/People/Culture papers we’ve published in one nice, handy post. We’ll get that out a bit later. 

I’ll get updates out via twitter as well if you’re interested. You can follow me @4imprintklt 

Thanks to The Oshkosh Northwestern Editorial staff for recognizing our ’silver’ award for worksite wellness from the State of Wisconsin. We’re proud of the award and it was especially nice for our Oshkosh area folks to see it mentioned positively by others.

You can read about the program here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2009

For more information, contact: Brenda Haines or Heidi Strand, Communications

(920) 230-2583

Promotional Products Distributor 4imprint Releases ‘The Power of Recognition’ White Paper

Keys to Building an Employee Recognition Program that Works

(OSHKOSH, Wis.)—Looking for the silver bullets for employee motivation? Psychologists and management consultants say achievement, recognition and professional growth strongly and directly influence workplace satisfaction and motivation.

According to a WorldatWork survey, 89% of the companies are running an employee recognition program. According to Roy Saunderson, president of Recognition Management Institute and author of Giving the Real Recognition Way, that’s why company leaders are often puzzled when employees give the company low marks.

Saunderson says it’s important to distinguish between rewards and recognition. He says practicing ‘rewards’ but not ‘recognition’ leaves employees and team members longing for more.

“A lot of this is the please and thank you concept that mum taught us,” he said. “If you’ve done something noteworthy, don’t we just say thank you?”

Tangible rewards work best when they accompany recognition and opportunities for professional development, according to Dr. Aubrey Daniels. Daniels says rewards “anchor the memory” of exceptional performance, serving as a visual reminder to recipients that their effort and accomplishment is appreciated.

The Blue Paper^SM, 4imprint’s version of a white paper, profiles several different rewards options employers are using, ranging from on-the-spot cash bonuses to use of a MINI Cooper.

“This Blue Paper highlights many ideas that help employers bring out the best in their teams,” said Mary Curtin, vice president human resources, 4imprint. “And, by doing that, they’ll also get the most out of their rewards program.”

About 4imprint Blue Papers^SM

4imprint Blue Papers^SM are in-depth, how-to articles, distributed to 4imprint customers to help their organizations succeed. Accessible at www.4imprint.com/bluepapers, Blue Papers^SM have covered popular, cutting-edge topics such as podcasting, online social networking, search engine optimization (SEO) and guerilla marketing.

Most Blue Papers^SM also have corresponding podcasts which can be downloaded at the Blue Paper^SM Web site or through iTunes.

About 4imprint

4imprint is part of 4imprint Group, Plc, a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, and serves more than 100,000 businesses with its innovative promotional merchandise throughout the United States and Canada. For more information, log on to www.4imprint.com.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number one reason people leave their jobs
is because they don’t feel appreciated. Shocking isn’t it? Or maybe it isn’t. We all want to
feel valued—it’s part of human nature.

Download PDF