In one of my former corporate roles, I was responsible for employee recognition programs. This might sound like a very fulfilling job function. Honestly, all it did was add another layer of cynical to my already well-developed attribute of cynicism.
Think about how difficult it is to find the right gift for someone. Then, imagine what it’s like to find a gift for 200 to 2,000 people that not only expresses gratitude, but is additionally motivating.
Watches offend the chronomentrophobics. Turkeys offend the carnophobics. Gift cards offend the decidophobics. After a while, I believed that distributing a check for one million dollars to each employee would result in at least one worker’s comp claim for a paper cut.
Then one day, this cynic gifted with chocolate. Every employee received chocolate with a note of appreciation mailed directly to their home address. I sat by the phone the next day waiting for an employee to call and rant about his Save the Cocoa Bean Campaign.
As expected I did receive phone calls, but surprisingly, they were of gratitude. The chocolate provided immediate gratification. It was shared and appreciated by family members. It was a treat and surprise at the end of a long work day. Chocolate.
I empathize with those of you who are in the thankless position of distributing thank you’s. Call Sara at Van Otis (800) 826-6847; she might even send you a sample. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.
Think about how difficult it is to find the right gift for someone. Then, imagine what it’s like to find a gift for 200 to 2,000 people that not only expresses gratitude, but is additionally motivating.
Watches offend the chronomentrophobics. Turkeys offend the carnophobics. Gift cards offend the decidophobics. After a while, I believed that distributing a check for one million dollars to each employee would result in at least one worker’s comp claim for a paper cut.
Then one day, this cynic gifted with chocolate. Every employee received chocolate with a note of appreciation mailed directly to their home address. I sat by the phone the next day waiting for an employee to call and rant about his Save the Cocoa Bean Campaign.
As expected I did receive phone calls, but surprisingly, they were of gratitude. The chocolate provided immediate gratification. It was shared and appreciated by family members. It was a treat and surprise at the end of a long work day. Chocolate.
I empathize with those of you who are in the thankless position of distributing thank you’s. Call Sara at Van Otis (800) 826-6847; she might even send you a sample. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.
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