A Pat on the Back

With the holiday season upon us, we hopefully are ready to be flooded with work and lots of challenges, while making some serious money in the process. And what about your staff who will be working 24/7 to help you make this money? Sure, many of them will work as many overtime hours as regular hours and will reap the benefits of time and a half. And of course, they appreciate the money! But there’s more to life than money…we all LIKE what money buys, but we LOVE what it won’t.

A little appreciation goes a long way toward making the season as enjoyable as possible. Perhaps before Thanksgiving you give each one of your key staff members a small gift certificate to a local supermarket. It does not have to be much, but it shows that you care and that you know they will be making sacrifices at home for the next month or two. Imagine this: Jim, your dedicated line cook goes home to his spouse with the supermarket gift certificate. Spouse says, “What’s that?” and he tells her that his boss knows that he’ll be working long and late, so here’s a little thank you in advance for understanding.

Secondly, how about creating a simple incentive program to reward those staffers who go the extra mile for you and your clients? When one of your employees goes above and beyond…give them some recognition. I’m sure each of you has done something amazing and no one even said thanks. Don’t make this mistake with your staff! Let them know that you know they did great!

Small rewards given on the spot or at your holiday party for those who excelled go a long way. Movie tickets, massages, gift certificates, cash, etc. work well. These small gifts work even better if you personally hand them out at the end of an event. Imagine this! Your star performer for the night just saved the party by fixing an electrical problem, which would have ruined the party, but also ran to the store to buy something special for a client. It’s almost time to go home, but you quickly call your team together, and present the superstar of the night a reward. The rest of the crew gives a quick round of applause for the star before everyone wraps it up for the night. Positive rewards create positive energy, which create positive results.

Get Fresh November 2015
eNews November 2015