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Top Ten Ways to Show Appreciation to Employees

You can tell your colleagues, coworkers and employees how much you value them and their contribution any day

of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread

throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long.

Looking for ideas about how to praise and thank coworkers and employees? Here are ten ways to show yourappreciation to employees and coworkers.

Praise something your coworker has done well. Identify the specific actions that you found admirable. Say "thank you." Show your appreciation for their hard work and contributions. And, don't forget to say

"please" often as well. Social niceties do belong at work. A more gracious, polite workplace is appreciated by

all.

Ask your coworkers about their family, their hobby, their weekend or a special event they attended. Yourgenuine interest - as opposed to being nosey causes people to feel valued and cared about.

Offer staff members flexible scheduling for the holidays, if feasible. If work coverage is critical, post a calendarso people can balance their time off with that of their coworkers.

Know your coworkers interests well enough to present a small gift occasionally. An appreciated gift, and thegesture of providing it, will light up your coworkers day.

If you can afford to, give staff money. End of the year bonuses, attendance bonuses, quarterly bonuses and giftcertificates say "thank you" quite nicely.TechSmithstaff receive a percentage of their annual salary for their

end of year bonus.

Almost everyone appreciates food. Take coworkers or staff to lunch for a birthday, a special occasion or for noreason at all. Let your guest pick the restaurant.

Create a fun tradition for a seasonal holiday.ReCellularemployees draw names for their Secret Santa giftexchange. Alison Doyle, About's Guide toJob Searching, also works inCareer Servicesat Skidmore College

where they do a "gift grab" at their holiday party.

LuAnn Johnson who works in Human Resources at theSchaller Anderson Mercy Care Plansays, "We celebrate

Treat Tuesday, every Tuesday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We match up departments or people who

don't normally work together as a unit and assign a day to provide gooey, healthy or scrumptious treats for theother groups. It's a great mixer, an opportunity to show off our culinary skills and a morale builder - to say

nothing of the sugar high!"

Bring in bagels, doughnuts or another treat for staff and coworkers. Offerings such as cookies or cupcakes, thatyou've baked personally, are a huge hit. (Have you tried baking cupcakes in ice cream cones? People love

them.) Another hit? Bring chocolate - chocolate anything.

Last, but not least, provide opportunity. People want chances for training and cross-training. They want toparticipate on a special committee where their talents are noticed. They like to attend professional association

meetings and represent your organization at civic and philanthropic events.

These are my top ten ways to show appreciation to employees and coworkers. Stretch your imagination. There are

hundreds of other employee and coworker appreciation ideas just waiting to be found. They'll bring you su ccess in

employee motivation, employee recognition and in building a positive, productive workplace.

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How to Introduce Yourself at Work and in the Office

This situation requires more formality than meeting friends and usually less formality than meeting cl ients or

important people at work.

Introduce Yourselfthe basic rules

Look at the person and make eye contact. This shows that you are directing your attention at them and are about

to do something. Do not wait too long before moving onto the next step otherwise they may think you are strange.

Once you have made eye contact, a smile is good (but not always necessary), and say Hello or Hi. Followed by

Im Peter. (substitute your real name). Whilst saying these words, offer your hand for a handshake.

If you work as an auditor or a regulator it may be more effective not to smile. This would show that you are a

serious person and are not particularly friendly.

Once you have introduced yourself, they should introduce themselves. Probably they will reply Hi Peter, pleased

to meet you. Im John.

After establishing each others names you can tell them more about yourself or ask them questions. Try and make

any statements about yourself relevant to the situation you are in. Also with any questions you ask, try and make

them relevant to the business situation.

Introduce Yourself

examples of further questions

Have you traveled far? (if they have come from somewhere else). Which department are you from? What are you responsible for? Hows business?

Introduce Yourselffurther introductory sentences

When you introduce yourself, you may be asked the above questions and more. You should explain areas of your

job and then return a question, often the same question unless they have already answered it. Here are some

examples:

Have you traveled far? Not too far. I had a 2 hour train journey from Manchester. What about you?

Which department are you from?Im from the Sales department. A very challenging area at the moment. What

about you?What are you responsible for?Im responsible for the Northern region covering Manchester to basically Scotland.

Its a large area. What about you?

How to Introduce Yourself to Important People at work

The above rules can be followed however you may need to use Mr or Mrs or Miss and the important persons

surname (family name) e.g. Mr Smith (not John) or Mrs Smith (not Jane) or Miss Smith (not Jenny). Or use their full

name e.g. John Smith. The precise rules should be established when you first join the organization or if it is an

organization you are visiting, establish the rules with your contact or introducing contact.

The general rules are:

show respect be polite

let them lead the conversation and always laugh at their jokes.

How to Introduce Yourself to Friends (Socially)

The above rules can be used except you can be less formal and you dont have to make the subjects relevant to

any business agenda. You can talk about girls, boys, politics, humor, etc. You can be crude, rude, and eccentric.

The general rules are:

try and use humor and be funny, dont offend or be rude to your friends,

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dont talk about boring things or depressingly serious news events, be supportive and positive, dont ask for too many favors or money.

How to Professionally Transfer a Call

Proper business telephone etiquette can make a positive impression on your callers. Transferring a telephone call

is more than just knowing what buttons to push on your telephone system. The business telephone etiquette thatyou and your employees use directly reflects upon the image that your business portrays.

1. Explain Why

Explain to the caller why you need to transfer the call. Reasons may include: the caller reached the wrong

department (or wrong number), the caller has questions that only another department can answer, or you do not

have authority to make the decision the caller is seeking. Regardless, make sure the caller knows "why" and that

you are not just passing-the-buck.

2. Give Your Info First

First give the caller your name and extension in case you get disconnected. This will give the caller a sense of

importance and that you are personally concerned about the caller's situation. Secondly, tell the caller the name of

the person (or department) and extension number that you need to transfer the call to. And, remember to always

be pleasant.

3. Ask Permission

At this point, ask the caller for permission to initiate the transfer. This will give the caller a chance to ask any other

questions and give them a feeling of control.

4. Wait for an Answer

Do not blindly transfer the call as soon as you hear the other phone ring. Wait for the other person to answer and

explain to them the reason for the transferred call. This will give the other person a chance to prepare for the call

and the caller will not have to explain the situation all over again.

5. Make an Introduction

Return to the caller and announce the name and/or department that you will be transferring the call to. Thank the

caller for their patience and ask if there is anything else that you can do.

6. Complete the Transfer

At this point you can complete the transfer by connecting the caller and the other person or department.

Remember to end your connection by hanging up the phone or disconnecting your head set.