The Key To Employees’ Hearts!

Employees need to feel appreciated. They need to be managed on both the Human and the Business levels. We also know that happy employees are more productive employees. One of the most special ways a manager can fulfill all of these needs is to surprise his or her employees with a treat.

Here are some delightful suggestions of ways to do that:

When the air-conditioning broke down on one of the hottest days of the year, the manager of a teleservices center ran out to the local grocery store and bought popsicles for every employee. They then had a “stripping” ceremony where everyone took off their ties and pantyhose! The manager turned a horrible day into one that will long be remembered.

Another organization has a “surprise treat” day once a month. On that day the managers do things like renting a popcorn machine or serving everyone coffee and donuts at their desks or “borrowing” an ice cream cart and delivering ice cream bars throughout the building. It is a special way of saying “Thanks for doing such good work.”

One facility in Moore Business Communication Services in Lake Forest, Illinois, handed out “Good Stuff” candy bars with the following poem:

Such “Good Stuff” we have seen today

Positive attitudes go a long way.

Let’s try to keep it up awhile . . .

A cheerful word, a happy smile.

It does affect our quality

So let’s be the best that we can be.

The “Good Stuff” we have seen today

Can help us go a long, long way!”

* Ashley Glanz, the Director of the ABC Nursery and Day Camp in Chicago, Illinois, was anticipating a hard day because two of her teachers were going to be out sick. On her way to work she stopped at the store and bought Nestle’s Crunch bars. When she arrived at work, she placed a Crunch bar on each teacher’s desk with a note, “Thanks for helping out in the Crunch!”

* Another manager, when it was the middle of tax season in his accounting firm, put a package of Lifesavers™ on each of his employees’ desks with a note saying, “Hang in there–only 21 more days to go!” Some of the fun candy bars you can use with special notes are Snickers, Payday, Skor, $100,000 bar, Bar None, and Almond Joy.

Have you ever cooked breakfast for your employees as a celebration or reward for great work? It is true for all of us that food is the key to our hearts! And when it is a surprise, it delights us even more.

Some ideas were excerpted with permission from Barbara Glanz’s book CARE Packages for the Workplace–Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work, McGraw-Hill, 1996.

© Barbara Glanz Communications. All Rights Reserved.