upstartHR

Tag: Appreciation

  • How to Disappoint Your Employees in One Easy Step

    Thanks to my wonderful wife for the idea for this one.  One of our traditions every year is to watch Christmas Vacation (no, not with the kids!) While it’s not my favorite (that spot is held by It’s a Wonderful Life), it always gives me a laugh and reminds me to focus on the important things…

  • Forget About Employee Appreciation Day

    Employee Appreciation Day is upon us (March 6th, for those who are dying to know). While you all know that I am a firm believer in the power of employee recognition (whether it’s formal, peer to peer, or anything else in between), I am also a fan of making it part of your culture, not an annual…

  • New Strategy: Don’t be a Scum Bag

    I’ve been talking with some employees of another company in the past few weeks, and I”m amazed at how poorly their employer treats them. Amazed. The list of affronts is fairly substantial, and their redeeming qualities are pretty much nonexistent. It took me twenty minutes to work through the list of complaints and less than…

  • Assume the best

    Yesterday I had an interesting incident occur that reminded me just how our worldviews can skew our actions. This has a tie to the business world, so hang with me. Once upon a time As is often the case, I was walking out of the grocery store with a ginormous box of diapers (Pampers Baby…

  • How to praise an employee

    Learning how to praise an employee isn’t hard, but if you spend time around some managers, you would think it was akin to climbing Everest or swimming across the ocean. It doesn’t have to be a such an ordeal. Here’s the short and sweet version: Walk up to the employee who deserves the praise. Tell…

  • Gratitude matters, now more than ever

    The other day I had to stop by the dreaded DMV to get a new tag for our vehicle. The lady behind the counter couldn’t have looked more bored if she tried, but I tried to put on my happy face. This place was not going to destroy my soul for the short duration of my…

  • Alabama legislation: No more gifts for teachers

    This saga has rocked Alabama for a few days, and I thought it was an interesting story to share with the outside world. The short version is that teachers can no longer receive gift cards or anything of value from parents as a “thank you” for doing a great job. My response is to this…