We have one where you employees can send out virtual cards for thank yous. This gets tracked and the manager sees it. I know some of us use that when doing end of year reviews. Our system last year made it easy for managers to send out gift cards (receipient chose from a few dozen options), and now we've changed to cash with a bit more approval required.

its something like... " hey, lets go to happy hour after work, I'll buy you a beer."

Although I tend to use the pre-work reward system [bribe] more for the union guys... "So I need this thing done first thing in the morning if you have the time, I'm bringing in donuts tomorrow, what kind do you like? Thanks, I really appreciate it."

We have that, too

It's kind of a cool kids circle jerk

"You're awesome! Thanks for helping me do this & this"
"You're awesome too!!! Thanks for letting me do that & that and for helping me with this & this"

Meh

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Anything can be misused, but it's nice to send someone an atta boy when they do a good job. It's nice to receive them too.

---

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

Decades ago before the current pc culture we had one called high five. They got a card and at the end of the month everyone with a card got put in a drawing for $100. Someone made Low Five cards and left them on desks of people who didn’t meet their deliverables. It was pretty funny- but you’d probably get fired for that now.

We can send anyone an instant recognition with a dollar amount. Most are $25. I think anything below $100 requires no further approvals. For the most part we are encouraged to use it as much as possible, I only have heard of one case of abuse. Some people by the nature of their position tend to be in service to others quite a bit and get a lot of these, others not so much.

I did these certificates for the folks in our group

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Yeah, we have one similar to that and not very many people use it at all. And it is usually a specific type of role that gives them out. When you read what someone did to get it your first impression is usually, "gee, thanks for doing your job."

---

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

We have something similar. It was great working on a project last year and being pretty much the only person who wasn't thanked even though I took some time out of a weekend to bail people out of a jam.

Good times.

---

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

The last one I sent was to a girl that comes in at 5AM to receive the bloods and then distribute them to the departments. She is also the lab secretary.

We had a health fair at a company. One of those things where the company gives you a 100 or 200 bucks to go down and get your pressure, blood and weight things. We do a lot more, but that's just a few of them. Anyway, we had over a hundred specimens come in and each one had to be registered in the computer. Usually they send us the blood and the registration forms, but this time she took the forms and registered all of them. Clearly she went way above and beyond to be helpful. Should she not be recognized?

I sent her a reward and a thank you.

---

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

That shit does happen. Sucky for sure.

---

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

I don’t get bent out of shape about this stuff. I come from an IT background so not being appreciated is pretty standard.

But it’s pretty noticeable when literally everyone who worked on a project is thanked except for the one person whose work was mostly in the background/support role. Two people who were thanked wouldn’t have been able to do what they did if I hadn’t set their computers up and taught them how the system works.

Such is life.

---

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

We have something in the operations center where you can nominate someone for going above in one of our core values (don't ask me what they are though). Since I pretty much only deal with the attorneys in the practice offices, I ignore it.

---

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

We have something similiar, but the Managers can "boost" them (giving them points) which can be used for stuff or gift cards (including amazon)

Yes I use it often, and last year received over $1000 in boosts.

---

Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

i had one like you described at my last job. when the company reorganized and my position was eliminated, hr recommended i cash in all points and print out copies of the peer accolades to add to a new-job portfolio. i used the points for amazon gift cards.

That’s just wrong. They are a bunch of inconsiderate jerks. They probably don’t mean to be that way, so we should pity their sorry asses.

Here’s a high five for you. Gosh, it’s been forever since I last heard this, so thank you for making me think of it. This is from a great kids’ album— all about numbers. And thanks for the weekend of bailing people out last year. Not pink. 100% sincere and heartfelt.

But if that is in your normal scope of your work, then I could see it hard to justify a special thank you. But if you willingly gave up your weekend to do that so they and team could meet a tight deadline, then yes Kudo's to you. But if you had to give up your weekend b/c you (IT) messed up and caused a delay, then you should make it right and that's not going above and beyond . . . . Circumstances matter.

We've got a rewards/points system where I work. I also use emails. If someone emails me about someone on the team that went above and beyond on something, I'll go with it. And I make sure to reply to the employee with my thank-you, and cc their boss and my boss so the awareness spreads up the chain as well. The way I see it, it's a small gesture that takes 20 secs out of my day, but results in multiple hours of satisfaction to someone else.

I wasn't looking for kudos or any recognition. I don't typically work on weekends and it definitely wasn't me fixing my own mistake.

What I am saying is that HR sent out a link to the latest "Special thanks" recipients, for some reason I clicked on it. Everyone on that project was thanked. Minus one person.

Again, I wasn't looking for a pat on the back or a fucking cookie.

But if you are going to go out of your way to thank individuals who worked on a project you should probably make sure that you name everyone.

---

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

That pisses me off. I was asked by my coworkers why I singled out this particular person in Blood Bank. They were all up in arms saying they all do the same work. I know they ado and they work hard, but she was working with me that day and I felt she made a terrible situation doable. Hard to explain to others.

If it's a group effort, everyone gets the accolades. Good job "team".

---

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

I have no issues with “Jim did an amazing job on the Penske project” when 10 other people also worked on it.

It’s “these 10 people were great on the Penske project!”

“Hey, didn’t Jim work on that too?”

*Shrug* “Dunno.”

---

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

I had an old employer where if you got a thank you, you got to pick out some item on a list with the company logo. Was kind of cool, but most of the stuff was junk.They dropped the program after the 2008 recession to save cost. Because it had such a major impact on EPS and saved the company during the downturn.

Our company has this. A whole dedicated electronic platform It's widely used, and its use encouraged by management.

It's fine, but not really my cup of tea. It started out as one might imagine: just simply thank-yous, atta-boys/girls, etc. But the favored type of correspondence has, imo, evolved into a sort of proto-social-media patois and m.o.: ejaculatory superlatives about how much of a rockstar! you are for something any actual rockstar (and most normal people) would find impossibly tedious/boring, translating into a JUST LOOK At How THANKFUL I Am, Everyone! public patting-of-one's-own-back.

And given the fact that users are receiving proxy points ultimately redeemable for gift cards (i.e. real world value), the whole thing can take on a somewhat mercenary, self-serving tone; I call our system the Corporate Gratitude Economy. Monetize your thankfulness.

I guess to me, if you appreciate what someone did, just tell them (face-to-face, call, email). Humanity's natural, ad hoc system of saying thank you already delivers its own rewards to the giver and receiver, without the need for a Cabella's gift card and corporate tally sheet (your boss can see) attached to it. Seems like an artificial incentive that sort of undercuts/corrodes a set of basic, good-hearted gestures.