Recognition Games for the Office, plus Recognition for Yourself

Every company, large or small, should have some kind of recognition program.  A recognition program's purpose is to praise employees/departments that are going above and beyond, to raise moral, show appreciation for a job well done, and to simply take a break from the normal routine.  If you work for yourself or this does not describe the company you are at, that's okay.  This article will help both scenarios.

If the company doesn't have a recognition program, take the initiative to create a small activity to raise moral, even if it is to raise it temporarily.  Here are a couple of ideas that are quick and easy to execute:   

We Think You Are:
Generate a big list of positive words:  adventurous, animal lover, awesome, caring, creative, captivating, comedian, cultured, cheerful, divine, cooperative, cool, efficient, dedicated, energetic, entertaining, disciplined, friendly, fabulous, fast, hones, fantastic, influential, genuine, focused, goal-oriented, fun, generously, inspiring, giving, knowledgeable, hero, loyal, motivating, humorous, open-minded, intelligent, optimistic, organized, multi-tasker, patient, risk-taker, respectful, strong, and talented.

Make copies of the list and place a name of an employee on the top.  Have the group circle 5 words that best describes that teammate.  Tally the results and place the top 3 words on a certificate or ribbon that says:  We Think You Are: XXX, XXX, and XXX! Give that person the tally sheet so they can see what were the "runner-ups."  You could have a recognition month and do this for one person each day of the month making sure you cover the whole team/department.

The Office Yearbook:
Remember at the end of the school year, you received a yearbook and had everyone sign it.  This is similar without the goofy picture of yourself and your friends.  Take a colored, card-stock paper, and type at the top:  The Office Yearbook.  We, in the XXX department, would like to award this to XXX just for being a great person to work with.

Pass this around and have people sign positive things this person has done for them in the last year, or any other comments they feel are appropriate.  This one takes some time depending on what people want to write, so doing 1 person a week should suffice.

Simple recognition games are a great way to bring positive energy to the workplace.  Now, if you work for yourself or the business doesn't have that kind of ethics, we need to recognize in ourselves a job well done.

It's not important to receive public recognition, it helps, but sometimes you just aren't dealt that card.  Think positively and realize the amount of work you do, the things you have accomplished on your own, and to know that no one else could juggle what you can.  Some of us have the talents to multi-task, become experts, work additional hours, and complete anything we are asked to do.

What recognition games can you suggest for personal satisfaction?

Hope this blog post was helpful to you, "Recognition Games for the Office, plus Recognition for Yourself"

Spunky Jones.

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