The first Academy Award Ceremony, better known as the Oscars was held this day 16th May 1929. Through its 93 years of existence, the Academy has handed out hundreds of awards to the best actors, technicians, and movies. It was the brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, and was created as a non-profit organisation to promote the advancement and improvement of the film industry.
People have different opinions on who should have won and some even question the relevance of such awards, but for me they highlight the importance of recognition and reward.
In the same way, recognising your teams promotes the advancement and improvement of your business, through motivating
and encouraging your teams. It is one way to make your employees happy. Happy employees are fully engaged and have a positive attitude towards their work, which in turn spills over to your customers. They strive to provide a high-quality customer experience. This results in increased customer satisfaction, happiness and loyalty.
A study by James Fowler of UC San Diego and Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School suggests that bad moods are contagious. It was also found that those who are surrounded by happy people are 15% more likely to be happy themselves.
One of the ways to make your teams happy is to recognise their hard work and praise them often. You don't need to present them with an Oscar, but you can show your appreciation of their work in many ways. A simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way and costs nothing, but here are a few ideas you could try:
- Thank you notes
- Share praise and comments from customers
- Provide wellness time – exercise classes, stress reduction coaching sessions, etc.
- Celebrate milestones with them – achievements, birthdays, promotions
- Offer a bonus scheme
- Take them to lunch
- Offer a high street voucher or gift card
- Surprise them with treats, flowers etc.
- Have weekly wins meetings – where you share small and big team wins
- Simply tell them “Great job team!"
Whatever you do, remember that Happy Employees are the Key to Happy Customers!
Why not looking through our website and see if our courses and workshops could help you and your team consistently provide an excellent customer experience?
