Michigan-Based Employee Recognition Company Expands Its Reach Internationally

Terryberry celebrates its partnership with Australian-based Reasons 2 Reward through the publication of a trusted business fable.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWEB) November 30, 2010
For more than nine decades, Terryberry has worked with businesses around the world to implement employee recognition programs that engage the workforce. Now the company marks its recent expansion into Australia by publishing the second edition of the motivational book, Reasons 2 Reward, in the U.S.

Reasons 2 Reward is a business fable written by employee motivation experts Ann-Maree O’Neill and Shawn McKeogh. O’Neill and McKeogh are also co-founders of an organization in Australia that recently partnered with Terryberry to provide products for recognizing employees. The organization bears the same name as the book – Reasons 2 Reward.

“We wrote the book to help managers understand how to transform their business by using the simple principle that engaged employees are the key to business success,” says O’Neill, one of the authors of the book.

The newly released second edition of the book Reasons 2 Reward tells the story of Max Grimshaw, the General Manager of the fictitious Wally World Theme Park. After some time away, Grimshaw returns to the park only to find out that things aren’t the way they used to be. Even though Wally World is filled with fun rides, spectacular shows and tasty treats, Max discovers that the employees are unmotivated and disengaged. Readers get to follow Max’s journey as he transforms Wally World with one simple formula: Look after your people + Look after your customers = Maximum Profits.

The second edition of Reasons 2 Reward features a foreword written by Terryberry’s managing partner, Mike Byam. Byam is also the author of The WOW! Workplace. The WOW! Workplace gives readers a blueprint for establishing a culture of recognition in the workplace.

Terryberry recently formed a partnership with Reasons 2 Reward. The joint venture will increase Terryberry’s business particularly in the areas of spot recognition items, online peer-to-peer recognition program (giveawow.com), and custom lapel pins for employee awards.

“The organization Reasons 2 Reward has established a solid presence in Australia for employee motivation products and services,” says Byam. “It was a great fit for Terryberry to partner with them to expand our presence in that part of the world. The book will be an addition to our line of products to help managers engage and inspire their teams.”

For more information about Terryberry, visit http://www.terryberry.com/.

About the Terryberry Company:
Terryberry has helped organizations develop recognition programs to motivate and retain valuable employees for more than 90 years. Terryberry has built an international reputation for customized recognition and award programs that feature the highest quality employee recognition awards. Based in Grand Rapids, Mich., the Terryberry Company develops and manages employee recognition programs for more than 25,000 organizations worldwide.

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Terryberry's Give a WOW! Gets Rave Reviews at 2010 Cleveland HR Star Conference

It wasn't your average tradeshow breakout session presentation. And it wasn't a paid commercial, either. It was Marty Guastella's sincere praise and testimonial for Terryberry's Give a WOW! that engaged an afternoon audience on July 28, 2010 at the 2010 Cleveland HR Star Conference.

What is Give a WOW!?

Give a WOW! is Terryberry's online and interactive, peer-to-peer recognition solution, social-media style. It's a different kind of recognition program. Give a WOW! ignites the power of appreciation in your business with employees on all professional levels and across all industries, even continents! It connects your people to your own network of positive communication, personal interaction, and meaningful recognition...in real-time. Demo Give-a-WOW! today.

Marty Guastella, Vice President of Human Resources for King's Medical Group, Inc., spoke about his healthcare organization's recent recognition overhaul and their efforts to "combine planning, achievement, skills growth, character development, recognition and reward in a comprehensive program." The results for Marty & King's Medical, after implementing Give a WOW!, have been astonishing. Their success with the 360 degree recognition program continues to flourish as over 70% of King's Medical employees actively participate and use Give a WOW! to recognize, reward, and inspire others. Upper management and human resources professionals benefit from the opportunity to connect with everyone in their organization on one platform, and also to view Give a WOW!'s dashboard as a supplemental tool when it comes time for performance reviews. What a great way to see who's receiving and giving recognition and potentially spot future leaders for the organization.

How did they do it?
King's Medical began by creating King's Employee Development System, (KEDS). This 3-part system defines their vision and plan for creating a culture of professional development & recognition. The three parts are: Professional & Personal Goals Worksheet, Character Development Worksheet that focuses on mission, vision, values, and Recognition with Give a WOW! Marty encouraged the audience to adopt King's Medical's philosophy of turning upper management into "coaches." By losing the "management" or "boss" title and adopting the term "coach", employees are able to view their superiors as a supportive mentor and cheerleader for their success in the organization. Employees become responsible then, for their own success and are held accountable for the professional goals they set for themselves.

Marty stated that empowering employees promotes trust and good morale in the workplace. This idea of empowerment and recognition are not just core values printed on a poster, framed on the wall in your office. They are real-life values that need to be practiced. Marty and King's Medical practice them daily with Give a WOW!

Our innovative Give-a-WOW! online peer-to-peer recognition solution is fun, easy to use and allows workers to get more involved in workplace culture. Terryberry’s RecognizeMe! products also allow you to recognize workers on-the-spot and thank them for a job well done.

Keep your best and brightest employees engaged and satisfied on the job. Learn more about Terryberry’s employee recognition solutions today!

Thank you all those who visited the Terryberry booth!
We enjoyed meeting you and hope to have the opportunity to help recognize, reward, and inspire your employees!
~ Andrew Makl, Sales & Emily Schulte, Marketing

A Case Study on Peer Recognition: Proven to Reduce Turnover, Increase Pride & Satisfaction

Anticipated churning in the labor marketplace is a call to action for employers. Learning how to effectively recognize, reward, and inspire your workforce will pay great dividends to the health of your organization and its employees.

In an effort to increase partnership and morale following a dismal employee satisfaction survey, hospital leaders at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in north suburban Detroit created a cross-departmental Employee Pride/Satisfaction Team to work on a number of projects. Read on, their results were astonishing.

Efforts included:

> Hospital-wide communication, with senior leaders attending deparmtne meetings to learn first-hand the challenges facing managers and employees
> An improved intranet site where employees and physicians can recognize one another for exceptional acts of caring
> Events and outing to build community

The result was a 5.4-point jump in the overall partnership mean score in Crittenton's 2010 Press Ganey Employee Partnership Survey, which pushed the hospital to the 76th percentile nationally, up from the 56th percentile in 2008 and just the 26th percentile in 2007. Perhaps the single most tangible sign of the success of the program is a dramatic reduction staff turnover. In 2007, total hospital turnover was 10.7%. By 2009, it had plummeted to just 5%.

Among nurses, the improvement has been nothing short of spectacular. In 2007, RN turnover was an unhealthy 15.5%. By 2009, it was just 1.2%.

What the release did not mention, which is certainly noteworthy, is the likelihood that not all of the decrease can be be solely attributed to the new program. A news release from The Herman Trend Alert on June 23, 2010 supports the notion regarding employee cocooning as a result of the economic meltdown that severely hampered job mobility.

"There is an attitudinal shift happening in today's labor marketplace, and it is not good news for employers. As we have said in previous Herman Trend Alerts, increase in consumer confidence result in churning in the labor marketplace. More people are able to find jobs; others feel confident enough to quit them without firm offers. They are seeing more hiring and a strengthening economy. It is interesting to note that in the United States more people quit their jobs in the last three months than those who lost their jobs. After 15 straight months of time in which layoffs exceeded voluntary departures, it appears that the job market is finally shifting. My guess is that the same phenomenon is being seen in some other countries, notably Brazil, India, Malaysia, and Singapore, whose economies are well into recovery already.

In September 2009, the number of people in the U.S. who voluntarily left their employers fell by 40% to 1.72 million, the lowest level since the government began tracking the data in the year 2000. That figure was down from nearly 2.9 million in December 2007, when The Great Recession began. In a related development, on-quarter of our business community's most promising employees are increasingly disengaged and many are actively seeking new employment opportunities. A recent study on employee engagement, conducted by the Corporate Executive Board's Corporate Leadership Council (CLC), found that 25% of the 'employer-identified, high-potential employees' plan to leave their current companies in the next near. That is an increase of 250% when compared with the figure from 2006.

Moreover, 21% of today's employees identified themselves as 'highly disengaged'. This group has increased nearly 300% since 2007. Based on its findings, CLC believes that businesses must place greater emphasis and urgency around leadership succession planning to ensure future success and preserve the bottom line.

As in 2002 to 2003 in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, workers are corporate cocooning. The pressure to increase productivity, while reducing staff, has left today's worker s feeling overworked, under-appreciated, and burned-out. Once more people feel confident that they will be able to find other jobs, we will see unprecedented churning in the labor marketplace." This alone is reason enough to look back on the success achieved at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center and begin to focus on building a culture that values individual contributions and promotes peer recognition.

To learn more about building an effective culture of recognition in your workplace, visit http://www.terryberry.com

To demo the latest in peer recognition software and discover the benefits for your company, visit http://www.giveawow.com

Contributed by: Greg Butterfield, Partner, Terryberry Company

New Video - The Future of Employee Recognition

The future of employee recognition is here. Learn about the new way of engaging your employees with the Give-a-Wow peer recognition program.

#WOWWED: It's WOW Wednesday!

It's WOW Wednesday! HR leaders, execs, and managers: how do you WOW the people who go above and beyond for you in your business? Or, how have you been WOWed?

Today's WOW Wednesday idea comes from Michelle. Michelle says: "We are a small organization so we have Staff Celebrations every other month in which we share breakfast together and then honor those individuals who have had employment anniversaries (all anniversaries are honored 1 year to 40 years!) and birthdays. We also have a special recognition in which peers can present eachother with an honorary award. Last month, someone gave the Golden Hitch Award to one of our employees for helping a customer when they got stuck in the snow this past winter."

Share your own "WOW Wednesday" tip. Leave a comment here or post on Twitter using hashtag #WOWWED. Make it a WOW day!

Wow Generation Y in the Workplace with Employee Recognition

Imagine being 24-years-old and landing your first, big career opportunity. You go to work every day, eager to face new workplace challenges. You work hard and go above and beyond on each task that you’re assigned. At first, you do this with the hopes that someone will recognize your efforts and give you an even greater opportunity. But after a while, you start feeling like you’re wasting time because your talents and skills don’t seem to be getting the recognition they deserve.

This is how many Generation Y workers feel in today’s workplace. They’re ready to prove themselves on the job, but some of them feel like they’re not being challenged or utilized enough. Because of this, many companies are losing their best and brightest employees.

A recent survey in The San Francisco Chronicle showed that the average 26-year-old has changed jobs at least seven times since the age of 18. And the number one reason for switching jobs was that these individuals were just looking for a change. Companies today are struggling to hold on to Generation Y workers. These workers are walking out the door along with their bright ideas and talent.
Let Generation Y workers know that they are appreciated with employee recognition products and programs from Terryberry. Our innovative Give-a-WOW! online peer-to-peer recognition solution is fun, easy to use and allows Generation Y workers to get more involved in workplace culture. Terryberry’s RecognizeMe! products also allow you to recognize Generation Y workers on-the-spot and thank them for a job well done.

Keep your best and brightest employees engaged and satisfied on the job. Learn more about Terryberry’s employee recognition solutions today!