It all began in Everett, Washington, where my project team was in the process of implementing one of our business systems. One morning, as I walked through the parking lot with one of my employees, I found a penny and picked it up. Playfully, I presented the penny to the employee and said, "This is a discretionary award for your efforts." He put the penny in his pocket. "Thank you," he said.

About six months later, I was walking with the same employee, this time in Los Alamitos, California, when I again found a penny and gave it to him.

Later, I had an occasion to go into his office and there, taped on a piece of paper, were the two pennies. He said he was displaying them as his recognition for a job well done.

Other employees noticed the pennies proudly displayed and began asking why they hadn't received any. So I started handing out pennies, explaining that they were for recognition, not for reward. Soon, so many people wanted them that I designed a penny holder. The front features a place for a penny and beside it the phrase, "Your work is recognized!" The back has slots for 30 more pennies and the phrase, "Your achievements count!"

One time, I spotted an employee doing something right and wanted to recognize her, but I didn't have a penny, so I gave her a quarter. Later that same day she stopped by and returned 24 cents.

That's how the "Prestigious Penny Award" was born. It's become a significant source of recognition in our organization.
by Gary Hruska

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That is a Great Story and example of employee recognition/appreciation.

Even though the true value is nothing, the meaning of it is huge. To top it all off, you should say that whoever is to collect the most pennies by a certain timeframe gets an extra vacation day!!!!!:) or something to sweeten the pot.

But in reality the penny trophy would put a smile on my face. It happens all too much that employees get zero recognition. To all of the business owners, take notes! Keep people smiling.
KG

Reminds me of the "gold stars" we got in elementary school. True recognition is a powerful tool, but when you receive such an "award" rather than a sincere "thank you" for a job well done, you are asking for trouble.

Try this, next time you go out to eat: Leave the server one penny, not just instead of the tip, but in addition to it. It means you thought the service sucked. It especially sucked, if you just leave the penny, because it let's the server know, that you didn't forget to tip them.

I have a better idea. Why not properly compensate employees rather than just creating a bunch of ass-kissing yes-men?

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Ha Ha!
Or Yes! you can go that route with the penny:)

I think the moral of the story is however you choose to appreciate your employees, be sure it is done in some way.

Money is always a motivator but isn't always available. I could also say that in many past experiences, a simple pat on the back and a sincere thank you would have been worth more than any bonus in my pay check. I guess everyone is different.

There are excellent books that explain employee appreciation and rewarding them in many ways than just with money.

To all the business owners, realize that employees make up a company. So you should appreciate the hard working ones and don't consider that you are doing them a "Favor" to allow them to work.

If a penny is what brings happiness and recognition to your personal company, keep it going and keep everyone happy.
KG

Exactly, and that is why a gold star would be a much better coup feather than the choice of a penny, the lowest monetary value in the US. The old sayings, "a penny for your thoughts" or "here's my two cents" are simply adages that show how most opinions are valued. Everyone has one and most of them stink, including mine.

If money isn't available, there are other options. Yes, a sincere "thank you," as I mentioned previously, is worth more than a gimmicky penny. That whole idea reminds me of 80's feel-good-do-nothing speak.

A good book to read is an old one and hard to find called "In Search of Excellence."

Another thing to remember, don't threaten your employees by saying how severe the competition is that you can't afford to compensate them properly. Why? Because your employees will eventually ask, if the competition is hiring. Revenge is a powerful motivator.

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DrTandem's San Diego Web Page Design, drtandem.com

That is like the coolest thing. Sounds like you also have very loyal employees!

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Maarten Van Ruitenburg
Visual Developments
Web Design and Development

If your employees are genuinely enjoying playing along with the idea, it might be good.

Just make sure you follow through with something of genuine substance (like promotions, payrises etc.) It is all very well being sincerely told your efforts are valued, but when it comes to your annual review you will really know whether it was sincere or not.

In other words, this could easily backfire and the pennies become a symbol of the company's penny-pinching attitude.

It reminds me of when my brother (a published electronic engineer) received a derisory pay award at his annual review. He figured out what it was worth in daily terms - it came to about the same value as a can of Coke! So from then on, whenever he would have an interview with his supervisor, he would pointedly put a can of Coke on the desk infront of him as a constant reminder - "This is how much I am worth, huh?" A payrise is a payrise, but a derisory amount - or a penny on the wall above your desk - can become the focus of resentment as well.

At the end of the day we work so we can eat. Hopefully we enjoy our jobs as well, but that is the bottom line. Since we don't cultivate our own food and cut down trees to make shelters for ourselves anymore, we need money. Any company interested in really encouraging its employees needs to at least give sensible payrises and promotions, and follow that up with giving more challenging responsibilities as well if at all possible.

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I have recently been responsible for training a new assistant in SEO and PPC. She had no previous experience but was keen to learn.

To encourage her enthusiasm through the lengthy learning process, I bought a bag of gold stars. I give gold stars, not everytime something is done right but everytime a noticable improvement has been made or if I am really impressed or suprised by a piece of work or a comment. Some days, no gold stars are given, this is not due to poor performance but because as she learns more and gets better, the harder it is to earn a gold star.

I made a gold star chart which sits proudly on the wall by her desk and everyone in the office is jealous and checks back for gold star updates!

I feel my gold star system really helped my assistant stay keen and enthusiastic dispite the fact the stars are worthless she is delighted to be recognised for her progress.