The power of a few nice words

8.24.11

It's nomination time for Employee of the Month. Something that some staffers look forward to – they immediately forward their very well thought out nominations – while others probably grumble and hit "delete" to my emailed request. I know some people question the validity of the program... does their vote really count? Why doesn't so-and-so ever win? Does it really matter to anyone?

Today I received a nomination that was a perfect illustration of what this program can do: I received a nomination for the entire Accounting Department. No, I'm not calling attention to this because that's my department. It has nothing to do with me.

What is has to do with is the simple concept of a coworker – one who happens to be pretty intuitive when it comes to peer recognition – noticing a department that has really taken some hits over the summer months – most notably in August – and yet continues to stand back up, straighten its shoulders and move forward.

The nomination highlighted the work ethic of the department members and gave accolades for working long hours, late hours, hard hours... and the timing of it came at a point when, realistically, the four gals sitting upstairs chugging away were probably running a little low on emotional fuel, let alone physical energy.

The nomination was forwarded to the department (nominator name erased, of course) and each responded with a "wow" type comment... Wow – how nice to be recognized... Wow – how nice for someone to take the time to say such great things about us... Wow – those words simply make me feel good.

And – boom – just like that, the spirit is renewed and the work is once again fun and meaningful.

Does the EOM program have merit? Is it worth your time to fill out a nomination? Does it really make a difference in the grand scheme of Reindeer's daily "life"?

In a word: yes.