My Newest Colleague is a Gem. Her name is Christi Gibson!

I think Christi Gibson is one of the unsung heroes of the recognition industry.

Christi was involved with Recognition Professionals International for over eight years and served as its Executive Director.

When she joined Recognition Professionals International it had only 200 members and a very limited budget. Christi’s ability to raise funds and carefully manage our expenses allowed the organization to grow to over 900 members.

I believe Christi’s lasting legacy at RPI was to manage funds in such a way that we were able to go out and create the educational content that has now become our Certified Recognition Professional (CRP) program.

When I realized Christi was going to leave RPI earlier this year I knew right away that we would work together. My colleagues all felt the same way and I’m so pleased that she joined my colleague Roy Saunderson at the Recognition Management Institute as its Executive Director.

Roy’s work is noble. He is creating better workplace environments. Employees in these workplaces will be healthier, more engaged and less susceptible to leaving the organization. All of which will make companies more productive on a sustainable basis.

Now, with Christi at his side, the sky’s the limit for Roy and the Recognition Management Institute.

Christi is a gem and we are lucky to have her at our side!

The Incentive Federation… Working You!

I recently had the honor of becoming part of the Incentive Federation’s Board of Directors. Many people are unfamiliar with this organization because much of its work is behind the scenes.

The Incentive Federation is the only organization whose membership and leadership includes all of the industry's national trade associations, as well as individual companies. The Incentive Federation acts as an umbrella organization that provides behind-the-scenes support for better-known entities such as the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA), the Promotion Marketing Association (PMA), the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF), the International SITE Foundation (ISITE) and now Recognition Professionals International who I represent on the Board.

I attended my first Board meeting and I was really impressed with Incentive Federation’s agenda which is basically to promote, protect and research the incentive, recognition and promotional products industry.

George Delta is the Executive Director of the Incentive Federation. He is a Washington based attorney who has specialized in our industry. He often keynotes at industry conferences and events. His dry wit and presentation skills make him a very popular speaker. One of his chief skills is the ability to explain complicated tax issues to folks like me!

One of the most exciting things the Incentive Federation is working on is a Legislative Awareness Program to help define the incentive and recognition industry so that government can understand how our work plays a key role in promoting a better, healthier workplace. A workplace that can compete in today’s global economy.

These are some of the key issues we are working on:

1. Safety achievement awards – Tax preferential treatment for safety awards is now limited to only 10% of eligible employees. To promote and improve workplace safety, and to reduce the related healthcare and other business costs from injuries, this limit should be increased to 25% or higher.
2. Wellness programs – Expand safety programs to reach an even larger segment of workers and reduce health costs by targeting obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, and the like which can lead to chronic diseases that drain the healthcare system and sap business productivity, motivation, growth, and profits.
3. Corporate gift deduction – This deduction limit has been $25 since 1962. It can be repositioned to embrace productivity awards and be adjusted for inflation to $50.
4. Employee achievement awards – The average award has been $400 per employee for 25 years. A cost of living adjustment would make such awards more useful and relevant in attracting and retaining valuable employees that can help businesses and the economy recover more quickly and moderate future downturns.
5. Length of service awards – These awards cannot be given until an employee has been employed for at least five years. The nature of the workforce has changed considerably since the tax preferential treatment for this award was enacted in 1984, and retention of skilled employees has become more important than ever. This award can also be positioned to be more akin to a productivity award, and employers should be able to give it to employees in a tax-advantaged manner prior to five years (but no more frequently than every three to five years thereafter) to help combat the disruptive and costly impact of unintended turnover.

The Incentive Federation work is very important and to paraphrase a line from Shakespeare, “though we may be but little, we are fierce!”

Cristal Bordeleau – Rideau’s Great Unifier!

Cristal in the flesh!

The other day, Cristal Bordeleau brought our whole company together!

Cristal works in our Merchandising Department. Next July 11-12, 2009, she will be riding her bike from Montreal to Quebec City in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.

It will not be an easy ride… it’s a distance of over 200 kilometers! But this is very personal for Cristal… her foster Mom and Grandfather have both battled cancer.

A group of Cristal’s colleagues (Francine Bellomo, Isabelle Lavigne, Eva Gouskos, Jonathan Hart,

The line up for food wrapped around the building

Jennifer Freire, Mary Metaxas, Samra Zaman, Troy Cunningham, Sally Khouri, Eric Simoneau, Paula Cordisco and Lance Bannister) decided they would help Cristal by holding a BBQ fundraiser.

It was great - the entire company turned out to support Cristal on a gorgeous summer day. Sadly, I couldn’t attend because I had a commitment in Minneapolis but that was ok… I’m a terrible cook and my brother Stephen filled in for me!

It’s people like Cristal that make a difference in our company and our community at large.

I salute her and wish her well! Ride on Cristal… ride on!

Our smoothies were made with environmentally friendly human powered mixers. Pictured here is our designated pedaler, Alex Buchanan.

Our hungry crowd

Our cooks

One Smile Always Makes Two!

My good friend and Rideau colleague Lorraine Sonier has a great saying… “One Smile Always Makes Two”!

What I’ll bet Lorraine doesn’t know is there’s a global industry out there dedicated to researching how smiles work and why! Conferences are being held on the topic and schools such as MIT are studying the relationship between facial expressions and emotional states.

I guess these folks never heard the expression “Smile and the whole world smiles with you!”

They should speak to Lorraine or the folks at Wal-Mart who created the official post of “greeter” years ago.

Smiling is a vital part of recognition - it reinforces the sentiment in which it is given. If sentiment does not come across, employee recognition will unlikely have the desired effects!

Smiles, like recognition are universal. Combine the two and you have a very powerful relationship tool!

The Secret is Out... Jennifer Lumba is a Winner!

My youngest son Jordan and I share a similar trait... neither of us are very good at keeping secrets! So imagine how difficult it was, knowing for quite some time that Jennifer Lumba, one of my of my closest colleagues and friends at Rideau was going to receive a Recognition Professionals International Spotlight Award!

Well the secret is out!

Jennifer Lumba is an RPI Spotlight Award winner. She won the award for her marketing work for our association.

This is not the first time Jennifer was recognized in 2009! Her fundraising efforts for multiple sclerosis earned her a nomination for the Leadership Award from the MS Society of Quebec. This award has been given to Quebecers who have shown excellence in their professional lives, exemplary commitment to their community as well as the fight against MS.

Jennifer is one of my best and brightest colleagues. She earns the respect of everyone she works with... it doesn’t matter if it’s an internal Rideau project, work for a client, or a fundraiser.

Speaking of which, Jennifer gave a highly rated breakout session at the RPI conference on the marketing and communication of recognition programs.

Watch for more great things from Jennifer in the future!

I’m a Gopher Not a Golfer!

Serious damage was done to the golf course the last time I swung a club! That was several years ago.

Mind you, not as bad as my brother Stephen when his drive on the 18th hit a lady having a drink in the club house. Stephen got a lawyer’s letter on that one!

But I digress…

A couple of months ago I got a call from my Bank Manager asking if I would be willing to act as the Honorary President of RBC’s Annual Montreal West Island Golf Tournament which takes place on June 9th, 2009 and supports local West Island charities.

My first reaction was “do I have to play”? Sadly, the answer was “yes”! But the cause is good and the need is great so I’m playing golf for the first time in many, many years.

Learn more about the RBC tournament.
If you would like to support the cause, contact:
Christian Kokorian, RBC Royal Bank, 514 630-5274
Raymond Chouinard, RBC Royal Bank, 514-874-6556

BTW… if you see some gophers running across the Beaconsfield golf course on June 9th, you will know I was visiting!

Can a Dose a Day of Employee Recognition Keep The Doctor Away?

Sound implausible? It did to me before I met Professor Jean-Pierre Brun!

Dr. Brun is a professor in the management department of the faculty of Science and Administration at Laval University in Quebec City. He holds a Ph.D. in ergonomics and a M.Sc. in the sociology of work. He is Director of the Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Management and Co-director of the MBA programs. He has received the Hermès Award for Excellence in Research. He has also published numerous articles in scientific and trade journals and is a frequent guest speaker at conferences.

Rideau created an alliance with Jean-Pierre and the University a couple of years ago after he published research revealing that employee recognition had a significant impact on stress at work.

To be more specific, Dr. Brun found that the absence of employee recognition was the second leading cause of workplace stress and burnout.

When Jean-Pierre and I met up for dinner one night, I asked him if the absence of employee recognition causes burnout and workplace stress, could its presence reduce these illnesses?

His answer was “yes”!

I guess employee recognition really does keep the doctor away!

What do you think?