“The R&R bucks are part of our Rewards & Recognition program, started last year when we were competing in the $100K Challenge,” says NHSPCA’s donor relations coordinator, Courtney Vavra. “We knew we were asking our staff to take on more during the Challenge, and we wanted to keep them happy and motivated through that crazy and hectic time. Staff was encouraged to hand out ‘Challenge Bucks’ to other staff members to acknowledge them for doing something great,” explains Courtney. “We all issued them for hard work, good deeds, awesome teamwork, positive attitudes, and admittedly — sometimes as a bribe to get stuff done! At the end of the Challenge, we had a fun staff party where we were able to trade our Challenge Bucks for goodies such as gift certificates, a paid day off and even a waived adoption fee.”

What’s really cool: That experience helped NHSPCA employees to notice and react to the good things that their coworkers were doing, creating a supportive and positive environment—and Courtney is thrilled to say that they’ve kept the program going. “At the end of our monthly staff meeting, we go around the room and each share why we’ve received a ‘buck’ with the group. Then we take a moment to see who has earned the most ‘bucks’ that month. That lucky person gets their very own reserved Employee of the Month parking spot, a nice gift certificate and, of course, a huge round of applause!”