Do you supervise staff or volunteers? How do you show appreciation to them for a job well done? Check out these ideas for staff recognition shared by your colleagues in the sheltering field during our recent webinar, “Hiring, Firing and Supporting Your Staff,” presented by the ASPCA’s Kate Pullen. (And P.S., if you’re not in a supervisory role, there are some great suggestions for letting your coworkers know you are thankful for their hard work.)

- “We have a thank-you box, and at each staff meeting we read all of the thank-yous for specific staff members.”

- “Each month I get a card going around to celebrate the work anniversaries and get that person a gift certificate. It honors their time with our agency.”

- “We have a Victory Wall—a large bulletin board where staff from other departments can see on their way to the kitchen. My team posts thank you emails and photos from people we’ve helped.”

- “Send thank you emails to the staff for small things, and be sure to copy their managers on it.”

- “We write notes and post them on the windows of cubes for all to see.”

- “It may be juvenile, but I love to give the staff ‘high fives’ when they’ve done something well. It is a very visual thing that makes everyone happy.”

- “We have a ‘Things That Make You Happy at Work’ board”

-  “We have a Bonus Bones program—employees and managers compliment one another by putting a ‘bone’ on a bulletin board.”

- “We have a whiteboard in the kitchen that’s updated daily for all to note who we are appreciating that day and why.”

- “Use the 10-4 rule… always acknowledge staff and volunteers when passing in the hall.” [Note: Amy Mills references this in her webinar, Customer Service for Social Change.”]

Which of these have you tried? How do you show appreciation for a job well done at your agency?

Missed the “Hiring, Firing and Supporting Your Staff” webinar or would like a refresher on interviewing, orientation and training? Listen to the recording and download the slides here.

Join Kate for part 2 in her Personnel Basics webinar series next Tuesday, May 14, from 3-4pm ET. She’ll provide you with “A Road Map to New Hire Orientation”—register here!

Related links:
Free Webinar Series: Personnel Basics
“Tip of the Week: Pay Your Colleagues a Compliment—Literally”

Providence Animal Rescue League (PARL) uses a simple form to communicate need-to-know info before a dog walker heads out the door:

The icons indicate which toys, treats and activities the dog prefers, as well as his skill level on leash, creating an easy-to-digest visual that minimizes confusion for staff and volunteers. And by laminating the chart, the Rhode Island agency makes it simple to reuse – they just use a marker to write over the plastic.

PARL hangs each dog’s harness alongside his form, which reminds folks to check the dog’s latest info as they grab the leash for their walk. As you can see, there’s a handy calendar at the bottom of page for staff and volunteers to initial when a dog has been out.

Got a way to amp up the communication amongst your staff and volunteers? We’d love to hear, so shout at us in the comment box.

P.S. Guess where PARL got the inspiration for their form? We hate to brag, but what the heck – they told us it was right here: Tip of the Week: (Dry Erase) Boarding School. Thanks for reading, guys!

Related Links:
Tip of the Week: (Dry Erase) Boarding School
Sample Enrichment Schedule

If you celebrated National Volunteer Week at your agency, we bet you said those wonderful words at least once last week. Take a look at what some of your colleagues in the field did to show their appreciation for their volunteers, in person and online.

(And to the agencies whose materials are featured here—thank YOU for the great ideas we’re passing on as inspiration for next year!)

- In honor of National Volunteer Week, Maryland SPCA introduced their Facebook fans to individual volunteers by posting photos and stories all week long. Here’s half of the mother-daughter puppy fostering team:

- Many agencies tallied the total number of hours their volunteers donate in a year and shared it via social media channels. Asheville Humane Society created this wonderful shareable graphic for their Facebook page.

Love how they converted those hours into staff time—really helps to show how valuable volunteers are.

- Hankie alert: Animal Humane Society shared a thank-you video each day during National Volunteer Week, with individual staffers hosting each segment. All videos share the same crisp, compelling format, starting off with a thoughtful quote before the staff person introduces the volunteer and lists the different ways in which he or she brings value to the Minnesota agency. So touching and personal:

- Sacramento County Animal Care gave a shout-out for a special volunteer on their Facebook page.

Senior Officer Libby Simmons presented a bicycle to volunteer David Verdugo, who cleans, feeds, socializes animals and helps customers in the shelter 5 days a week. David had been walking 4 miles to and from the shelter—but now he’s got wheels! Check the original post for the complete story—and to read the funny and sweet comments it received. What’s so great: This post spreads such good vibes about the agency, and shows how caring both volunteers AND staff are.

- Wisconsin Humane Society takes the week so seriously they give it a theme every year. For 2013, it was “We treasure our volunteers.” Staff from each campus went all out with the decorations and put out a spread like this one:

WHS also created a thank-you video that they shared to wrap up the week:

Bonus tip for next year if you’re thinking about creating a video for volunteer appreciation week: See the charming cast of characters that WHS featured at the end?! You probably have some at your agency you can recruit!

Related links:
“Volunteer Programs: What We’re Learning From You”
“3 Secrets to Volunteer Success”

It’s National Volunteer Week! Shelters, how do you thank your volunteers? Volunteers, what makes you feel appreciated?

Photo: Oklahoma City Animal Welfare

P.S. Looking for the answer to last week’s Wordless Wednesday? Hair it is!

Update, April 30: The writing’s on the wall—volunteers rock the house! Click through the comment box to find out about some of the cool ways they were recognized by shelters all across the country last week.

Related links:
“Volunteer Programs: What We’re Learning From You”
Foster Care section on ASPCApro
“3 Secrets to Volunteer Success”

I love simple ideas that serve multiple purposes at once. So on a recent visit to Nevada Humane Society (NHS), this little gem really popped for me:

In the busy NHS hallways, you’ll find a humble plastic brochure holder with these simple “Cat Needing Medial Attention” forms. Staff, volunteers and even visitors – potential adopters and others – are asked to fill out one of these forms and hand it in at the front desk if they spot a cat sneezing or showing any other symptoms of impending kitty cold or other nastiness.

I love how this empowers all staff, volunteers and visiting community members to help care for the cats. And I love how it also implicates staff, volunteers and – especially! – visiting community members in the welfare of the cats. In my mind this is a cool example of community education that doubles as community engagement. It acknowledges that cats in shelters (like kids in day care) are susceptible to catching colds from each other AND it says that the shelter staff cares about these cats and wants to know right away if there’s a possible problem. Nice transparency. Best of all, it explicitly asks the community to help out by alerting staff to any potential issues they spot. Shelter tour guides greet visitors and show them around the place – pointing out these little tickets and asking the visitors to use them as needed. Way to engage!

So, this simple idea that costs less than $10 to implement:
- helps to keep the kitties healthy and well-cared for,
- establishes one reliable routine (complete with paper trail) for identifying and responding to possible health issues,
- gives staff, volunteers and visitors a voice,
- demonstrates the agency cares, and
- provides a little education to visitors and engages community members in taking care of the cats.

Now that’s a win/win/win/win/win approach.

Related links:
“3 Secrets to Volunteer Success”
Using Social Media: Slammin’ Shelter Video Roundup
Webinar Series: ASV Shelter Guidelines