When an employee is "caught" doing something right--like handling a customer call really well--laboratory owner Larry Borman, Tetra Dynamics, West Babylon, New York, recognizes it on the spot and hands him movie tickets or a gift certificate to Home Depot or a local restaurant.
To recognize improvements such as fewer remakes, employees at Ottawa Dental Laboratory, Ottawa, Illinois, are surprised with make-your-own-ice-cream-sundae events and submarine sandwich luncheons.
In addition to a quarterly drawing to recognize good attendance, Town & Country Dental Studio, Freeport, New York, also has surprise drawings. For example, on a Friday afternoon, they call the employees together and hold a raffle for a gift certificate to a department or book store.
Ottawa Dental Laboratory holds a monthly catered lunch in the conference room for every employee who is celebrating a birthday that month.
Summit Dental Lab, Waco, Texas, challenged its employees to film a music video depicting the laboratory's mission statement. More than 90% of the 30 staff members rose to the challenge, and worked in four groups on their own time. The laboratory staff enjoyed watching the videos during its annual Thanksgiving feast.
Arrowhead Dental Laboratory, Sandy, Utah, brings employees together with summer cookouts, pizza luncheons, lunch-and-learns and dessert day on the first day of every month.
Monthly potluck lunches at Artisan Dental Laboratory, Portland, Oregon, often are contests for the best chili or flank steak recipe, for example. Or, the theme of the lunches centers on a holiday or on recipes that celebrate employees' ethnicity and culture.
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