Ideas That Work: Morale Booster

When several staff members came to me to praise one of their coworkers, I felt their show of support should be displayed for not only the worker to see it, but for everyone else, too, to show our staff who go above and beyond how much we value their efforts. That's why I came up with the Shout-out Board, and encouraged staff members to email me when they noticed coworkers doing something that deserves recognition. I place copies of the emails in the recognized employees' files for references during annual performance evaluations. Staff members who shout out one of their peers write handwritten notes of thanks on index cards and pin them to the board. The Shout-out Board is located in a central area, so the positive remarks are seen on a daily basis. It's extremely gratifying to see recognized staff members smile when they notice the notes from their colleagues, knowing their efforts were appreciated.

Cindy Wiersema, BSN, RN
The Surgery Center
Fort Wayne, Ind.
[email protected]