Hip, Hip, Hoo-Rah! How Dalworth Restoration Celebrates Their Employees

Feeling valued in one's job is extremely important. Knowing that your work is appreciated and you're efforts are being recognized, can make you feel as though you're on top of the world. We want our employees to have this feeling every single day! One of the ways we make sure this happens, is to hold monthly "Hoo-Rahs".

Hoo...What?!

Hoo-Rahs typically happen once a month, on a Friday, at 7:00 a.m. All employees gather in our warehouse before beginning their day, and the celebration process begins. We fill everyone up with food, usually breakfast tacos or sandwiches, juice and coffee. However on occassion we have had one of our employees, who was a former chef, cook us up some of his magical breakfast empanadas. Either way, there is rarely any food left and everyone leaves here with a full belly and ready to start the day.

Food Before Fun

After breakfast, the games begin! The game could be: throwing darts to pop balloons, golf (the makeshift way where the ball goes into a hole cut out of a box), or a unique game of toss. Whichever game is decided upon (we try to change it up each time), the winners get their chance to win prizes; anywhere from gift cards and money to salon services and passes to local entertainment venues.

The Selection Process

Originally when we began the Hoo-Rahs, managers chose a few employees that stood out during that month based on their attitude, work ethic, etc. Also included in that mix were any customer reviews an employee received for a job that they worked on. However, for the last few Hoo-Rahs, the employees themselves have been the ones choosing who gets to play. We asked that each employee nominate members from their department and other departments (we are a small company and our departments ocassionally overlap) whom they felt deserved to be recognized. Along with writing a name down, they also had to write the reason why were choosing that person. A box was placed in our dispatch area for employees to anonymously cast their vote and the day before the Hoo-Rah the votes are tallied. Anyone with two or more votes stands in front of the company, has thier votes read aloud, and then gets to play the game.

Everyone Wins

Even if the employee does not win a prize at the Hoo-Rah, they have still won by the mere fact that their confidence is boosted and they feel valued. And the Dalworth family wins too. Here are some benefits to why employee recognition is a good thing:

• Increased productivity - behavior that is reinforced leads to repetition of the desired behavior and therefore increased productivity.
• Greater employee satisfaction and enjoyment of their job - more time is focused on the job and less on complaining.
• Higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers.
• Teamwork between employees grows.
• Retention of quality employees increases – lower employee turnover.
• Better safety records and fewer accidents on the job.
• Lower negative effects such as absenteeism and stress.