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You can now login via 2 ways: by creating your own local login or via an external site of your choosing. LOGIN by creating your own username and password OR by connecting an external account (Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook). EDIT YOUR LOGIN anytime by clicking on the drop-down in the top right corner, then “My Account”, and then “Login”.

Global Site Notification

Anytime we have updates or announcements you’ll be the first to know! WE CAN COMMUNICATE UPDATES AND MESSAGES to our entire user base within seconds.

Live Activity Feed

No need to refresh. The activity feed now updates in real-time. REAL-TIME ACTIVITY FEED so you don’t miss a beat.

Hashtags

Add hashtags to any item. Create a hashtag by adding an “#” in front of any word(s) in any item. Click on any hashtag to see a list of items that also contain that hashtag.

Recognition Grader

Want to know the strength of your recognition? We’ll tell you! TYPE THE PUBLIC MESSAGE of a Sparcet and see how strong your recognition is. CLICK THE QUESTION MARK beside the grader to see how to increase your recognition’s strength.

User Stats

Admins can see the current status of all users within their tenant. VIEW USERS who are active, inactive, and pending in your tenant.

Manager Role

Managers have access to reports, analytics, and the dashboard. ASSIGN THE MANAGER ROLE to a user by hovering over their name, then click “roles” and then select “manager”.

38 years ago, the penultimate pop funk band Earth Wind & Fire gave the world a classic: Shining Star. Released during their peak years, Shining Star delivered the uplifting, positive message that was so needed during the mid-70s. Nearly four decades later, the lyrics still ring true, and got me thinking about employee recognition.

Your Team Members Are Stars – Tell Them!

Every single person you work with is a star, or at least should be (if they’re not, why are they even there?). As leaders and team members, we need to remember that everyone likes to be recognized for doing a great job, and it’s up to us to tell them. When you make people feel like stars through recognition, engagement goes up, culture is built, and the company is successful. It’s a no brainer!

Here are 6 lyrics from Shining Star to help you focus on giving more recognition…

“You’re a shining star, no matter who you are”

Right from the top, the title lyrics nail it: It doesn’t matter if you’re working in the corner office or at the front desk, you are a valuable member of the team. Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done, so be sure to tell your team members.

“Shine bright to see what you could truly be”

Do a great job, and great things will happen…we know this. When a team member is killing it, people notice. Taking the time to recognize a team member will reinforce their core AND emerging skills, and help them truly become who that want to be.

“Words of wisdom: Yes I can”

That’s the right attitude, but recognition programs flip that on it’s end to make communication about someone other than ourselves. “Yes YOU can” is more like it, and is exactly the kind of positive reinforcement electronic recognition programs are all about. In the end, everyone is empowered by the recogntion and develops a “can do” attitude.

“Life ain’t what it seems”

Just like in our personal lives, things aren’t always what they appear to be at work. The traditional org chart is a great example of this, as it often tells only part of the story. When employee recognition programs are peer-to-peer, the “influencer org chart” will reveal itself and show you who actually impacts who. You might be surprised!

“To shine its watchful light on you”

This is what it’s all about: to shine a light on all the good deeds happening around an organization. Electronic recognition illuminates all the positive actions, and helps leadership “watch” the success unfold.

“Give you strength to carry on”

At the end of the day, recognition at work makes you feel good; good about yourself, your team members, your company, and your mission. The camradarie, culture, and connections recognition helps foster is priceless, and will ultimiately make both individuals and companies successful.

There are so many reasons why employee recognition is so critical, but at the end of the day we all just want to feel special; to be appreciated; to be a star!

How are you going to recognize your shining stars today?

Every person, word, action, wall color, email, and vending machine snack at an organization ultimately shapes its culture, but nothing can chisel, sand, and refine company’s vibe like employee recognition – especially when it’s digital.

It’s been shown time and time again that praise from a manager and peers is an effective motivator at an organization. Unfortunately, tired ideas like employee-of-the-month programs and showers of gift cards just don’t cut it anymore. Today’s recognition needs to be timely, visible, and come from every level of the company – not just the top down.

That’s why digital employee recognition is sparking fires across the country. Savvy leaders are taking note of the impact recognition can have on morale, culture, and the bottom line. They are embracing recognition software as an important spoke in their strategic wheel – one that will give them the ultimate competitive advantage: a thriving culture teaming with engaged people.

Employee Recognition Builds Culture

It’s certainly not a silver bullet, but digital recognition can build and maintain positive change more efficiently than other methods. Here are five ways employee recognition can shape culture for the better:

Reinforces Positive Behavior
Traditionally, praise is a one-on-one transaction between a team member and a supervisor. This can create a positive effect on both people, but what about the rest of the company? When someone is recognized in a visible, public manner, the positive behavior is seen by the entire workforce. This encourages others to do similar things because they know leadership will approve. This is a “culture multiplier”, and can greatly accelerate the impact of a recognition program.

Exposes Good Deeds
Digital recognition spreads easily through intranets, feeds, social media, and email. A by-product of this is improved communication across an organization, as all employees are exposed to projects, results, teammates, and ideas that would normally go unseen. Most leaders have improved communication as a goal, so cranking it up a notch while dlivering much needed recognition is a no brainer.

Identifies Influencer Org Chart
Every company has an org chart – an evil, top-down document that leaves so much to be desired. In reality, most leaders care more about who is supporting, working, and interacting with each other than whose box connects to whose. This means digital recognition can reflect how an company is truly structured: by influence! Digital tools can easily dissect the chatter and identify who really works with and helps each other, making it easier to align teams with company objectives.

Enhances Employer Brand
All companies want to attract the best talent, so having a positive employer brand is something that should be top of mind. Digital recognition can easily be shared via social media, which improves the visibility of all the great things happening within an organization. All the shout-outs, props, kudos, and thank-yous that end up on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can paint a picture that shows the world how great your culture really is, ultimately leading the best talent right to your front door.

Provides Data for Awards/Rewards Programs
Digital communication, whether it’s email, project updates, or social media, can be tracked, measured, and reported on. Digital recognition is no different, and the data it provides can be valuable when administering awards and rewards programs. It’s easy to see how much recognition someone received, how much they gave, which teams got the most praise, and so on. People give the recognition, and leaders can use that data to reward, acknowledge, and review performance.

In the end, culture is the product of everything in your building – from the coffee to the recognition. And while I’m not ready for eCoffee just yet, I certainly like my digital recognition visible, timely, and easy to share with friends.

How is your organization embracing digital employee recognition?

OK, saying employee engagement can save the lives of your team members may be a little hyperbolic, but hey – as leaders we need every advantage possible, right?

The infusion of wellness programs into corporate America is nearly complete, and you’ll find health-based incentives in most benefits packages. It’s a no brainer to connect lower insurance costs and increased productivity with healthier employees, so companies everywhere are looking for more ways to get their teams thinking about their health.

But why make them think about it? When people love where they work and what they do, their whole lives become better and more aligned with their goals. That’s where employee engagement comes in: It’s your secret weapon for a healthier workforce.

Get ‘em Engaged, Get ‘em Healthy

In a recent study, Gallup found a strong connection between employee engagement and health. It turns out that engaged workforces tend to exercise more and eat healthier, which means good things for the company. So while the staff’s bottoms get smaller, the company’s bottom line gets bigger. Who doesn’t want that?!?

This is just another reason to why 2013 is your year to focus on employee engagement. More engagement means better health, which means happier employees and better bottom line – everyone wins!

How are you increasing your team’s engagement this year? Let us know in the comments.

New UI

We just released a brand new interface and look to SPARCET! Our goals were to fully improve the overall user experience and make appreciating and recognizing your coworkers even more enjoyable and rewarding than before. What do you think? We would love your feedback! Let us know what you think here: helpme@sparcet.com.

SPARCET Leaderboard

Want to see how your recognition and appreciation efforts add up compared to your coworkers? Well, now you can! The SPARCET leaderboard numbers are reset every month and you’ll see the updated leaderboard in your feed every 5 hours.

Here’s how the point system works:
1 point for giving a Silver, 2 points for receiving a Silver
2 points for giving a Gold, 4 points for receiving a Gold
5 points for giving a Platinum, 10 points for receiving a Platinum

Peeps Tab

This is essentially a “yearbook” of your coworkers meant to provide easier navigation to their profiles so you can get to know your peeps.

New UI

We just released a brand new interface and look to SPARCET! Our goals were to fully improve the overall user experience and make appreciating and recognizing your coworkers even more enjoyable and rewarding than before. What do you think? We would love your feedback! Let us know what you think here: helpme@sparcet.com.

SPARCET Leaderboard

Want to see how your recognition and appreciation efforts add up compared to your coworkers? Well, now you can! The SPARCET leaderboard numbers are reset every month and you’ll see the updated leaderboard in your feed every 5 hours.

Here’s how the point system works:
1 point for giving a Silver, 2 points for receiving a Silver
2 points for giving a Gold, 4 points for receiving a Gold
5 points for giving a Platinum, 10 points for receiving a Platinum

Peeps Tab

This is essentially a “yearbook” of your coworkers meant to provide easier navigation to their profiles so you can get to know your peeps.

The research has been done and re-done. Engaged and recognized employees are your top performers, biggest supporters, and most tenured employees.

Here are a few ways to kick it up a notch:

1. Keep it unfiltered and unfettered – let your team recognize all things great and
   small and use the language they choose. If you censor or put constraints on it
   then you will see it dwindle down to nothing.
2. Celebrate every month – make sure your choose a recipient or two to recognize
   in front of the entire company on a regular basis.
3. Don’t let employees game the system – putting values, merchandise or gift cards
   can be valuable but is not necessary. Use a system that allows for limited or
   leveled recognition where certain types are more scarce than others. You will cut
   out ‘gaming’ the system and make recognizing more real.
4. Make sure senior leadership and management are leading the charge – and
   using most if not all of their recognition inventory every month. One of the
   biggest reason employees leave is not for more money but due to lack of
   recognition from their direct manager.
5. Ditch your employee of the month award – it’s stale and brings zero value to your
   organization.
6. Make public your recognition – it allows all employees to see the great things
   going on in your company and lets employees gauge the pulse or happiness of
   the organization.
7. Keep the fire burning – make recognition a part of your culture and your culture
   will improve!

Give some or all of the above a shot. What do you have to lose? Make the commitment
to create a culture of recognition and see how your company changes for the better!

How are you making your employee recognition program rock?

SPARC, a Best Place to Work Winner, announces that the popular employee recognition application SPARCET has been used to send over 15,000 pieces of recognition at over 400 companies. SPARCET brings increased communication, engagement, and culture to organizations who use the free platform, and highlights the true influence team members have with one another.

SPARCET is an employee recognition and engagement application that provides unfiltered peer-to-peer recognition across an organization, multiplying all the great things already happening. Users can send silver, gold, and platinum Sparcets to team members, leaders and even customers who have impacted them positively, which can be seen on a real-time company-wide feed.

Since launching earlier in 2012, SPARCET users have sent over 15,000 pieces of recognition to individuals who have gone above and beyond. Sparcets are sent for many reasons, including help on a key project, supporting an important customer, or simply making time to listen.

Some examples from SPARC include this gold Sparcet from Doug Ross to Ryan VanMiddlesworth, “Ryan supported a proposal over a holiday weekend. His technical expertise allowed SPARC to identify and correct any weak areas of the proposal. Great job and thank you Ryan!” They can also be simple, like this platinum Sparcet from Eric Wright to Greg Wile, “Greg always goes above and beyond!” Others choose to recognize teammates for personal help, like this silver Sparcet from Donny Betts to Caitlin Aburrow, “Trader Joe’s peanut butter granola bar, enough said!”

67% of employees say that praise from a supervisor motivates them to do greater work1, and more often than not this praise happens privately, if at all. SPARCET allows this recognition to be more visible and longer lasting, which builds energy and reinforces a positive company culture. By providing visible and timely recognition across an organization, SPARCET has a multiplying effect on culture, communication, and engagement.

“SPARCET brought us closer together as an organization through recognition, as we now know what good deeds are occurring within all projects throughout all departments. People publicly recognizing each other has greatly increased the positive energy throughout the company, SPARCET has been an incredible communication and recognition tool at CESCO,”
said Jamie DeMent, CESCO Marketing Director.

Start using SPARCET for free at www.sparcet.com, or register for a webinar to check out a demo and learn more.

SPARC’D – the Employee Engagement Platform

We’ve officially begun development on SPARC’D and are inches from releasing the Beta version. SPARC’D is an Employee Engagement Platform (EEP) that helps pave the way to creating, measuring, and maintaining a great corporate culture and engaged employees.

Want to learn more? be one of the first to test it? see it? Go www.sparcd.com and submit your email address to get a glimpse the first EEP of its kind!

SPARC’D – the Employee Engagement Platform

We’ve officially begun development on SPARC’D and are inches from releasing the Beta version. SPARC’D is an Employee Engagement Platform (EEP) that helps pave the way to creating, measuring, and maintaining a great corporate culture and engaged employees.

Want to learn more? be one of the first to test it? see it? Go www.sparcd.com and submit your email address to get a glimpse the first EEP of its kind!

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