The events of the past few years have reshaped the global workforce, with many leaving, or losing, their jobs. Despite a relatively steady recovery from the chaos of 2020, businesses continue to struggle with retention. The latest report released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that “separations” which it defines as “quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations” increased by 3.2 million in 2022 from 2021. “Quits” accounted for 70% of all separations in 2022, the highest annual level in the survey’s 21-year history.

An Industry to Watch

While 2022 saw an increase in new hires, the growing challenge of retaining employees remains at the forefront of many business leaders’ minds. The healthcare industry in particular has drawn public scrutiny for its struggle with this issue. In 2021, voluntary terminations accounted for 95.5% of all hospital terminations, which were at their highest rate in recent years at 25.9%. Facing critical staffing shortages, and the industry’s failure to meet their turnover reduction goals, health care providers are putting even more focus on employee retention strategies. Their research and subsequent application will serve as an outstanding case study for other businesses struggling with the same obstacle.

What Makes People Stay?

While many organizations have invested in well-being initiatives, competitive pay, bonuses, and better technology, it’s still not enough to quell the turnover crisis. These are all essential strategies for recruitment, however, their existence in a setting devoid of a strong work culture limits their effectiveness to retain those new hires. As a visual, imagine planting beautiful, expensive orchids in a gravel parking lot. There’s nothing wrong with the orchids; they’re beautiful and appreciated, but without a proper environment, they can’t function at their fullest. In a survey spanning hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers, The Harvard Business Review found a resounding answer to what makes people stay: pride in their work and loyalty to their colleagues. An organizational culture with a commitment to excellence is the key factor in solving the turnover problem.

A Leadership Challenge

Building a strong workplace culture takes time, strategy, and dedication from all levels of management. A unified effort to embody the organization’s mission and values is imperative to prevent any new initiatives from falling flat. Once the core values are identified, it’s time to focus on definitions of excellence and point of pride. While healthcare workers can take pride in providing excellent care to their patients, other businesses can reflect on what they’re proud of. From there, they can brainstorm metrics for stellar performance. These could be anything from sales goals to positive feedback from customers.

Recognize A Job Well Done

Once businesses have established the performance metrics that work for them, they need to commit to consistently recognizing their employees. Keeping recognition fair and timely will help build momentum, keep up morale, and establish clear expectations. As recognition experts for over 50 years, we at Dion highly recommend a mix of personal, informal thank yous and more formal public recognition. This way, a culture of appreciation can flourish and employees feel celebrated in multiple ways. Peer-to-peer recognition is a great way to involve the entire company and create a positive and encouraging environment. Here at Dion, our peer-to-peer recognition involves our custom jewelry in the form of our Diamond Award. Members of Team Dion nominate their peers when they see someone going out of their way to help a coworker. The nominee receives a silver award pin, an internal newsletter shoutout, and their good deed posted on our Diamond Award board. Not only does the nominee feel recognized, the nominator feels like they have a strong and meaningful way to say “thank you.”

At Dion, we design and manufacture many unique and treasured healthcare pins, brooches, and badge holders. However, we take pride in creating valuable, specialized, and wearable awards to honor high achievers in all industries. If you’re looking for a unique way to boost retention, celebrate excellence, and engage employees, we’re here to help. Browse our gallery of past products, or send us an email, give us a call, or message us to get started!

Nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system. As patient advocates and skilled care providers, they have the unique ability to combine their medical knowledge with compassion to ensure that each patient receives the best possible care. Schools often celebrate their nurses through pinning ceremonies.

The Ceremony

Pinning ceremonies are held separately from graduation, making them more intimate and meaningful for the graduates and their families. Like graduation, it is an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishment of becoming a nurse, but while graduation highlights the completion of academic study, the pinning ceremony marks the important transition from student to nurse. Each graduate selects a person to dedicate their pin to; usually a friend, faculty, or family member. That person will come up on stage to secure the nursing pin to the graduate’s lapel. Speeches and stories are shared, and a ceremonial candle lighting is also typically held. It is often described as an emotional and beautiful ceremony.

The Pin

The history of nursing pins dates back to the 12th century. During the Crusades, those who were devoted to caring for the injured and ill were given large Maltese crosses to wear on the battlefields. Symbols like the Maltese cross remained an important way to signal one’s service to a particular cause. In the 1800’s Florence Nightingale, widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing, received the Red Cross of St. George for her incredible contributions during the Crimean War. Nightingale knew that recognizing stellar performance was an important part of improving nursing standards. When she started her own nurse training program, Nightingale gave medals of excellence to her brightest graduates. Eventually, her nursing school in London designed and awarded a badge with a Maltese Cross to all nurses as they completed their program.

The Value

Today, nursing pins are highly customized to represent the pride and values of their respective school. Nurses will often wear them on their hospital badges, display them in keepsake shadow boxes, or keep them in a jewelry box where they’ll be seen often. The pin’s history, significance, and symbolism make it an important part of every nurse’s journey. At Dion, we take pride in creating these important pins, and know that nursing graduates deserve something truly special. We’re also proud to offer custom badge holders that ensure recognition is always on display.

No matter the occupation or organization, recognition ceremonies help motivate honorees to keep succeeding. Having a custom award item ensures that they’ll always have a tangible reminder of their accomplishments. If you’d like to honor your members, employees, or team members with something custom, getting started with Dion is easy! Simply send us an email, give us a call, or message us to get started.

As the clock counted down and the confetti started to fly at Super Bowl 57, the excitement was palpable. The Chiefs were screaming, smiling, and hugging. The entire stadium roared in celebration. This was the payoff; the ultimate achievement they’ve been working towards. They were the champions.

Of course, you don’t have to be a professional athlete to be a champion. People work hard, achieve their goals, and make positive change in countless occupations. Becoming a champion in any field starts with the right mindset.

Establish Goals

First and foremost, you’ll need to establish a clear goal that you want to achieve. Without a clear directive, it’s easy to become complacent and aimless. At Dion, we like to stick to the SMART method when setting goals. That means our goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. By clearly identifying your desired state, you can take conscious steps to reach it.

Believe in Yourself

The whole point in setting goals is that you believe you can achieve them in the first place. Without that self confidence, your mission has ended before it began. Having trust in yourself and your abilities to achieve are crucial to having a champion mindset. One way to build this confidence is to adjust the way you speak to yourself. It’s very easy to tear ourselves down and pick out every little mistake made. Changing this takes time, and may feel silly at first, but the more you repeat something to yourself, the more likely you are to believe it. Try picking out a mantra for yourself and repeat it throughout your day. A mantra can be something like:

• “I am strong and resilient in the face of any challenge.”
• “Every day is an opportunity to get closer to my goals.”
• “I will not let fear or doubt stand in the way of my success.”
• “I am capable of achieving anything I set my mind to.”

Take Action

Now that you’ve set your goals and are brimming with confidence, it’s time to take action! Identify the steps needed to reach your goal, then concentrate on the first step. Take each action one at a time so they don’t become overwhelming. This is where your commitment will begin to be tested. Some days you might not feel like putting the work in. You won’t be as revved up as you were when you set your goal. It may be tempting to quit or become complacent, but you had a reason for setting this goal in the first place. Remind yourself why you wanted to achieve this goal. The only person who can move you forward is you.

Keep Good Company

Every champion has a great team, coach, or support group around them. When embarking on your own goals, surround yourself with people who will encourage and challenge you. Perhaps those around you have similar goals that you can work towards together. Having a great coach or mentor will also help keep you on track. These people will help keep you accountable as you climb the steps to your goal.

Celebrate Your Achievements

On the journey to your supreme goal, you’ll undoubtedly have many smaller achievements. Maybe you learned a new skill, completed a course, or made a new connection. Make sure to acknowledge these moments as they happen. Not only does it help build confidence, but it also helps reorient you on your pathway.

Of course, you’ll definitely want to celebrate when you achieve that ultimate goal - that’s your champion moment! Here at Dion, we love helping people commemorate their achievements. Having a unique and high quality award is a constant reminder of all one’s hard work, dedication, and skill. No matter the field, we want all recipients of our awards to feel like champions. If you’re looking for awards for your business or organization, we’re here for you. Browse our gallery of past products, then send us an email, give us a call, or message us to get started!

Super Bowl 57 is just days away, and it’s safe to assume the Chiefs and Eagles players have one thing on their mind - a big sparkly ring. Super Bowl rings are a time-honored tradition that have captivated sports fans for decades. Much more than a flashy piece of jewelry, the meaning and legacy behind these rings cannot be understated. Here are some lesser-known facts behind football’s favorite ring.

Who Makes Them?

Although Tiffany & Co. is the exclusive provider of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, they don’t always get the chance to produce the rings. In fact, every year companies will bid for the opportunity to create them. Jostens, the creator of the very first Super Bowl ring, usually wins this bidding war and has created 36 of the 56 rings. However, competitors like Tiffany & Co., Balfour, and Jason of Beverly Hills have also had their turn. Jason of Beverly Hills has won the bidding war for the last two years thanks to their innovative designs.

How Much Are They?

Each ring design is vastly different from the previous year’s, so pinning a number on them is hard. The NFL officially gives the winning team between $5,000 and $7,000 per ring for up to 150 rings. The rings usually end up costing anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 each with the difference in cost paid by the team’s owners. Last year’s winning team, The LA Rams, have said that their design has the most diamond carat weight in NFL history, with approximately 20 carats of white diamonds set on top of white and yellow gold. It’s safe to assume their ring was closer to the $50k mark.

Of course, some players and staff have sold their rings for various prices. The history behind the ring, who it belonged to, and other variables all contribute to its value. The highest price ever paid for a Super Bowl ring is $230,401 in 2012. The ring was from Super Bowl 25 and previously belonged to New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

Who Gets One?

As mentioned earlier, the most rings a team can request is 150. That’s almost enough for all active, reserve, and practice squad players to get two! So who are the extra ones for? While there are no official rules about who does or doesn’t receive a ring, typically both active and inactive players do receive them. Coaches, owners, and high-ranking employees also usually take a ring home. If an owner really wants to, they can order more than 150 rings, but they have to pay the full cost themselves.

Even the losing team gets their own ring! The NFL still gives them $5,000 for up to 150 rings for their players and staff. They may not be as flashy or grab as much attention, but they celebrate the team’s success in getting to the Super Bowl. Popular details on these rings are nods to their conference wins or the final score of the Super Bowl if it was a close game.

Who Has the Most?

If you’re a sports fan, you may be tempted to answer Tom Brady. While Brady has a total of seven Super Bowl rings, there’s still someone who has more: Bill Belichick. As the head coach of the New England Patriots, Belichick led his team to six Super Bowl wins. He also has two other rings from his previous position as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. This brings his grand total to eight rings. Brady’s recent retirement announcement means Belichick will likely remain in the number one spot for some time.

What Makes Them Special?

Super Bowl rings are designed to embody the personality of the winning team and outdo the previous year’s design. Each ring is filled with symbolism and meaning in the form of engravings, stone count, carat weight, colors, images, and more. Take for example the LA RAms ring from last year’s Super Bowl. Their ring design was inspired by their home field, SoFi Stadium, where they won the championship. Not only does it have the stadium’s columns around the bezel of the ring, the entire top can be removed to view a tiny football field inside. The underside of the top piece also houses a piece of stadium turf and a piece of the game ball. As mentioned earlier, the total diamond weight of the ring is 20 carats. This was chosen to signify SoFi Stadium’s opening in 2020. There are many more details hidden in the ring as well.

Championship rings are unique pieces of jewelry that symbolize hard work, dedication, teamwork, brotherhood, and the prideful roar of victory. Their creative designs entrance fans and non-fans alike. With endless ways to customize, they’re sure to create a meaningful impact on anyone who’s earned one. If you’re looking for a custom, high-end award ring for your team, we’ve got you covered. Check out our gallery for examples of our past championship ring designs. Then just send us an email, give us a call, or message us to get started!

In last week’s blog, we talked about how event commemoratives boost engagement. Let’s dive a little deeper into how they “get people talking” and “create buzz.” Unique event keepsakes can help foster employee and client relationships through the conversations they inspire.

Positive Reinforcement

Many of us have heard the saying, “If it’s free, it’s for me!” Most people like receiving free things, especially when they weren’t expecting to. Receiving an event keepsake creates a positive moment between the company and recipient. A commemorative has the most positive effect on the recipient when it:

• ties in with the theme of the event
• is unique
• lasts a long time
• is useful OR has a perceived value

If a company can manage to check all four boxes, they can create countless positive impressions and associations with their brand. At internal events, employee recipients are more likely to feel appreciated and proud of their company. At public events, potential clients will be more familiar with the company and have a tangible reminder of it.

Close-Up

Event Commemoratives are a fantastic way to place marketing material directly into the hands of attendees. They make contact with the company virtually unavoidable, which is especially useful at conventions and tradeshows. If the commemorative item is worn, such as a hat or pin, the company’s brand will get in front of even more eyes. A unique or particularly useful item may spark conversation, creating buzz for the brand. These personal experiences and connections drive engagement with the company in a meaningful way.

After The Event

Commemorative items should serve as reminders long after the event ends. Whether it was a special award event for the company’s top earners, or a whirlwind conference full of potential new leads, the goal is to have attendees look back with fondness. The more the recipient is reminded of the event, the more mileage the company gets from its marketing. If the commemorative is put on display, it can generate even more brand impact. It’s impossible to measure the full extent of an item’s effect, but one with the four criteria mentioned earlier is going to go a long way.

Custom event commemoratives are an excellent tool for companies looking to market themselves and create buzz around their brand. These items can be used to show appreciation to customers and clients alike, and put the marketing material right in their hands. Commemoratives also create lasting positive impressions and can serve as conversation starters, allowing companies to build relationships and increase visibility.

Wanted to get started on your unique event commemorative? An E.A. Dion rep can help you create lasting impressions with our custom jewelry keepsakes. Send us an email, give us a call, or message us to get started!

Across all industries, many business leaders understand the importance of marking important milestones and celebrating achievements. Whether it's the launch of a new product, the opening of a new location, or the anniversary of a successful year, these accomplishments are worth commemorating. Having a physical commemorative helps to maximize the impact of these events.

The Souvenir Effect

Events take a significant amount of planning and effort to put on. No matter how spectacular the event was, it can quickly fade in people’s memories as they move on to something new. A physical commemorative serves as a reminder of the event and its significance. Whether it's a plaque, a pin, or a certificate, it serves as a tangible reminder of the event and its importance.

When choosing a commemorative, try looking for something that is both unique, and long lasting. This makes it much more likely to be cherished as a reminder of the wonderful event. A well-selected commemorative can be displayed and shared with everyone who was involved in the event, and can be used to inspire future accomplishments. It can even become a collectible as people may want to save their commemorative from each event.

Showing Appreciation

A physical commemorative is a great way to show appreciation to those who made the event possible. By using a special commemorative to thank employees and partners for their hard work and dedication, they’ll always have a tangible symbol of their success and the company’s recognition of it. This recognition can help boost morale and loyalty. If the event truly was a huge success, you’d definitely want the same people to plan your next event! A unique commemorative can go a long way.

Brand Boost

Finally, commemorative items are a great marketing tool. They can be used to show customers and clients that the business is successful and that it values its achievements. If the commemorative is displayed in a prominent place, it’s more likely to come up in conversation. This is why we at E.A. Dion love custom jewelry awards - they’re unique, eye-catching, and go wherever the recipient goes. Commemorative jewelry items are a terrific way to elevate the company’s brand and get people talking.

Keep the good times fresh in everyone’s minds with a unique commemorative keepsake. Not only will it preserve the memory of the company’s special event, it can be used to show appreciation to those who made it happen. Commemoratives can become conversation pieces long after the event between employees and clients alike.

With over 50 years in business, E.A. Dion knows how to create truly special custom commemoratives for any industry. Contact us byemail, send us a message, or call us to get started!

As we approach the final days of the year, it’s worth taking a moment to look back and reflect. What were the highs and lows? What did we do that had a positive impact? A recent recipient of one of our awards comes to mind. It’s a great reminder of why we do what we do.

An Anonymous Hero

To tell this story properly, we need to go back to 1979, when gas was 90 cents and the top song was “My Sharona” by The Knack. Tensions between the US and Iran were also at a boiling point when a group of Iranian students stormed the US Embassy and began the infamous Iran Hostage Crisis. The 52 hostages were held for a terrifying 444 days. Among them was a Vietnam War veteran, lifelong service member, and future recipient of one of our rings.

This veteran risked his life multiple times for the sake of his country. He demonstrated incredible courage and resilience in the face of adversity. In order to recognize his many years of service and sacrifice, he recently received a custom Vietnam War Veterans ring, manufactured by us. As a supplier, it’s not often that we hear back from the recipients of our awards, so we truly cherish each response. Our distributor partner for these rings, Ian C. Modelevsky, Inc., passed along this veteran’s message:

“Hi Ruby, Just wanted you to know that the recipient of this ring received it today and is thrilled!!! He was in the service all his life, he was one of the victims held by the Iran government for 444 days, and was famously released the day Ronald Regan became president. He has quite the story to tell. He also had surgery Monday and is doing well so to receive this beautiful ring today was very emotional for him. He was very gracious and thanked us all. Please advise the people at Dion of the review from this grateful Veteran. -Sharon"

The Power of Appreciation

At Dion, we never lose sight of the people we make our awards for. Whether it’s a nursing pin for a newly graduated nurse, or a belt buckle for a driver with years of safe performance, these awards mean something. They represent the culmination of the recipient’s hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence. They are both a physically and emotionally high-value object.

We believe the custom nature of our jewelry awards imparts that meaningful emotional impact. These awards are exclusive to their organizations and can only be earned through hard work. Recipients can wear them with pride as a constant reminder of their success and appreciation. We’ve even heard of recipients who plan to pass their award down to their children! It means the world to hear when our products are treasured by the awardees.

Thank You

With this in mind, we move into 2023 with a sense of gratitude. We extend our warmest thanks to all of our distributor partners and our vendors. It’s been another great year of creating meaningful moments of appreciation - and we couldn’t do it without you! Thanks also to you, the reader. Whether this is the first blog you’ve read, or you read them every other week, we thank you for spending some time with us. From all of us at Team Dion, have a happy, healthy New Year!

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

As consumers, we’re used to being able to buy things off the shelf right away. We usually expect convenience and instant gratification when it comes to our purchases. However, when it comes to awards, custom items can be worth the wait.

Choosing Custom

When it comes to rewarding employees, companies have many options to choose from. From gift cards to company sponsored trips, there are plenty of ways to show appreciation for those who make a business successful. Before choosing one, a very important question must be asked: is this item an award or a prize?

As we’ve discussed in a previous blog, awards should be something that can only be earned through an accomplishment at an organization. They are an encapsulation of both the company’s identity and the individual’s achievement. Items that can be bought at easily accessible retail stores are simply prizes. Prizes can often be regifted, spent quickly and forgotten about, or even thrown away since they’re so impersonal. Awards on the other hand, are special and able to be cherished. By creating a custom award, companies can ensure that they feel thought-through and personal.

The Perfect Fit

Once a company has chosen to go with a custom award, a whole new world of options opens up. This is an exciting opportunity to reinforce the company’s values, culture, and branding, while also elevating and recognizing the accomplishments of their employees. Whether the company’s style is sleek and minimalist, or detailed and rustic, a custom award is bound to suit them perfectly. This special tailoring will keep the recipient in mind as well, giving them something of high value that they can’t get anywhere else. Custom awards are made with care and attention to detail, and the end result is something that recipients can cherish for years to come. Plus, it’s fun to see where a designer, artist, or craftsman can take a company’s vision!

Worth The Wait

It’s true, when ordering custom items it can take a bit longer to get them than buying something off the shelf, but it’s worth the wait. Custom items often require more meticulousness, craftsmanship, and quality control than mass-produced items. This means companies can rest assured that they’re getting something that’s been created with care and attention to detail. The extra time and attention put into the award will not go unnoticed by the recipient or their peers. The awardee will receive something knowing no one in the world can walk into a store and buy what they have. Hard work is difficult to quantify, so giving someone a tangible representation of their accomplishment needs to be special. More importantly, it needs to make the recipient feel special. So, if you’re looking for something unique and made with care, it’s definitely worth the wait for custom awards.

Get Started with Dion

Here at Dion, we’ve been crafting custom jewelry awards for over 50 years. These are high-value awards that the recipient can wear wherever they go, always carrying a reminder that they’re appreciated. To get started with some design ideas and a quote, simply email, message, or call us to get started!

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

As business leaders plan for a new year, the current recession is certainly part of the equation. Already, businesses have frozen new hires and scaled back budgets. In the past, recognition programs would have been on the chopping block, but companies are instead choosing to bolster these programs. Here’s why employee recognition is crucial during times of economic uncertainty.

Retention

There’s never a “good” time to lose valuable employees, but a recession certainly doesn’t help the situation. Even long-term employees could be eyeing the door if they aren’t feeling appreciated. Despite the recession, people are still confident in the job market. In April 2022, 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs, which is almost as high as “The Great Resignation” statistics a year prior. This costs employers millions in turnover expenses. On average, a 10,000 person company stands to lose $16 million annually in turnover costs!

The key to healthy retention is frequent and consistent recognition. According to a Gallup poll, employees who only receive recognition a few times a year are 74% more likely to plan on leaving their job within a year. This turnover rate decreases to 31% when employees are more frequently recognized. When people don’t feel appreciated or fulfilled by what they do, there’s nothing meaningful tying them to the company.

The Human Element

When done properly, recognition should feel personal and specific. What did the employee do? Who did they help? By offering a genuine “thank you,” the employee can feel good about what they did. They are not just performing the tasks demanded by their job description; they are helping their coworkers and improving the lives of customers. This helps link their stellar performance to personal fulfillment. So whether the recognition is coming from management or peers, it’s good practice to describe how the recipient positively affected someone. How did their act make someone feel?

Here at Dion, we have a long-established “Diamond Award.” As a family company, part of our culture involves lending a helping hand to other Dionites. We want our employees to feel like they can rely on each other as people, not just coworkers. Employees can nominate each other by writing down a specific instance where someone went above and beyond. The nominee then receives a custom Dion Diamond pin, has their good deed published in our internal newsletter, and has the deed physically posted in the factory. This is just one of the ways we keep recognition personal, specific, and tied to our company values.

Recognition Revolution

In the same Gallup poll mentioned earlier, only a shocking 19% of managers and leaders say recognition is a priority at their organization. We anticipate this will change. Recognition programs are transitioning from a nice-to-have to a must-have. During times of economic uncertainty, businesses have the opportunity to stand with their employees and invest in their professional fulfillment. Not only is this good for employee morale, it’s just good business sense.

In addition to better retention and lower turnover expenses, companies with recognition programs get better work out of their employees. A study done by the American Psychology Association found that 93% of employees are motivated to do their best work when they feel valued. Another study shows that: 40% of Americans would put more energy into their work if they were more recognized. Higher productivity, in turn, leads to better business outcomes. Happier employees also lead to more positive interactions with customers and vendors.

In Conclusion

Though the recession promises to be hard on many folks, businesses have a real opportunity to invest in their own workforce. Frequent and consistent recognition leads to:

• Higher retention
• Lower turnover
• Higher morale
• Higher productivity
• More engaged employees
• Better customer interactions
• Better business outcomes

The numbers don’t lie - recognition is a must-have! As recognition experts, we’re passionate about creating memorable custom awards that inspire. To learn more about recognition programs and custom-made jewelry products to support those award and recognition moments consider speaking to one of our experts at E.A. Dion.

With the holiday season just around the corner, it’s likely that your year-end celebrations are already scheduled and their planning underway. For businesses, the end of the year is a great time to gather everyone together to celebrate the company’s success - and employee recognition should play a big role in that celebration.

Celebrate All

The end of the year is the time to summarize all of the company’s accomplishments. This could include a corporate anniversary, business accolades, exciting sales figures, new locations, its community impact, and more! No matter what the company is celebrating, it’s important to remember and recognize the employees who made it possible. As we’ve said in previous blogs, making sure employees feel appreciated is necessary to ensure happy, engaged, and long-term employees. Everyone appreciates a genuine “thank you.” A holiday party is a great place to make sure this recognition is visible and those honored receive the round of applause they deserve.

Start Early By Planning Ahead

Since year-end celebrations can be packed with so much importance, the earlier the planning can begin, the better. Most importantly, the company should make sure that any people they wish to specifically honor can make it. The holidays are a busy time for everyone, so invitations need to be sent with enough notice for attendees to secure the date. Brainstorming and ordering awards for these honorees also takes time. The awards should be a reflection of the company’s true gratitude towards them.

Go Custom

As a 54 year old custom award company, we are passionate about recognizing employees in a personal and meaningful way. When recognizing employees this holiday season, businesses should strive to offer something the awardee can’t get anywhere else. If anyone can buy the item at a retail store, the item is more like a prize than an award. A custom award is a great way to ensure the employee is reminded of their accomplishment every time they look at it. Getting started with something custom at Dion is easy - just tell us about your idea and budget! Our talented Design Team will create the perfect piece and your personal Account Manager will be with you every step of the way to answer any questions.

Who Gets Recognized?

Ultimately, businesses should be recognizing those who exemplify the company’s values and contribute to its success. Depending on the company’s industry, this could mean many different things. Here are some common categories:

• Years of service or milestone employee anniversaries
• Employee of the year
• Safe Driver(s) of the year
• Top sales earners
• Promotions
• Good Samaritan

When considering award categories and recipients, it’s important to make the criteria for winning each award very clear. This way, those who wish to earn the award in the future will know how. Companies should also take note if the same people keep winning the same awards every year. This could indicate favoritism and will negatively impact morale and the value of the awards.

The Holidays can be a stressful time, so all the more reason to fill it with joy, celebration, and gratitude! As businesses celebrate another year in the books, they should be recognizing the ones who made it possible in a visible and meaningful way. Happy Holidays!

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

Celebrating a corporate milestone anniversary is about more than just the longevity of the company. Milestone years are the time to reinforce company values, recognize employees, thank customers, and outline goals for the future. It’s a time to re-energize and excite everyone who contributes to the company’s success.

Choosing a Theme

Every company is different, so there’s no “right” way to celebrate a milestone. The celebration should be a unique reflection of the company and its values. However, there should be a unifying theme that is strung through all anniversary events and activities. By choosing a theme early and sticking to it, employees and customers will receive consistent messaging and the celebration itself will be more cohesive. This theme should become the tagline for any social posts or print media published about the anniversary.

Tell Your Story

A milestone year is a time for reflection. What is the company’s journey so far? What is the key to its success? How has it overcome its challenges? By the time it’s reached a milestone year, every company has a rich history to tell. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with people and invite emotional investment. Tell this story to employees and customers alike. Through a video, a speech, social media, or all three, communicating the proud legacy of the company is a great way to make people feel that they’re part of it too.

Recognize Employees

As a vital part of every company’s success story, employees should be celebrated all year round. Depending on the size of the company, a gift, trip, or party for everyone may be appropriate. Keep in mind you are not only celebrating your company’s milestone and success, but you are also celebrating the people who helped the company get to that milestone! Highlighting exemplary or long-standing employees is a great way to expand upon the company’s story and values. Honor those who have gone above and beyond with a distinguished award and invite them to share their experience. The company is not truly celebrating itself unless it’s shining the spotlight on their employees.

Give Back

As a long-standing institution, it’s a great idea to consider philanthropic efforts. Consider the company’s mission, values, and the theme decided upon for the milestone anniversary, then apply them to a community effort. For instance, Lowe’s celebrated their 100th anniversary with a “100 Hometowns'' and “100 Murals” initiative which involved impact projects in communities nationwide and employed 100 artists to beautify public spaces. Now, most companies don’t have millions of dollars to spend on enormous philanthropy projects, but finding a way to give back to the community and aligning that with the company’s branding is always a good idea.

Go All Out

A milestone year deserves celebration. Properly marking the occasion not only instills pride in employees, but it also signals to customers that the company is reliable. Businesses should make the most of the event by showcasing themselves in a variety of ways across multiple mediums. They can drum up excitement on social media with a countdown, hashtag, videos, and interviews with key employees and clients. Sending “thank you” cards to top vendors and clients is another great way to engage people and nurture relationships. Creating a special milestone logo also goes a long way when marketing anniversary events. E. A. Dion celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018 with this celebratory logo design:

A milestone anniversary year is a huge opportunity for companies to celebrate their successes and broadcast their achievements as loudly as they can. As long as they stay true to their values and branding, recognize those who got them this far, and put effort into the celebration, they really can’t go wrong.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

When developing a successful health and safety culture, finding engaging ways to get messaging across is crucial. It’s no secret that safety seminars and videos can get a bit dull. So what’s the solution? Enter your Safety Champion.

What is a Safety Champion?

A Safety Champion is an in-field employee who promotes good safety practices through their own actions. They are enthusiastic and vocal members of their company’s safety committee, and positively encourage safe behaviors among their peers. By holding their company’s safety procedures in high regard, they set the tone for others to follow. The main benefit of having a Safety Champion is that they organically encourage a strong health and safety culture. They reduce friction between employees and management by “walking the walk” and acting as an accessible person people can bring their safety concerns to. Overall, they provide a more enjoyable and nuanced level of safety awareness.

A Good Safety Champion is….

When choosing a person (or people) to be your Safety Champion, there are a few important attributes to look for.

• Willing - If you have to cajole someone into a role, chances are they won’t perform well in it.
• Engaged - The Safety Champion is an engaged employee who wants to help improve the company.
• Likable - Other employees should have no problem approaching this person and following their example.
• Perceptive - This person understands that, beyond policy, there is a human element to safety. Fatigue, stress, frustration, and other factors affect workplace safety too.
• Wants to Learn - As safety standards develop and change, the Safety Champion should be willing to learn and adopt new strategies.

Support Your Safety Champion

As a vital component of a company’s safety culture, it’s important that Safety Champions receive proper support and recognition for their work. Providing safety leadership training is a great way to boost their confidence in the role and empower them to offer insights and suggestions. The Champion should have a seat on their company’s safety committee and have their concerns taken seriously. As we discussed in our last blog, recognizing their hard work is an important part of keeping any employee engaged and feeling valued. The Safety Champion can even help run their company’s safety incentive program!

Health and safety may look drastically different from industry to industry, but is never less important. Having an employee who acts as a Safety Champion is a great way to positively promote safe practices from within and keep people engaged.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

“Safety first!” It’s a mantra we’ve heard since elementary school. Whether it’s donning protective eyewear, social distancing, or simply buckling a seatbelt, safety procedures can be found in many facets of daily life. However, when these procedures are not upheld, the consequences can be devastating. Rewarding employees who champion safety is vital to keeping it at the forefront of a company’s culture.

The Costs

According to a recent OSHA census, 4,764 people sustained fatal injuries while at work in 2020. The census goes on to note that the most dangerous jobs in 2020 could be found in the Transportation industry:
“Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event with 1,778 fatal injuries, accounting for 37.3 percent of all work-related fatalities.”
This macabre statistic may be a contributing factor to why the National Private Truck Council reported that driver turnover is higher than ever. Also not to be dismissed are the financial costs of commercial vehicle accidents. According to another OSHA report, the expenses associated with a commercial vehicle crash begin at an average of $16,500 and exceed over $500,000 if a fatality occurs. In fact, a truck accident that results in a fatality can easily cost the company 7 million dollars.

Recognition Requires Definition

Whether you’re in the Transportation industry or not, all companies can relate to the grave importance of safety. If employees are unsure of what the company’s safety standards are, creating a recognition program is a great way to define these goals. By rewarding good safety practices on a regular basis, more employees will be aware of the company’s specific values, what’s expected of them, and how they will be evaluated. Recognition programs demonstrate that a company appreciates the hard work, commitment, and attention to detail that is needed to keep everyone safe. For more on creating a recognition program, check out our other blogs like this one.

Engagement and Ownership

Here at Dion, we believe in lean business practices and each employee should have ownership of their operation. That is to say, each person is an expert at their daily tasks and should be consulted as such before making operational changes. This practice helps alleviate “top-down” decision making and makes for a much more enjoyable and healthy work environment. By recognizing employees for achieving safety goals, companies are celebrating and engaging employees as owners of their own operations. This helps motivate employees to keep their status as an achiever and an expert in their own right.

Keep it Positive

With the consequences of lax safety procedures being so dire, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of punishing bad behavior. While it’s necessary to sharpen up policies that have gone soft, it’s important to inject some positivity into a company’s safety culture. Otherwise, well-meaning managers can inspire feelings of resentment among their team. Creating a safety recognition program helps balance out this experience with a genuine show of appreciation.

As recognition experts for the past 50+ years, we love to create awards for safety recognition programs. Getting started is easy - simply call, email, or live chat with us about your ideas!

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

Presenting employee awards is a great opportunity to reinforce company values, reward good practices, and get people excited to succeed. However, once the award ceremony is over, the hype fizzles down and everyone goes back to business as usual. It can be difficult to keep employees excited and feeling appreciated in the interim. This is one of the many reasons why we love custom jewelry awards. The award recipient gets to wear their achievements wherever they go and have a constant reminder of their value.

Upgradeable Designs

Some of our most exciting designs involve upgradeable features. Whether it’s stone additions or clip-on elements, having an upgradeable award is a great way to help employees visualize their success. With each addition to the main piece, the recipient can see their accolades grow. Also by wearing their jewelry award, they can show off their achievements and inspire others to strive for the same. By owning a constantly updated, high-value award, the employee stays engaged with their own success.

Add-A-Diamond

One of our most popular upgradeable jewelry options is the add-a-diamond ring. These are perfect for sales, safety, and years-of-service awards. First, the employee is given a custom company ring. This ring usually has a large center stone in a color that matches the company’s branding. As the employee reaches each new goal, they send their ring in to be upgraded with a diamond. Over the years they will accumulate more diamonds until they make a complete circle around the center stone. Once they’ve achieved this, their next upgrade is to a large diamond set into the center stone itself! The employee can then take pride in their fully “blinged out” ring. Add-a-diamond ring programs help every hard-working employee feel like a champion. For those employees who prefer a pendant over a ring, we can accomplish the same look and value of award through the add-a-diamond pendant.

Pin Jackets

Pin jackets are interchangeable frames that can be secured around a main pin. They’re great for emphasizing an employee’s career rank as each jacket can boast a new honorific. Pin jacket awards are a great match for companies with large, mobile sales forces, but also work for any company who wishes to emphasize employee ranks. By awarding pins with pin jackets, the company is saying that upward mobility is not only possible, but achievable for everyone who works at it. This gets employees excited to climb the ladder and proudly display their new rank.

In-Field Add-Ons

Sometimes it’s just not feasible to wait for an award. Managers may want to award employees on the spot for going above and beyond. Companies with these needs may want to opt for in-field add-on components. Add-on components can be anything that clips, slides, screws, or pops on to a main award piece. This lends complete freedom to companies who wish to award employees for specific behaviors. This could be anything from receiving a positive comments card to earning a new certification. The awards can be ordered ahead of time and stored on-location so recognition is prompt and visible. Usually add-on components are attached to a badge holder emblem or brooch, but charm bracelets can function this way as well. These awards become great conversation pieces between employees and customers, and provide the opportunity for immediate recognition in front of their peers.

There are many reasons why custom award jewelry is a tried and true method of recognizing employees. By incorporating upgradeable elements into a design, the company is sure to maximize their custom award’s potential. Creating valuable, exciting, and dynamic awards is what we love to do. If you’d like more information on custom upgradeable designs, we’d love to chat! Give us a call, send us an email, or start a live chat with us on our website.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

We all like being thanked for our hard work and contributions. So how often should we be saying “thank you” to others? For many businesses, the answer is far more frequently than they already are.

Status Quo

Many companies acknowledge the importance of employee recognition. Proper recognition leads to higher employee engagement, lower turnover, better morale, higher productivity, and better customer interactions. Having a recognition program in place is a true win-win for both the employees and the company. Despite all of these benefits, a whopping 42% of employees aren’t even aware that their employer has a recognition program!

The Tenure Trap

It comes as no surprise that years-of-service awards account for 87% of all employee recognition programs. These rewards are great, easy to manage, and are expected, but often don’t kick in until the employee has been working for five years. Then there are the long gaps in between awards, causing excitement to fade and engagement to dwindle.

The first step to improving tenure-based rewards is to build in “new hire”, “one-year,” and “three-year” recognition award categories. The first few years at a company are critical for new employees. A recent Job-Hopping Report concluded that job hopping is more common among younger workers and diminishes with age and career growth. By starting the recognition process early, companies can prevent their newer hires from eyeing the door.

Mind The Gap

The other pitfall of years-of-service awards are the long periods of time in between awards. It's a good idea to supplement these long gaps with something more performance based. This will mean different things for different companies, and can range from sales achievements to praise for positive customer interactions. However, some of the most important recognition takes place on a daily basis. Here are some easy ways to incorporate gratitude into your work routine:

For Managers: If you lead a daily meeting, start it out with a few words of thanks to the team, and mention specifically what they did that you’re thankful for. Specificity here is the key. If it helps, set a reminder to take time and think of all the people who have helped you over the course of the day. One caveat: try not to fall into the habit of thanking the same people in the same way, with a lunch for instance. That lunch becomes less of a reward and more of an expected event, and entitlement.

For Coworkers: Start a “kudos board” where coworkers can recognize each other by posting their stellar actions. This can be a literal or digital board depending on the company’s setup. Here at Dion, we have the Diamond Award Board where employees can nominate each other for the award. The recipient’s good deed is posted on the board and is touted in our weekly newsletter. TRue to our branding, the nominee also receives a special Diamond Award pin. Oftentimes the Diamond Award recipient doesn’t even realize the impact their kind gesture had on another person until they receive the nomination. Employees who participate in a kaizen at Dion also get a similar treatment with their process improvement being posted on our kaizen board for all to see.

In Conclusion

By recognizing your employees early and often, you’re setting the tone from the moment they’re hired: this is a company that appreciates its employees. Frequently recognized employees become more engaged, productive, and less likely to job-hop. Simple recognition efforts can go a long way when bridging the large gaps in between tenure awards.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

Sources

Bonusly - How Frequent Staff Appreciation Improves Engagement and Performance

Forbes - New Research Unlocks the Secret of Employee Recognition

Authentic Recognition - Top 10 Ways To Increase the Frequency of Employee Recognition

A common challenge for businesses is improving employee retention. While there are many factors that may cause an employee to resign, business owners should concentrate on the ones they can control. By improving and elevating the overall employee experience, the company will feel the positive ripple effects.

Value

As the old saying goes, “you get out what you put in.” An employee who feels valued by their employer is more likely to be motivated and productive than one who doesn’t feel valued. Employees are the lifeblood of any company, so a staff of unhappy people can be a huge detriment to its function. Customers also feel the effects from undervalued employees and are more likely to have negative experiences. Investing in the employee experience sends the ripple effect in the opposite direction.

Recognition

There are many ways in which a company can create a more positive and rewarding work environment. However, as experts in the field we’ll be discussing one in particular: employee recognition. We’ve discussed the power of employee recognition in previous blogs, but not about the quality of recognition awards. While it’s true a simple “thank you” can go a long way, it’s important to show employees that the company is genuinely invested in their success.

High-End Awards

When rewarding employees, the goal should be to exceed their expectations and avoid gifting underwhelming trinkets. An award should be exciting and a culmination of all their hard work. By investing in high-end awards, the value can be instantly recognized by the recipients. The high perceived value makes for a more genuine display of appreciation from the company and ensures that the employee feels truly celebrated. It also elevates your company’s culture and shows that employees are capable and worthy of achieving great things.

Make it Special

When choosing a high-end award, it’s best to go with something custom and/or unique. This avoids a scenario where the employee already owns the item and ensures that the award is more emotionally significant. There’s nothing worse than an employee regifting their award! Additionally, the award should reference your company in some way. For example, giving an employee a tablet for a job well done provides no reference to the company. Ideally, the award should incorporate the company’s logo, branding, or culture.

The Jewelry Category

When choosing high-end awards for employees, be sure to consider custom award jewelry. A custom design makes the award unique and unable to be bought - only earned. It also means that the jewelry can be designed to match the company’s branding. Precious metal jewelry has a high perceived value that ages well. Jewelry travels with the wearer, so even if they’re off the clock, or retired, the recipient is still representing your company. Lastly, it’s an exciting and sophisticated way to elevate the employee’s experience.

Investing in the employee experience is crucial for any business. By choosing high-end rewards, employees are more likely to recognize the value their company has placed on them. That appreciation is put back into the company, creating a more positive experience for everyone.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

When it comes to rewarding an employee, you have many options. Ideally, the award should make sense with the company’s branding and culture, be desired by the recipient, and be of appropriate monetary value. As experts in the custom jewelry industry, we’d like to share why these awards are a solid choice for a company’s recognition needs.

Award vs. Prize

When discussing employee awards, it’s important to make the distinction between an award and a prize. Simply put, an award is something that is earned through recognized effort, while a prize is won by chance or through minimal effort. Prizes can be just about anything such as an ipad, grill, or giant teddy bear. These are all items that anyone could purchase at any time. Awards must be earned; that’s what makes them so special. Awards tend to be items like trophies, medals, and certificates. At Dion, we wholeheartedly believe in the superiority of awards over prizes. The sentimental and emotional impact of an award simply cannot be matched by a prize.

Custom Creation

As I said earlier, ideally an award should make sense with a company’s branding. For instance, a beauty supply company probably wouldn’t want to give belt buckles to their employees. However, a belt buckle would make sense to a trucking business. Maybe your branding uses a lot of color, or maybe it has more of a vintage look. Also, discussing your branding style is a great way to begin your consultation and ensure that your custom award makes sense with your brand identity.

Creating custom products also means the pieces can serve a company’s unique requirements. Some of our clients have opted for in-field add-on components that can be added to a main award piece. Others want their consultants to visualize their success by swapping out pin “jackets” when they reach a new rank. Every business has their own way of recognizing their employees, and custom products ensure a perfect fit.

Quality

It’s important that award items are desired in the first place. It’s no secret that thoughtless gifts can backfire (case in point: don’t be the company that rewards their employee of 27 years with a bag of candy!) Few people can argue against the inherent value of quality jewelry. While trophies and certificates sit on a shelf, jewelry awards can go with the recipient. They’re exciting pieces that tell a success story. It’s not unheard of for jewelry award recipients to pass their awards down to their children as an heirloom.

The Price Tag

With so many design possibilities, custom jewelry can fit a wide range of budgets. Jewelry award programs also eliminate the headache of trying to come up with a new item every year. Jewelry upgrades are easy to work into a specific design and give employees the opportunity to physically see their success grow. Some of our clients have opted for an add-a-diamond program in which diamonds are added to their award ring every time they meet a milestone. While the price for a new ring can be on the higher side, the price to add each diamond over time makes it very manageable.

Whether you're rewarding your employees, volunteers, athletes, or donors, custom jewelry can be a great solution to a company’s recognition needs. As custom jewelry experts for the past 54 years, we’ve seen the positive emotional impact a custom award can have. If you’d like to learn more about custom jewelry awards, please feel free to call, email, or chat with us right on our website!

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

In the world of marketing, content is king. Marketing teams are always creating digital and physical content to send to clients, potential clients, partners, or for themselves. In our last blog, we talked about strengthening vendor relationships. One way to do this would be to help promote each other’s businesses. Let’s now take a deeper dive into how your vendors can help.

A Different Perspective

Just like your business, your vendors must market themselves in order to draw in new clients. Most will likely have their own dedicated marketing team that is also constantly drumming up content. However, for those smaller businesses with very limited resources, they may have someone assigned to do marketing, but that may not be their main daily task. Regardless of size and resources, the moment your business interacts with another, your teams have the unique opportunity to benefit from each other. Through your partnership, you can show your audience a different angle of your business (assuming it’s on-brand for you). You could create compelling “sneak peaks” or “behind the scenes” looks at what your business is up to. These types of videos could be the engaging content your marketing team is looking for! You can ask that they write a review on your website that you can then share on your social media pages. If they happen to post something about your partnership, ask them to tag you so that you can then like, comment and share back.

Ready-To-Go Content

At Dion, we know that the wide world of custom jewelry can leave clients with choice overload. Pictures of our past products are great for getting clients inspired and to find out their likes and dislikes. Because of this, we have an extensive gallery of photos and art renderings, both on our website and in our archives. These pictures are not only great for our marketing - they’re great material for our distributors and their clients to use too! End users will oftentimes use images for their internal awards presentations, hyping their audience up before bringing the recipients up on stage. We also provide our distributor partners with an easy to access "marketing support for dealers" section on our website. Here distributors can find and use our promotional literature as a way to easily showcase Dion’s capabilities and add something special to their product lineup. They can easily download this material from our website, or contact us to create a flier just for their specific event.

Case Study Collaboration

Another option which we often use at EA Dion as well, is to share content and/or create something together! Not only will both parties gain marketing material, but you’ll strengthen your business relationship. Ask your vendor if they’re willing to participate in a case study. This is a great opportunity to showcase a particular area your vendor helped you with, or to highlight each company by sharing the story of how you came to work together. By sharing these case studies, you are signaling to other potential clients that your business is not only a good one to work with, but appreciative of their vendors’ efforts. Need some examples to get your own juices flowing? Check out our case study section on our website!

Return The Favor

As discussed in our last blog and above, make sure to offer social media tags and positive reviews on multiple platforms in return for their willingness to share content with your team. By celebrating each other, you create a positive and friendly vendor relationship your business can rely on. By boosting each other’s marketing efforts, you’re making each other’s lives easier - and that’s priceless.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

Having a great relationship with a vendor can make big projects a breeze, while bad relationships can make the simplest of tasks feel like pulling teeth. Smart vendor management can lead to better prices, faster response times, and more reliable deliveries. This, in turn, leads to lower stress on your company, happier customers, and a smoother operation overall. So what can you do to improve these relationships?

Educate and Communicate

The value of communication can never be overstated. Make sure your lines of communication are open and easily accessible for your vendors. Educate them not only on the project, but who you are as a company and why this project is important. The more you communicate, the better your vendor can understand your brand. If it’s possible, meet in person to talk about your project. There’s nothing like meeting in person to establish strong connections. Better communication can lead to easier negotiations and greater respect between yourself and the vendor.

Ask Questions

You hired your vendor because you need their special skills to complete your goal. While you may know what you want, you may not know the ins and outs of their industry like they do. Your vendors have a wealth of expertise you can tap into, so come prepared with questions while also taking their advice into account. Asking questions helps reduce frustration and makes you a better, more informed customer. The knowledge you gain will also help with future project planning.

Don’t Play Hardball

Despite its frequent use, strong-arming your vendors rarely ends well. Just like your company, your vendor has a business that needs to make money. Constant pressure from your end to lower prices may result in lower quality output and possibly getting fired by your vendor. More often than not, your company may be shelling out more cash in order to fix the imperfect results of a cheap service. Price negotiation is okay, but it shouldn’t become aggressive or involve mind games about taking your business elsewhere. You’re much more likely to make a deal with your vendor if they feel valued and treated kindly.

Help Each Other

An often overlooked benefit of good vendor relations is their ability to help your company’s marketing efforts. Your vendors are experts at what they do. They usually have pictures and other materials having to do with the service they’re providing for your business. Connect your vendors with your marketing team to make sure your business is tagged in their social media posts. Vendors are usually happy to pass along pictures for marketing content. At Dion, we often send pictures, create flyers, and even send sample products for our distributor partners to use when talking to clients. Tapping into this vendor resource is an easy way to boost your marketing, however, make sure to return the favor. This can be done by tagging vendors in your own social media posts and writing positive reviews for them.

Pay Your Bills

It may seem obvious, but nothing damages a vendor relationship more than making them chase you down for payment. You cannot expect excellent service when you are not being a good customer. Delays on your end can cause workflow problems on theirs, as they may need to rethink your project schedule. Being on time with payment and other items is an indication of respect and is simply good business practice.

A great relationship with a quality vendor can make a world of difference to your company. By taking the time to foster those relationships, both parties can enjoy the partnership, and produce quality work together.

By Aubrey Dion

Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.

sources

Federal Heath How To Get The Most Out of Your Vendor Relationships

Dynamic Captial - The Importance of Vendor/Supplier Relationships

BBR Creative - Five Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vendor Relationships