CREATIVE IDEA #3: Motivate 'Em

Welcome to 2009, a fresh start to a new year.
In the current economic turmoil many of you may be doing more work with less staff. As overhead decreases... cost savings increase but so do employee stress and burnout.

We found that in this situation appreciation and compassion go much farther than increasing pay. Here is a great way to build morale for the new year and allow your employees to take a much-needed break outside of their normal vacation days.

Employee "GET Out of WORK" Cards





















Click image to enlarge

How it works:
We print and give out these cards to the staff. Quantities vary by the inherent stress of the position. Then the staff can "Redeem" these cards back to management when they need a break. Think "Get Out of Jail Free" card - only this one you can use in real life.

Benefits:

• Time Off carries higher value for employees than other forms of compensation
• Employees see you as a leader who cares
• Inexpensive way to show appreciation
• Stress and negativity spread to other employees... kind of like the flu
• A refreshed employee is happier and more producutive
• Card lets them take time when THEY need it

Things To Include:
Lay down some ground rules

• Make it clear how much time off is granted, ie a half-day, a full day, a week...
• Must Be Used By date... ours expired at the end of the year
• Give Notice clause... the employee can't just disappear; workload and clients must be covered
• Can't be traded or redeemed for cash in lieu of time off

Technical Specs:
Cost to Create this piece = $250
Cost Estimate to Print this piece (per 25) = $35

Want to do this for your team?
Call Roman to order yours today: 919-654-6866

CREATIVE IDEA #2: Visualize Your Goals

'Tis the Season for Goal Setting.

Goals are Great.

We set goals for our companies, our sales efforts, our employee performance and especially for ourselves. I'm no different; this year I hope to get "in shape"...yet again.

Many of us get very excited about goal setting and even try for several weeks to maintain enthusiasm and forward momentum. Our goals are often written on pieces of paper and filed under "Goals for This Year". Then, as January comes to an end, so does our motivation to achieve these same goals. Some of you are scoffing..."January!!...I can stay on my goals at least into May!!"

There are many reasons that goals fail to remain top priority for you and especially for your team. Here are some of the easiest obstacles to overcome.

Your goals are probably:

• Not Readily Visible
• Not Reviewed
• Not Rewarded

KrausCreative has a solution for keeping our employee and company goals in the forefront, as shown here:



















How We Do It:
Every team member has current Quarterly Goal Sheets (1 page) that we review every two weeks. Each employee has their own copy, and each fills in their personal goals in support of the company goals. There is also space for personal goals, outside of work, since we are not one-dimensional people!

Sheets are completed and then hung in plastic sleeves by every desk. I have copies of my Quarterly Goals at my desk, in my briefcase, in my car and at home.

The sheets are simple, easy to read and consist of the following Key Information:

• The Company's Quarterly Goals... (with names of accountable team members)
• Employee's Personal Goals for the Quarter
• Our Core Values... (our guiding principles)
• Our Brand Promise... (what we offer our clients)
• Our BHAG... (Big Hairy Achievable Goal)
• Goal Deadlines
• Most importantly...Goal Celebration... (our Reward when we achieve our Goals!)

Download a "Free" sample goal sheet Click here


Themes Motivate:
What's more, we created these sheets based on a theme (ours are nautical in nature; more on that in another entry). The theme serves to unite and motivate the team. It gives us a visual image we can remember and get excited about. These can get as creative and motivational as you like. They can be named for the main corporate goal or even for the reward.

The idea is that the theme is catchy and relevant enough for your team to embrace and maintain interest in achieving the goals.

If the goal warrants the investment you can create other materials as well: posters, t-shirts, hats etc.
Here are some examples of other themes...



















Technical Specs:
Cost to Create our Goal Sheet = $374
Cost to Print = nearly Free endless supply from our in-house laser printers.

Need a custom idea for your team's 2009 goals?
Call Roman to brainstorm: 919-654-6866

CREATIVE IDEA #1: Simple Introduction

What do you do when you want to follow up with someone you just met? Or maybe you want to introduce yourself or your company to a prospective client?

Send them a business card?
Send them your brochure?
Forward them to your web site?

What every company needs is a simple "introduction" or "follow up" card. Something that introduces you and the company, that is the step between handing out a business card and sending them into your enormous brochure or web site. The step between "Hello, My Name is" and "Can I Marry You?"

The key here is simplicity. It should:
• cover the basic info about your company
• reflect your brand look
• be easy to read and avoid giving too much detail
• be simple to mail

Print out 100 at a time and have them at the ready.


Here is our version:























Technical Specs:
Cost to Create this piece = $1,450
Cost Estimate to Print this piece (per 100) = $125


Would you like to see one?
Click here to request one