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If you walk around virtually every office in the world, you’re going to see a lot of common denominators. You’ll find the usual computers, pens and pencils, family pictures on the desks and walls and even some plants. But somewhere, either in an office or in a public area, you’ll find something that will make you laugh out loud, or at least give you a chuckle. Most of the time the culprit is an office humor sign hanging on a wall.

Some are simple drawings with a funny caption below it that is designed to garner a laugh. Some are like the motivational pictures, but the heading is something totally hilarious. Regardless of which type it is, these signs not only bring a funny moment to whoever sees it, but they do a great job of boosting morale in the workplace.

When employees work a job for a while, especially doing production work, the tasks can become tedious. This tedium can cause an employee to be a little less attentive to detail and can even slow production. By having signs in break rooms and in public areas that are funny, the employee sees it and the humor breaks that tedium. An employee that’s thinking about the sign they just saw is an employee that’s plugged back in to their job.

One way to really take advantage of office humor signs is to change them out on a regular basis. Signs that have been hanging for a while have been seen by everyone and have lost their appeal. But swapping them out for new ones keeps the humor level high and employees will look for new signs all the time. This keeps a level of anticipation in the office and that also works to boost morale.

Humorous signs in the office definitely builds morale and used properly can work on multiple levels to do so. And the best part about is the fact that these signs are very inexpensive. Even the large ones aren’t very expensive and the humor level can be increased with the size of the sign. Regardless of what kind of sign it is, or even the content of the humor, these signs give everyone in the office something to look forward to.

When it comes to giving inexpensive awards for any occasion, there are almost as many choices for awards as there are occasions to give them. There are all kinds of certificate designs and styles from the rather plain all the way through the super fancy that look absolutely awesome and the recipients will be pleased to get. And they can be used for any occasion as well, since you are buying blank certificate stock, so you can define what they get used for.

For instance, doing certificates for school projects and as awards for special events is a breeze. All you have to do is select the appropriate pre-designed certificates and you’re almost done. After that, all you have to do is fill in the recipient’s name and the reasons for the award print it off on any laser or ink-jet printer and you are done. There are templates for most of the stock certificates that load up in your favorite word processor that makes taking care of the layout and wording a snap. After that, just have the certificate signed by the principal or event sponsors and you’ve just created a fantastic award that anyone would be proud of.

And certificates are inexpensive as well. Certificate stock is very inexpensive, and even if you add in labor dollars to have them laid out and printed, they’re still going to be about the most cost-effective award you can give. Even if you put them in a nice frame for a full presentation, you can still expect the entire award to cost less than $10. That makes inexpensive certificate awards cheaper than just about any other award you could give.

Regardless of why you’re giving a certificate for, whether it’s as an award at a dog and cat show, for success at completing a class or course of study, or as an award for a fishing or hunting competition, the ability to create the awards in a very few minutes means you can give the actual certificate at the close of the event. You don’t have to wait weeks, or even months, to distribute the actual certificates to the winners. This kind of instant gratification is a great encouragement for future events, and means the recipient can show off the award when they win it.

There are other awards you can give, but in terms of bang for your buck, and to give the recipient something they’ll appreciate for years to come, an inexpensive certificate award is certainly one of your best options. Take a look at the certificate stock available and see what would be best for your next event. You’ll be amazed at what all you can find, and what occasions you can apply it to.

As with every department in an organization, especially in this economy, trying to find ways to make that dollar go as far as possible has become more important than ever. However, finding ways to improve team morale is just as important. Even more so, actually, as morale is impactful enough that cutting a few dollars here and a few dollars there can mean the difference between having a job and having a company that has to shut its doors. Even when it comes to something as seemingly unimportant as the employee recognition budget, making sure you’re getting your money’s worth is a definite key to success.

Right off the bat, one would think that dropping an employee recognition programaltogether would be the best way to recoup those dollars. The truth is that will cost the company more dollars in terms of lowered team morale and decreased productivity than it would if the employee recognition budget were actually increased. Employees need to have that recognition and acknowledgment that the team’s efforts are being noticed and that the company actually cares. Without that recognition, it affects how they feel about working for the company and their overall attitude. So that means cutting the program out completely is the absolute wrong answer as a way to improve team morale.

The best way to improve team morale is to show the company appreciates their efforts. While the team also understands the need to economize, that need for recognition to build and keep team spirit is worth the money. With the difficulties everyone seems to be having, there is a level of gratitude that there are jobs to begin with, let alone one with extravagant bonuses, perks and benefits. However, even with that need to economize, employees still need that recognition. That means finding the ways and means with the existing employee recognition budget to give out the awards and rewards that will keep morale from slipping.

That’s where doing such things as printing your own certificates and awards in-house comes into play. Also, using inexpensive, but personalized, employee gifts can be used as incentives and rewards that will improve team morale. The need to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of the employees is important, however that doesn’t mean you have to spend tons of money to do it. The employees appreciate the recognition as much or more than the award that memorializes it.