The Green Goldfish Project is an attempt to crowdsource 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe for employees. Signature little extras that make a big difference. Companies that put “employees first” to build culture, increase retention and promote positive word of mouth. For every 50 examples collected there is a Top 10 list created.
Without further adieu, here is the eighth list from the Project from Examples #351-400:
10. Stepping into the Safety Cyclone @AceHardware
#365 – Ace Hardware
The managers at the Ace Hardware Distribution Center in Tampa are always looking for new ways to say “thank you” to their employees.
They plan fishing trips and golf outings, host chili cook-offs and cater breakfasts.
They nominate employees with the best safety practices for a chance to grab some cash in the Safety Cyclone, a phone-booth-type machine that blows around $250 in cash. An employee’s name is drawn out of a hat, and that person has a few seconds to snatch as many bills out of the air as possible.
Source: Tampa Bay Tribune
9. Here’s the rub @honestkitchen
#34 – The Honest Kitchen
Monthly in-office chair massages for everyone and dog peticures for the office pups.
Source: Outdoor Magazine
Here’s a look at the offices. It’s gone to the dogs:
8. Take a shot at your desk at Anadarko
#355 – Anadarko
There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. there is a free flu shot. Recently, an in-house doctor started at the top of the company’s 30-story office tower in The Woodlands and over three weeks worked his way down, floor by floor, giving injections to nearly 1,900 employees at their desks – at no charge.
Source: Houston Chronicle
7. Surprise and delight @KEEN
#384 – Keen
Footwear brand Keen (#34) is big on surprise gifts: the sudden closing of the of?ce on a rainy summer day or a serenade from the CEO. In 2010 it offered staff a chance to attend the Vancouver Winter ?Olympics, covering transportation from its of?ces in Portland, Oregon, and food and lodging.
Recess is valued. Just watch this prank on Keen’s COO:
6. PIMP your desk @MarketMakersUK
#353 – Market Makers
PIMP MY DESK is the name of this direct marketing agency’s latest incentive for staff — half of whom, at under 26, belong to the MTV generation that has made Pimp My Ride, about celebrities’ show-off cars, a television hit. Staff who excel on six levels of achievement at Market Makers earn leather briefcases and dual computer monitors or salt away bonus points for spa days or stunt flying treats.
Source: The Sunday Times
5. A Hall of Fameworthy extra @theStRegisHotel
#376 – St. Regis Hotel
St. Regis has a Wall of Fame. A behind the scenes wall where it posts internal thank-yous from employees to other employees.
4. Diamonds at BCH
#369 – Brady, Chapman, Holland
BCH’s “diamond program” encourages generosity in daily work life.
When a BCH employee does something exceptionally well for a client, fellow employee or the community, an acrylic “diamond” is tossed in a jar, Clark said. Once the jar fills up, they celebrate.
They might play a game or go to a sports bar for food and drink, Clark said.
Source: The Houston Chronicle
3. A buddy is in the cards @CapitalOne
#361 – Capital One
A “buddy assimilation program” matches veterans with newcomers. “Buddies” like her show the newbies around, have lunch with them and act as a resource. “You can have all the training but it helps (to) have someone out there in real life,” Vera said.
After a month of classroom training, new employees work “in the nest” for two weeks, fielding incoming calls with plenty of support. Hands go up whenever a trainee has a question, and a roving supervisor runs over to help. Once on their own, employees work within teams. But they’re never far from a helping hand as team leaders and “floor walkers” decked in bright red and yellow vests are always available to answer questions.
Source: Tampa Bay Tribune
2. Embracing passion at TrackVia
#388 – TrackVia
The company also offers something they call Personal Passion Scholarships. “We find that if we can support people in their passions outside of work and we find people that are passionate about things outside of work, they actually enjoy what they do more. So TrackVia offers up to $500 annually per employee for those people to pursue those passions,” said Khanna.
The scholarship can be used for anything from brewing your own beer to giving to your favorite charity.
Source: 9news.com
A funny video from TrackVia:
and the top example from the eighth Top Ten list:
1. Go Go Benefits at Rally Software
#399 – Rally Software
Management at Rally occasionally pulls the staff away from their computers with escapes to the local go-kart track. Quarterly outing / celebrations. Recent examples: a ski trip to Eldora and you guessed it . . . a soapbox derby.
Source: Outside Magazine
Insights on working at Rally from their 10th anniversary:
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra for good measure) – Passport required for this little extra:
#392 – New Belgium Brewery
After five years at New Belgium, team members are taken to Belgium with cofounder Kim Jordan.
Here’s a little background on how it all started on a bike:
FISHERMEN WANTED: Do you have a purple or green goldfish to share? If your example make the book, you receive a free signed copy. Plus – for every example submitted I will donate a non-perishable to the Thomas Merton Center in Bridgeport, CT. Click here to submit or e-mail directly at stan [at] 9inchmarketing.com
