These are the stories of two sales managers.

One, a button-down, do-it-by-the-book kind of boss, judges his employees by the numbers: goals met, revenue generated, sales increase percentages — a seemingly endless list. The best are rewarded, usually by cash bonuses, a salesperson of the month plaque and a private "atta boy" in a 30-second trip to the boss’s office.

The second manager, when employees exceed their monthly sales quota by at least 10 percent, asks them, "How would you like us to recognize this achievement?" Some ask for a day off. Another winner asked that everyone in his department be treated to a professional massage.

One employee, named John, asked that the entire company celebrate "John Day." Banners were draped throughout the building, and receptionists told callers the company was celebrating "John Day" and why. John also was allowed to use the boss’s office for his day.

Though this may be begging the question, is there any doubt which manager has the lower sales incentive budget but a higher, more consistent sales growth and lower employee turnover?

Although being personally recognized for good work consistently ranks high on the wish list of most employees, many managers continue to struggle with delivering anything but cash as a reward.

"I know I should be more sensitive to the needs and desires of my employees," an advertising manager once told me. "I was just brought up in the business with the attitude that their paycheck is their reward."

Organizations that value their employees’ hard work with creative recognition programs do so because they communicate best the values and behaviors important in reaching strategic goals and objectives, said Theresa Chambers, an employee recognition consultant and board member of the National Association of Employee Recognition.

An effective employee recognition strategy usually relies on three components: day-to-day recognition usually executed by peers; informal, usually manager-drive recognition such as celebrations, end-of-project events, group and team accomplishment parties; and more formal companywide annual reward and recognition events.

"The real creativity comes in the frequent recognition ideas that often are put into the hands of employees," said Chambers, chief motivation employee of her Kirkland-based Arial (soon to be Recognition Works) consulting firm. She also works with the city of Seattle in employee development.

Though some recognition programs can border on the trite and cheesy, employees like them because they appreciate the attention. The California Public Employee Retirement System was recognized nationally for its "Solid as a Rock" program. In it, each employee was given thank-you note pads cut in the shape of rocks. When they saw a co-worker handle a project, problem or customer complaint exceptionally well, they wrote it upon a "rock."

"Employees took great pride in how many rocks they could post in their cubicles," Chambers said.

One sales organization created a Golden Banana Award for sales excellence when a manager wanted to publicly congratulate an employee and the only available "trophy" was a ripe banana on a nearby desk.

Employee recognition can go far beyond items presented for excellent work.

"A work unit that’s experiencing performance problems might want to step back and make sure employees know exactly what’s expected of them," said Chambers. They also should be open to hearing what employees expect from managers so that they can better do their jobs.

Stand-alone recognition that involves the manager telling an employee "thanks for the good job" one-on-one can be a most powerful and inexpensive motivator.

"The manager calls or visits the employee, is specific about the job well done and does not mix the praise with anything else job-related, such as, ‘How’s the Powell project going?’ " Chambers said.

Want to do more to recognize your employees? A good time to start is Friday, National Employee Recognition Day.

Organizations or managers who want to learn more about employee recognition may attend monthly meetings of the Puget Sound Recognition Roundtable (call 206-353-8267 for a schedule). There are no dues or membership requirements, just information on employee recognition best practices by such companies as Nordstrom, REI, Starbucks, Boeing, the Salvation Army and others.

Write Eric Zoeckler at The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206 or e-mail mrscribe@aol.com.