Remembering the Great Pumpkin

One of my best bosses ever was Judi Hangen at AT&T.  As the Director of our telemarketing sales office for business accounts. Judi believed in always saying hi to each and everyone of her employees every day.  She also believed in thanking everyone for showing up and demonstrating their loyalty to both AT&T and our customers.  How did she do this?  She brought out the Great Pumpkin at work!

Every day, like clock work, Judi would walk around the aisles of our call center and carry a huge plastic pumpkin filled with candy.  She stopped at every desk and greeted each employee with a smile, a thank you and a treat; everyone loved working for her.  Even though she could've chose to sit in her office and drive the center's results simply through her management team, Judi always felt a need to connect with every employee in a positive way every single day of her job.  And it's a policy I have adopted ever since.

The Great Pumpkin is a fun way to say thank you every day to your team and reminds them how important they are to your company's success.  Even with today's carb and sugar conscious employees, you can hand out fruits or delicious treats such as South Beach candies in addition to small pieces of chocolate or Jolly Ranchers.  It's not the treats, it's the thought behind it that ultimately counts and if you want to maintain a high performing team, five minutes spent with the Great Pumpkin can lead to increased results, improved morale and years of loyalty.