Some chief executive officers show their appreciation for their workers with handshakes, plaques, or holiday parties.
Bradley Rock, the CEO of Bank of Smithtown, located in the eastern Long Island county known for its duck farms, makes quacking noises.
Whenever Mr. Rock hears about an employee at the $452 million-asset bank doing something above and beyond the call of duty, he stops what he is doing, gets out his duck noisemaker, gathers a group of employees, and walks toward the employee's desk making quacking noises.
After explaining to everyone present - including customers - what the employee did to deserve the duck treatment, he gives that person a $100 bill, ending the brief, spontaneous celebration.
"People were doing these things long before the Lucky Duck Award. I just wanted to bring them some recognition," Mr. Rock said. "And it really gets the day off on the right foot."
Since this little ceremony was first enacted to recognize a random good deed two and a half years ago, Mr. Rock has handed out more than two dozen Lucky Duck Awards. There are no set criteria for the award; the employee just has to be lucky enough to have another person tell the CEO about the good deed, Mr. Rock said.
The latest award went to two junior tellers, who on a slow, snowy day installed new locks on dozens of safe deposit boxes that had been broken. Within two weeks, Mr. Rock said, all the boxes were rented out and generating extra income for the bank.
The most unusual task that received recognition, according to Mr. Rock, was the removal of a pesky snake at a branch's drive-through. A secretary in the main office's finance department, who knew about snakes, managed to get rid of the reptile without killing it.
Mr. Rock said he plans to keep up the quacking, because the award not only motivates employees, but it also lets customers know that Bank of Smithtown, and its CEO, are by no means ordinary.
"It tells people I don't take myself too seriously and we like to have fun around here," he said.
