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Most of Rachel Unekis’ part-time hours are spent doing security at the doors of the Iowa Events Center, checking bags to keep alcohol, video cameras and other forbidden items from passing through the doors.

But at an Iowa Energy game on a Monday night, she got a new view of the facility. Unekis spent her on-the-clock hours in the corporate suite, enjoying the game, food and conversation with co-workers and administrative staff.

Events Center General Manager Matt Homan, dressed in security attire, surprised Unekis before the start of the event and relieved her of her duties.

“It makes for a different view of things,” said Unekis, a junior at Simpson College studying corporate communications.

Since February, the Events Center has promoted good customer service through a program called Suite Retreat, which provides a surprise paid night off to deserving employees. On April 7, the Events Center held its third retreat night, honoring seven employees.

“The (Suite Retreat) program will continue showing the importance of customer service,” said Adam Flack, director of marketing for the Events Center. “Preaching it is one thing, but this keeps it at the front of your mind, keeps it fresh.”

Four to six employees will be nominated by their supervisors each month for the Suite Retreat, which includes an announcement on the arena scoreboard, along with the refreshments and break from work. The chosen employees work in jobs such as ushers, the ticket office, operations and guest services, positions that interact directly with guests and fans.

“It is basic customer service, and we came up with a different program to keep up the momentum and enthusiasm,” Flack said.

Nominations stem from a customer service initiative at Global Spectrum, which manages the Iowa Events Center, called “How You Doin’?” (HYD) that promotes putting the customer first, listening and being enthusiastic.

Events Center employees are trained on the HYD concept and wear a button with the HYD logo. When they are found going “above and beyond” for guests, employees are given a HYD card to submit for a prize drawing at the end of each month.

“We found that with the monthly drawing, people were becoming complacent,” said Erin Riley, a marketing coordinator at the Iowa Events Center and chair of the HYD committee. “We wanted something to kick-start the program.”

Other Greater Des Moines businesses are motivating and thanking employees for their work and customer service with their own appreciation programs.

Hy-Vee Inc., which is owned by its employees, empowers them to make decisions, solve problems and do whatever they can for customers, said company spokeswoman Chris Friesleben.

Every fall, the company sets aside two weeks for a series of Service Award banquets throughout its seven-state operating region. Hy-Vee employees who have been with the company for five-year increments are invited to a dinner held in their honor. As many as 2,000 employees can be honored each year.

In 2006, Hy-Vee created the Legendary Customer Service (LCS) Award to recognize employees who exemplify the company’s “a helpful smile in every aisle” motto along with the Hy-Vee fundamentals of friendliness, respect, honesty and dedication. Employees who receive the award are inducted into the Hy-Vee LCS Hall of Fame and receive recognition, such as their picture being placed on the panel of a Hy-Vee truck. The company has honored 15 employees with this award in the first two years of the program’s existence.

“We believe employees are our biggest asset,” Friesleben said.

Principal Financial Group Inc.’s premier employee appreciation program is the EnCORE Awards, said Rhonda Clark-Leyda, a spokeswoman for the company. Employees are nominated by their co-workers when they demonstrate high performance of Principal’s core values, including customer focus, people development, financial strength, operational excellence and integrity.

Approximately 25-30 finalists will receive the award at the annual EnCORE Awards ceremony held in late spring or early summer.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s Agribusiness associates in Des Moines have a three-level recognition program: the Standing Ovation, an informal award for appreciation of day-to-day activities, the Star Award, which recognizes more significant contributions each quarter, and the Presidents’ Award to honor significant efforts during the year, said Liz Christopher, a Nationwide spokeswoman.

Nationwide also has a program where employees are nominated by their co-workers. “I Got Caught” recognizes employees who demonstrate the company’s core and performance values.

Appreciation and recognition of the employees who make business possible are at the heart of all these incentive programs.

“It is a small token of appreciation, but it means the world to them, and that is what the program is all about,” the Events Center’s Homan said.