Developing A Successful Employee Recognition Award Program

A good way to motivate employees is to offer employee recognition awards. One of the major mistakes made in giving out these awards is to either not name them clearly to understand why the award was given or to outline the criteria for the award if it is going to have a general name like "Employee of the Month."

Two lists of goals should be made. Giving these awards should not only be to boost employee morale and increase productivity. The awards should also have a goal that when they are rewarded proves that the company has met a certain goal because of the competition happening for the award. Obviously the award is given fairly to the employee that was the most productive, made the most sales, or whoever had "the most" in what was needed. Perhaps the goals are different.

Maybe the goals are to increase safety in the workplace. Maybe the awards are acknowledging positive attitudes. Maybe the awards even recognize community volunteers. Make sure the goals to be met in order to get the reward are known by both sides. The ones completing for the award need to see their list of goals. The people involved in handing out the awards need to see both lists of goals.

Once the goals are decided, it is time to decide on the prize that is going to be awarded. Sometimes there is only one prize. Other times there are prizes for more than one place. Are the prizes going to be symbolic such as certificates and ribbons? Are the prizes going to be material things? If they are going to be material things, are they going to be items that can help at the job or personal items that can pampering.

Of course, the prizes are also determined by the budget. If there is not already a budget established for awards, it is important to go over the budget and figure out what can be afforded for awards. This will also determine the type of award that can be given. If there is going to be any change in the type of the award that is given when it is a reoccurring award, it is important to announce the change.

The timing of the award also needs to be announced. Is this a one time thing or is the reoccurring? If it is reoccurring, what is the time frame? Is the award yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or some other time frame? Once this is decided, it is also important to decide how and when to announce how everybody is doing. When the statistics are announced or posted, it will drive more energy into the employees if they want to win the award.

Once all these things are establish, a leader needs to be designated that will take care of the states and the awards. This person must not be competing in order to get an award. It can be anybody who is outside of the award competition.

Also, make sure that you know how the awards will be given out the same way each time if they are continuous awards. If the awards are given out only yearly or twice a year, it is a good idea to make a big deal out of the reward. Perhaps an employee dinner or party to celebrate the award is in need. However, if the award is given out monthly, a simple way to give it may be with the paychecks. It can be a nice surprise for the person who gets the award, even if they thought they were going to get it. Then, there are those times that just a few weeks to a few days before the award is given, a different person becomes the leader and the award is then a really great surprise.

Once everything is completely established, make sure the communicate about the awards. Send e-mails, notifications in letters, in the paycheck previous to the contest, and post flyers around the workplace. Employees need to be reminded that the competition is ongoing and by seeing these things, they will be reminded about the competition. On the other side, it is important to remove any old notifications so that employees do not get confused and disappointed if no contest is happening.

A few ideas for awards have already been mentioned, but here are some more. For paper awards, print a certificate and hang it in a frame, put a hand written note in the paycheck, or post a paper on a recognition bulletin board.

Other free or low cost rewards can be giving a free casual dress day, submitting an article to the local newspaper about how great of an employee somebody is, or giving an office party.

Awards that are little more expensive that can be given are things like a portfolio, a trophy, a nameplate, cash, jewelry, or admission to a seminar. Whatever the gift, make sure that the employee that is getting the gift will enjoy it unless it is an established gift that is given every time the award is given.