Employee Recognition Awards: How To Be Creative & Inspire

What Are Employee Recognition Awards?

An employee recognition award acknowledges the achievements and hard work of a staff member or team, praising them for the contribution they make to the business. Award winners can be selected by management or elected through an employee referral or voting system. Alongside being a great way to celebrate successes, employee recognition awards can be an incentive to work hard and improve productivity across the workforce.

How Are Workplace Awards Handed Out?

There are a number of ways to conduct employee recognition awards, whether you work in healthcare, education, emergency services, real estate or administration. You can tailor your awards ceremony to suit the needs of you, your business and your employees. Some ideas include:

Holding a Formal Awards Ceremony

Invite your employees along to a formal awards ceremony. This could be a black-tie event or sit down meal where you celebrate the achievements of not just the award winners, but the business as a whole. A formal awards ceremony makes for an exciting annual event that staff can look forward to, and can even be linked to another celebration such as Christmas.

At The End of Staff Meetings

The end of a staff meeting can be a great time to award employees for their hard work and inspire them to continue it into the following week, month or quarter. Handing out employee recognition awards at the end of your meeting brings discussions to a positive close and is a useful way of bringing your team together before they return to their individual tasks.

Via Employee Communications

If you operate a large business with a number of employees, it can be hard to bring them all together. In this instance, recognising the achievements of exemplary staff via employee communications is a good option. Dedicate a section of your employee newsletter, intranet or notice board to celebrating exceptional achievements and hard work.

Types of Awards for Employees

So you know how you are going to conduct your employee recognition awards, but what exactly are you going to reward your employees with? Whilst a shoutout acknowledges their hard work, it won’t necessarily inspire and incentivise them and their colleagues. Instead, for a more creative corporate award idea, present those staff members who have excelled with a prize or memento.

Gift Cards & Bonuses

A gift card or bonus is a great way to reward hard work and workplace successes. This allows your employee to treat themselves on your behalf and can be a strong incentive to keep up the good work moving forwards.

Additional Leave

Perhaps reward your high-achievers with an additional holiday day to be taken when they choose. The hard work and increased productivity this incentive inspires in your staff will excel that time lost for the additional holiday!

Trophies, Plaques & Medals

Nothing says well done quite like an awards trophy. Presenting a trophy or medal to deserving staff members highlights their contribution to the business and gives them something tangible to look back on. You can even get your awards engraved with their name and achievement for an extra personal touch.

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