Award presentations can be a new experience not only for the presenter but also for the award winner. Whether you are giving an award to an employee for years of service or an outstanding contribution to the company, preparing for the recognition event is important. You too can create a gold-medal experience for the winner!

A great recognition event can create pride, increase employee satisfaction, and establish trust between employees and managers. However, a bad recognition event can actually have the opposite effect – employees will leave, become disengaged, and slow company growth.  Continue reading…

We use all five senses including taste, smell, sound, sight and touch to make a memory. A recognition award will always hold the memory of the experience. People remember all sorts of details from their recognition experience. The anticipation before the event. What the room looked like. How the food tasted. The sounds in the room. How they felt when their peers congratulated them.

Recognition awards are designed to trigger these memories long after the event is over.

After the surprise and excitement that occurs when a person receives an award, the recipient returns home. And they share the experience with family and friends. This creates even more memories to combine with the recognition experience. From that point on, the award itself becomes the only physical item remaining from the recognition experience. Continue reading…

Do any of these characteristics describe your organization?

• A solid culture where people do what needs to be done
• Employees get more done faster
• A place soaking in happiness

Well, employee recognition programs are right for you!

Your first thought may be, “Employee recognition programs exist just to make people feel good.” On some level, this is true. But the bigger truth is that recognition programs do more for an organization than just spreading goodwill. These programs get your employees to do what you want them to do faster than they are now.

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Recognition programs work because they meet the basic human need for esteem, confidence, and respect. When organizations strive to meet this need in their employees, their recognition programs produce better results because their employees become even more successful.

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who studied human needs in the 1940s. In his research, Maslow found that highly successful people have satisfied their basic human needs. Basic human needs include food, water, sleep, security, friendship or family, confidence or esteem, respect, and morality. The needs build on each other in a pyramid-like fashion. The lowest ranked need must be met before the next set of needs can be achieved.

The figure below shows how recognition programs meet the human need for esteem, respect, and confidence. Continue reading…

Corporate awards motivate employees and build company pride. A recognition program is like a stone thrown into a pond – the stone produces layers of ripples that go on and on. A similar effect is created when one employee receives a reward that inspires another employee, who inspires another employee, and so on. The ripple-effect of a recognition awards program will make your business more productive and profitable.

According to our research, organizations that use a corporate awards program correctly can be 18% more productive and 16% more profitable! The reason why recognition programs get great results is because employees who are recognized with corporate awards are more engaged in their work. These employees accomplish more in less time and therefore help the business make more money.

Use your business goals to build a foundation for your corporate awards program. Reward the things that employees do to meet the business goals that drive your organization. This will benefit your bottom-line directly. Continue reading…

Team recognition shines the spotlight on a group of individuals rather than just one person. However, team recognition honors multiple contributors rather than just one individual.

When they present to a team, award presenters tend to generalize their comments without personally recognizing each member for their unique contribution. Don’t make this critical mistake! It is imperative that presenters recognize both the individuals on the team one at a time and the team as a unit.

The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) is a group of professionals from a variety of fields including, human resources, legal, finance, information technology, sales, and marketing.  CEB delivers data and tools, along with best practices to over 120,000 executives on a regular basis. This organization has outlined the following four common mistakes to avoid when recognizing a team. Continue reading…

A symbol is a three-dimensional item that holds incredible emotional value.  The American flag is a great example of a symbolic item. This symbol is recognizable throughout the world, representing freedom, opportunity, and justice.

On a smaller scale, corporate logos have the same effect. Think for a minute of the Apple logo: what comes to mind? Innovation, entertainment, education, or connection to others?

Now think about Coca-Cola or Nike. Their company logos have become so recognizable that our minds can call them out in a moment.  Continue reading…