Corporate Awards

We are in the business of recognition.  We especially love Meaningful Recognition.  We don’t especially love recognition just for the sake of recognition.  But we do know it exists.

In a 2008 study published by Randstad, employees were asked to identify the employer attributes they value most. The number one attribute was recognition of what the employee brings to the organization.  However most also said their employer did not do this. Employees want to be valued, but they are not ‘feeling it’.

After working in the recognition industry for 5 years, I have a few thoughts. Here are 5 tips for the Great Recognition, from me.

What’s important to your employees?  Make sure you are recognizing with something of value for that person.  Recognition that is motivating for me may mean nothing to you. Giving tickets to a sporting event to someone who doesn’t like sports won’t feel like recognition.  In fact, it could do more harm than good.  What is says to that employee is “You don’t know me very well and aren’t interested in taking the time to find out what is important to me.” All recognition, formal and informal, needs to be sincere and specific.  No token, meaningless, one-size-fits-all recognition please. If you need help discovering what’s important to each employee, check out this book The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, by Gary Chapman and Paul White.

Be consistent.  If you have a service awards program, where you recognize employees for their length of service with your company, don’t miss an anniversary.  This implies indifference.  That you really don’t care how long the employee has been loyal to your company.

Don’t phone it in.  A large part of the importance of receiving recognition is that it is done in front of peers.  Make sure the recognition you give isn’t incognito.  Don’t do it over the phone and don’t have it delivered.  Make it in person and in front of peers.  Do it at a recognition event if possible. And make sure they have something to put on their desk or wall so others can see it regularly.

Recognize with something that is meaningful

Go the extra mile. When recognizing someone, highlight their accomplishments.  Why are they getting recognized?  What have they done? Shout it to everyone, “Sharon has done an amazing job getting the project done on time and within budget. She’s a great leader and an asset to this company.”

Tie it to what’s important to your company.  Showing how an employee’s great works ties back to the company’s vision, mission and goals is motivating to that employee, and to others. They want to contribute to the company’s vision also.

I’d love to hear from you.  Share your best tip for great recognition in the workplace here.

Blessings, Anne

We all want happy customers.  Happy, satisfied customers are returning customers, and we know it costs much less to keep a customer than it does to find a new one.  Retention is the new Acquisition.

According to Wikipedia, Customer Satisfaction is a term frequently used as a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectations.  It can and should be measured with surveys and numbers. But my favorite way to know if our customers are happy is to check out the comments they enter on our website.  These three just came in this week:

"Awesome Trophy. I highly recommend this company and we’ll be using them again. The proof feature was above and beyond and helped make this the best Fantasy Football Trophy ever."

"Excellent service!"

"The plaque is beautiful. What is more impressive is the response time. A proof was sent to me within hours… Then it arrived in three days! I have ordered many recognition items from Trophies2go. They are the best!"

Happy Employees lead to Happy Customers

One of the best ways to make customers happy is to have happy employees.  And not just the people who answer the phone. Every employee has some way they are interacting with the customer or the customer’s order.  If those employees are happy, they will be more likely to provide great customer service.

What are ways to make your employees happy?

Employee Engagement.

You’ve heard this term a lot.  I think the most important thing about employee engagement is that it needs to be more than something discussed in the human resources department.  It needs to be a large part of how a business is structured and how it runs on a daily basis.

Engaged employees are more productive, more creative, more customer-focused and more loyal.  They actually show up to work and give best effort.

Clear Communication.

Identify meaningful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or performance metrics for each employee that relate to providing excellent customer service.  They should be involved in the development of these KPIs.

Hold regular meetings to review how they are performing to these metrics.  These don’t have to be formal sit-down meetings.  Make them more relaxed at the local coffee shop, or if you’re strapped for time, do them on the phone or Skype.

A manager should always ask the employee how they can help them in the attainment of these metrics. Do they have the needed tools and education to do their job and meet their goals?

And feel free to adjust the KPIs if you find they are not reflecting how to make customers happy.

Recognition.

Recognize, informally or formally, when an employee does a great job.  Reward what you want repeated.

Reward the attainment of KPIs, as long as they are properly aligned to the service delivered to your customers.

Recognition leads to increased productivity, higher loyalty, enhanced teamwork and lower employee turnover.  All good things to have in place when you want to have Happy Customers.

Show Your Employees That They are Important to You.

Investment in your employees: their education, development and growth.

Discuss potential career paths, what they should be doing to move along those paths, and how you will help them.

ABOVE ALL:  Value your employees even more than your customers.

Without one, you won’t have the other!

Blessings, Anne

On Tuesday, Jessica shared some thoughts about Informal vs Formal recognition.  So you know that Formal Recognition Programs can help a company reach its goals AND create a loyal and fulfilled employees. Well-communicated and consistent formal recognition is a great incentive for your employees to meet their position objectives.  But what type of formal recognition is best for YOUR company?  Here are some types of recognition we see.  Keep them in mind when planning your recognition program.

Service Awards

Service Awards acknowledge length of service with your company and can help to increase employee longevity.

Traditionally awards are presented for 1,5, 10, 20 years of service.  However in some industries or companies with high turnover positions it may make more sense to provide employee recognition at the 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 year mark.

Sales Awards

Recognize the achievement of goals and attainment of quotas with Sales Awards.

Individual awards may be for attainment, year-to-year growth in a territory, most new accounts, biggest competitive win-back.

Names like President’s Award or Million Dollar Club add prestige to the achievement.

For a national or international organization, recognize your Top Distributor, Regional Leader or Greatest Store Sales.

Sales awards can be monthly, quarterly, annually or some combination.

Non-Sales Performance-Based Awards

Consider awards or gifts for each employee based on reaching identified Key Performance Indicators.

These can be unique for each individual or for a team.

Reward those who perform above and beyond, or provide inspiration and motivation to the rest of the team.

Customer Service Awards

We all know that it takes great customer service to grow a business.  Recognize those who provide that service with special awards for Best Customer Satisfaction Rating based on your internal measurements, or a Customer Service Award to a representative who receives great feedback from your customers.

You can even ask your customers to nominate their favorite customer service reps for an award.

Employee-of-the-Month

Or Employee of the Quarter or Employee of the Year.

Define and document what it takes to earn these distinctions.  They can be objective or subjective, you decide.

Think about having a perpetual plaque in a central location where each month the winner’s name and picture is posted.  Provide some type of take-away award for the that employee as well.

Other Types Of Awards

Safety Awards

On-time Product Launch

Leadership Achievements

Corporate Honors

Community Recognition

Teamwork Award

Peer-to-Peer Award

Spending the time up front defining what you want to recognize and how you want to do it will make the program easier to communicate and implement.  If you feel that you’d like to have someone help you with this process, contact Jeff Anderson, our president.  He’s a Certified Recognition Professional and would be happy to help. You can reach him at [email protected].

Best of luck to you in your Recognition Programs!

Blessings, Anne

Recognition programs can be kind of tricky to get started, but once you have them going, the benefits are awesome. Recognition can come in different forms and can be applied at different times. The important thing is that it's positive for a job well done, as this is the key to success.

Here are some ideas of informal vs. formal awards. Informal one the left, formal on the right, me in the middle!

The first step is to figure out what kinds of recognition already exist in your organization. Does it work by making employees feel good about themselves? In what areas can your company improve? The second step is to decide what kind of program you want to create and how involved you want it to be. Below are some ideas.

Informal Recognition

It’s easy to use informal day-to-day recognition. Words of affirmation boost morale and make the job at hand more fun. A simple ‘Thanks’ when someone leaves at the end of a full day’s work may be all it takes. The best business managers express gratitude when their employees spend a day with the company. Other simple ways to recognize a great job include hand-written notes, cards, and thanks in the presence of others. Informal sales contests, weekly recognition awards and office competitions are other ideas suitable to the workplace.

Lighten Up! Add Some Humor to Your Workplace

Humorous awards are a great way to use informal recognition. You don’t need a structured recognition awards program to bring some laughter and fun to the workplace. The benefits include a positive working atmosphere where people don’t take themselves as seriously. Humor cancels negative emotions, connects people, and makes work a fun place to spend time each day. If you create a funny or tacky award, make sure the recipient has a good sense of humor and knows it’s a joke. Create hype for unusual awards by making them perpetual ones that get passed around the office from person to person. The ideas are endless, just make it fun and creative!

Formal Recognition

When planned ahead and customized for your organization, formal Recognition Programs can help a company reach its goals AND create a loyal and fulfilled staff. They’re a powerful tool that helps people feel better about their jobs and gives them a carrot to improve. And they’re cost effective!  Just be sure to plan before you jump in.

According to the Recognition Professionals International (RPI), the 4 steps for a successful recognition awards program are Strategy, Implementation, Review, and Assessment. For more details, contact a Certified Recognition Professional, such as Trophies2Go President, Jeff Anderson. He’s happy to help you at [email protected].

Creating a successful recognition awards program takes planning, strategy and perseverance. Below are the things you need to be successful:

1. Set Clear Goals. When planning a program, figure out why you are doing it and what you’d like to get out of it. Also decide what variable you’d like to measure (for example, employee satisfaction) and then set a realistic goal for the program.

2. Measure. Before beginning the program, get a baseline of what needs improvement. Then make a plan using employee recognition to help that particular area. Measure your variable before starting a program, at the next time period (such as a year) and then again at the end of the program. Assess the changes, see if there was progress, and check if goals were met. Then start cycle again and decide if the program is still relevant or needs change.

3. Recognition. Once goals have been set and measured, the system is put into motion. Individuals who meet or exceed goals deserve recognition.

4. Make It Ongoing. Some of the most successful sales, service or training recognition programs are built with longevity in mind. Programs are much more successful if they continue on an on-going basis.

Once you have your method of recognition up and running, it does take time to order awards for each cycle. Assign one person to this task and schedule it on their calendar. Trophies2Go.com can help because we keep past orders, fill orders quickly, and make it easy to order online.

5. Flexibility. A recognition awards program must be flexible and adaptable; able to change to meet goals. When beginning a Recognition Program, the person in charge sees a vision for the program, directs it for a few awards cycles, and then tweaks it when it needs it.

6. Management Buy-In. Upper management has to be on board in order for a program to be successful. Be sure to communicate the goals of the program to management and get their support. Then they can take pride in the program, especially when goals are met or surpassed. When used, most programs create win-win scenarios for everyone involved, adding positive movement to the company. They are taken seriously and become important to the culture.

7. Communication. It’s the most important piece of the program; the central focus. Recognition Program managers must communicate first, that there is a recognition program; second, why the company is doing it; and third, why it’s important. Management must communicate what the entire recognition program means to the company and how it’s important to the corporate culture. The program will be most successful if everyone in the company knows about it, thinks it’s important, and the goals are clear and measurable. Communicate when the company hosts an event to recognize winners and that they’ll measure the outcome of the program to see if they’ll do it again next year.

The results of a successful formal recognition awards program are people who genuinely want to add to the value of their organization. All of the above ideas can be adapted for use in any program. This is a great tool for any leader to boost morale and productivity throughout their company.

Cheers, Jessica

You know you want to recognize a special employee with an award.  They’ve worked hard, they deserve it.  But what do you have engraved on the award?  How do you make sure the award is worded just right?  This isn’t always easy.  We get asked for assistance with this quite a bit.

General Tips for the Message

Keep in mind that your recipient's plaque or award will be displayed forever; on a shelf, wall, desk or bookcase.  Make your message stand out.

Make sure it’s reflective of what they are being recognized for.

If your award will be announced in front of an audience; keep it short, sweet and clever.

Make it catchy and memorable, not long and drawn out.

Having a sense of humor is fine, but make it tasteful if you choose to go this route.

Read your award phrase out loud before printing it on the gift.

Always include the date the award is presented, or at a minimum, the year.

Wording will normally be centered, unless you specify otherwise.

Include your company’s logo if possible.

Use a motivational quote that is meaningful to your company or the individual.

Typical Format

Here are a few wording examples for various types of awards.

Leadership, Service and Retirement Awards

In Appreciation of
Twenty Years
of
Outstanding and Loyal Service
to XYZ Widget Company

***

In Recognition of Your

Outstanding Efforts in Keeping

Our Systems Operational

24x7x365 in 2011

***

The difference between success and

Failure is often determined by one's

Dedication. Your undying commitment

To our company's success has

Earned you our highest esteem.

***

In Grateful Appreciation For Your

Outstanding & Dedicated Service

To The People in Your Community

***

NAME

ON BEHALF OF ALL THE WORKERS AT

Jamba Juice

WE WISH TO THANK FOR YOUR FINE EXAMPLE OF LEADERSHIP. YOU ARE THE #1 BOSS!

Sales Awards

In Recognition of Your

Outstanding Sales Performance

in Selling the Greatest Number of

Licenses in 2011

***

Congratulations On Attaining 125%

Of Your Sales Goal for 2011

***

Other Award Ideas

FOR ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE AND BREAKING THE COMPANY SAFETY RECORD

Target

CONGRATULATES

Name

***

FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO OUR TEAM AND YOUR DEDICATION OF TIME,

The Eagles

WOULD LIKE TO THANK

Coach Name

FOR LEADING OUR TENNIS TEAM TO VICTORY IN

Year

My most important tip?  Spend some time on the wording.  The recipient has done something wonderful for your company or organization.  Make it meaningful.   Speak from the heart.

Note:  My next blog article will be sharing with you how to get that engraving to us.  Look for it on Thursday.

Blessings, Anne