Corporate Awards

Does your company have an Employee of the Month recognition program to recognize stellar employees? If so, how effective is it? Many programs can be highly successful if measurable criteria are implemented for choosing the winners.  Some questions to consider are:

1. What criteria do you use to choose your winner each month?

2. Is the criteria tied to your company values?

3. What happens if more than one person meets the criteria?

4. How transparent is the process to your employees?

Once you establish the metrics for choosing your monthly winners and communicate them to your employees, the next hurdle is implementation.  It's important if you start a program, you follow through until a specified date.  At that time, you can re-evaluate the program to make sure it enhances your company vision, mission and goals.

Employee of the Month Awards

Many customers who administer employee of the month programs ask our advise on what kinds of awards are appropriate for the monthly winners.  Below are our suggestions.

We offer many different styles of perpetual plaques, including styles that hold photos of your winners!

Employee of the Month Plaques:

Most companies display, on a highly visible wall, a perpetual plaque with the names of their monthly winners.  This is great public recognition for not only the winners, but also for the program.  Two popular plaque choices are the beautiful rosewood 12 or 24 Plate Perpetual Gloss Plaque or the Black and Silver Perpetual Plaque.

Engraving for the Plaques:

At Trophies2Go, we include the price of engraving of the large header plate on the top of the plaque.  Popular engraving includes Company Name and Logo, words 'Employee of the Month' and the Year.

Engraving for the Small Name Plates:

Blank plates are included in the price of the perpetual plaque, but there is an additional fee to engrave individual names onto each small plate.  Many organizations pre-pay for a year's worth of 12 individual name plates when they place their order for the plaque.   Then we engrave the plate as needed, and the customer sticks or screws it onto the plaque each month.  This option simplifies the ordering process.

For the text on the small plates, I recommend engraving the winner's name and month of the award.  If the text is short, you can also list the metric that made them the winner for that particular month.  It's important to keep the engraving size, font, and style consistent from month to month so that all of the small plates match.

The popular Clear Acrylic Star Award Trophy makes a great, affordable Employee of the Month reward.

Individual Monthly Awards for Employees: 

To commemorate the achievement, many companies will give an individual employee of the month trophy to each winner.  This personalized award can be displayed with pride on their desk, on a shelf in their office, or at their home.  For example, a number of years ago my mother-in-law was honored as "Employee of the Month" at a large municipality where she worked.  Even though she is retired, she continues to display her award on her family room shelf for all to see.

Probably the most popular employee awards for this type of recognition are either Acrylic Awards or Glass Awards. Made of Lucite, acrylic awards have the look of glass but are durable and more economical than crystal.  Glass awards look very professional without breaking your budget. After discussing this post with our customer service team Margene and Janice, they recommended these beautiful yet affordable awards for your monthly winners: the Jewel Mirage Self-Standing Acrylic Award, the Beveled Bent Glass Award, or the bestselling Clear Acrylic Star Award Trophy.

Engraving Ideas for individual Employee of the Month Awards: 

For engraving, I would suggest etching the facts such as the person's name, the company name, the name of the award (Employee of the Month), and date (month and year), but then also add a short personalized message about their contribution to the organization.  You could include why they were chosen, how they supported the vision or mission of the company or what specific action they did to win.  Get as detailed as possible, as that makes the award more meaningful.

Employee of the Month Gifts:

Instead of, or in addition to, individual awards, companies may also give employee of the month certificates, gift cards, cash or other rewards to their winners.  These are also appreciated by deserving employees!

Use the tips above to update your Employee of the Month recognition program and choose the perfect plaques and awards for your winners. It's never too late to start honoring deserving employees!

Cheers!
Jessica

Top 6 questions a customer should ask when purchasing awards

Don't mess up your order or pay too much -ask the right questions to ensure accurate awards within your budget every time!

Whether you are ordering championship trophies for your kid’s sports team, elegant awards for a corporate gala, or an engraved gift for someone special, all customers buying awards should expect them to be high quality, accurately engraved, and delivered on-time. Below are  questions to ask when purchasing trophies or awards.

Question #1:  What awards are most popular and new?

For a first time buyer, ask the staff at the awards company what is the most popular award for your particular event.  They will know through experience what sells well. If you are ordering online, read the customer reviews before deciding what to buy.  Learn what has worked well for other shoppers and repeat the positive experience!

If you order awards on a regular basis, especially for kids who participate in sports or activities, take a new look at the new awards offered by your retailer. By choosing a new award, you can ensure that the kids won't already have the award on their trophy shelf!

Question #2:  When will the awards be in my hands?

Most of our customers have an event, whether for a business or for a sports team, where they will be presenting their awards.  If you are buying from a local trophy company, when placing your order, ask when the awards will be ready for pick up.  Be sure to plan plenty of time before your event, in case there is a misspelling or you need to add an extra trophy – things come up!

If ordering online, make sure to ask about production time (how long it takes to make and engrave the award) plus shipping time.  The company should be able to tell you the expected delivery date and then send you a tracking number after your order has shipped.  That way you can track the package yourself to ensure on-time delivery.

Question #3:  Can I engrave different names on each trophy?

The answer to this question should be “yes”; personalization is the reason you would buy an award in the first place!  If the answer is “no”, I suggest finding a different company to work with.

Question #4:  Is personalization included in the price?

Many awards companies include personalized etching in the price of their awards.  Here at Trophies2Go, all engraving is included, and if we can fit the words onto the award, then we will engrave as much (or as little) text as you want - we don’t count characters.  Some companies charge set up fees or price per letter/character – be sure to ask, as these costs can add up.

Question #5:  How do I get my engraving information and artwork to you?

Personalization is what makes trophies and awards so special. When ordering an award, it’s important that the engraving is accurate and correct.  Ask your trophy provider the best way to get engraving information to them.  Many will ask you to email the engraving, as cutting and pasting your text electronically into their engraving equipment minimizes spelling errors.

Also, if you are adding a picture or a logo to your award, most engraving machines, such as laser engravers, require camera ready artwork. High quality and high resolution, this type of artwork includes eps, ai or jpg files.  Lower resolution files, such as bitmap, png, and some jpg files, are highly pixilated and don’t engrave well – the logo turns out fuzzy and distorted.  Scanned images cannot be engraved.

For sublimated products (that’s for full color stuff like photos), a high resolution jpg works well.  Many phones now take high quality photos which work great for sublimated products.

Question #6:  Can I see what the engraving will look like?

Here is an example of an engraving proof created for a customer by Lori, one of our laser engravers.

Most trophy and awards companies should be able to create a proof of the engraving before they actually engrave the text or logo onto the award. Some companies charge for this service; others do not. We offer free proofs for any order over $50 and for AwardPerks loyalty members at any price. This gives customers the option to work directly with the engraver to ensure perfect engraving every time; it's piece of mind that everything is spelled correctly and looks fabulous.

Being in business since 1987, we know the questions customers need to ask to ensure their awards are on time, on budget, and perfect every time. Give us a call at 877-926-4700 anytime - we are here to answer your awards questions!

Cheers,
Jessica

Are you looking for ideas for employee recognition?  Here are some ways to make your next awards ceremony meaningful:

An example of an award presented to a deserving employee.

1.  Host an annual event.  Make honoring your staff a priority. Create an event centered around your employees and how they contribute to the company.

2.  Feed your guests. Your guests will get more value from the event if a meal is provided.  Food is good!

3.  Have an MC.  Keep your awards presentation moving and the energy level up with a dynamic, engaging speaker.

4.  Have the leader of the organization present the awards.  The awards presentation means more coming from senior members of the organization. Make sure your presenter pronounces the recipient's name correctly and prepares something special to say about each winner.  When it comes from the heart, it makes the award that much more meaningful.

5.  Create awards specific to your organization.  Examples include Employee of the Year for different job categories, Years of Service Awards, Sales Awards, President's Award, or Lifetime Achievement Award.  Many categories of awards are quite generic, and can be applied to any organization, or create your own special trophy specific to your organization.

6. Keep your awards hidden.  Don't ruin the surprise by displaying the awards before the presentation. Add suspense to your event by hiding your awards. You can stash them on the side of the stage, or have them displayed on a table with a cloth draped over them to hide the winning names.

7.  Document the event for future publicity.  Hire a photographer and/or videographer to document the night.  These images and footage can be used later for PR for your organization.

It takes effort to create an awards ceremony, but it pays off in happy employees who feel recognized by their company.   Use these ideas as inspiration for your next employee recognition and awards ceremony. Get planning now!

Cheers,
Jessica

Why do people give and get awards? Being in business since 1986, we’ve seen many corporate awards go through our doors - creating these awards is our specialty.  Below are some general trends we've seen as to why organizations present awards.

1.  Accomplishment. People and organizations earn awards for reaching and exceeding goals, especially for sales and other contests. The Best of the Best get noticed and recognized.

2.  Service. An award provides a way to show appreciation for service to an organization. Multiple years of employment at a company, being an outstanding customer or vendor, or serving on a Board of Directors deserves recognition.

3.  Special Life Moments. Many people receive awards during life transitions, including changing employment or retiring.  We also see awards as personalized gifts for weddings, anniversaries, and remembrances.

4.  Gratitude.  If a person helps an organization or volunteers for a cause, many times they will be thanked for their efforts. An award is a tangible reminder of this gratitude. Organizations show their appreciation to outstanding individuals who go above and beyond by honoring them with personalized awards.

5.  Team Building.  Many corporate customers choose more casual awards for their staff, including joke awards, trophies that coordinate with a contest theme, or one of a kind custom awards tailored to their specific event.

We’d love to hear why your organization gives awards! Email me your story at [email protected]; include a picture and I'll share it on our Facebook Page!

Cheers,
Jessica

Unique, Pretty, and A Good Value.  That's what sets this award apart from all the others.

Our 2014 Product of the Year - Swirl Egg Art Glass.

The Swirl Egg Art Glass Award by Tropar Manufacturing wins the Trophies2Go 2014 Product of the Year.  Nominated by our Production Manager Tom, he chose this award because of the high quality and very affordable price.

Tom also likes how Tropar keeps our local warehouse well-stocked with this award, which is a good thing, as it's a hot seller!

This beautiful hand-blown award features swirls of purple, blue, green, and yellow suspended in clear glass, attached to a black crystal base  with a personalized aluminum plate on the front.  At $39.00, it's a great value for such an impressive and artistic award!

Here's what a customer had to say: "This item was ordered to present to three community members for their efforts contributing to the health of the community-at-large. The presentations were made at a large public event and photos of these awards showed up in the newspaper."

"I was thrilled with the quality of these awards! You would think these awards were much more expensive than they are and I believe they are worth more".

I'm modeling our winning Egg!

Thank you to our vendor Tropar, who not only creates this art glass award, but also supplies us with many of our top selling acrylic awards and premium plaques.  They are a great company with excellent leadership, outstanding customer service, and many 'Made in the USA' products.

We are proud to carry Tropar's high quality and beautiful awards in our online catalog and especially proud to feature the Swirl Egg Art Glass award as our 2014 Product of the Year!

For past Product of the Year winners, check out our 2012 Monster Trophies and 2013 Honey Badger Trophy.

Cheers!
Jessica