Corporate Awards

With the holidays in full swing, It's time to get shopping!  Looking for a unique gift for someone special on your list?  Even though we sell many awards, we also offer many personalized gifts for both individuals and organizations.  Browse our gifts category to see our large selection; all include engraving in the price.

Engraved Gift Items

Check out the Engraved Flask set - a perfect gift for Santa! Also, our crystal ornaments adorn our showroom tree.

1.  NEW! Engraved Flasks - We are now offering engraved flasks individually and in sets.  Colors include brushed silver aluminum; glossy red and blue; matte black, red, blue, green and pink; and leatherette. These engraved flasks make great wedding party gifts, bachelor or bachelorette party favors, and groomsmen gifts.  They also make fun team building corporate gifts.  Check out our cute Santa flask to the right!

2.  Etched Wine Boxes and Wine Gifts - Forget the wine bag...present an excellent bottle of wine in a beautiful box with your corporate logo and personalized message.  Our newest boxes are the Burl Wood Wine Box with Tools and Rosewood Wine Box with Clear Acrylic Lid.  Give either to your favorite wine connoisseur with a special message...an engraved wine box will look fantastic displayed in a wine cellar!  Check out all of our engraved wine gifts here.

3.  NEW! Personalized Bottle Opener -  This is the coolest way to take a cap off a beer that I have ever seen.  Just press this gizmo over the top of the bottle and the opener pops off the cap!  These make great gifts for a guy who has it all.  Engrave a name on the side to personalize it.

4.  Engraved Crystal Ornaments - Made of optical crystal, our engraved ornaments are a treasured keepsake.  Available in a variety of shapes, each ornament includes precision etching in the price.  These ornaments are a great choice for remembering a Baby's First Christmas.

5.  Engraved Cutting Boards - Looking for a gift that is both functional and personalized?  Engraved Cutting Boards are a great option for employees that have it all.  This gift will be used daily and can be easily engraved with a company logo.  The price is affordable too!  Package an engraved cutting board with an edible gift or grocery store gift card for a useful and thoughtful gift perfect for everyone on your list!

Personalized gifts are a wonderful way to show someone you care.  Browse our large selection now!  With our easy ordering process and fast production times, get your shopping done hassle free!

Cheers,
Jessica

This week, I noticed a post on our industry forum about awards vs. rewards.  Really, what is the difference?  When do you use one vs. the other?  I thought this was an interesting topic to explore.

What is your favorite reward? How about your staff or team members?

Definitions - (According to Oxford Dictionaries)

Award (Noun):

- A prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement. "The company's annual award for high-quality service"

- An amount of money paid to someone as an official payment, compensation, or grant. "A generous award given to promising young dancers"

- The action of giving a payment, compensation, or prize. "The award of an honorary doctorate"

Award (Verb):

- Give or order the giving of (something) as an official payment, compensation, or prize to (someone). "He was awarded the Purple Heart"

- Grant or assign (a contract or commission) to (a person or organization).

Reward (Noun):

- A thing given in recognition of one's service, effort, or achievement. "The holiday was a reward for 40 years' service with the company"

Reward (Verb):

- Make a gift of something to (someone) in recognition of their services, efforts, or achievements. "The engineer who supervised the work was rewarded with a bonus"

After reading the definitions they really sound like the same thing.  Synonyms.  Yet our entire industry is based on the word "Award" and what it represents.

What is the difference between Award and Reward?

One of our most popular trophies, perfect for an Oscar Party!

I think the distinction in our industry is that awards are a TYPE of reward.

For me, anything can be a reward.  A car, a t-shirt, money.  In the business world, many companies offer incentive programs with rewards where employees can choose items for accomplishing a particular milestone or task.  These rewards are often name-brand merchandise or experiences that can be ordered from a catalog.

However, awards are a different story.  They are a piece of hardware with a personalized name and/or message that signifies excellence in a particular field. They are a kind of certificate of achievement that can be displayed for reaching or exceeding a goal; a symbol of success.  Awards are a more specific subset of rewards that can be categorized by type and application.

Types of Awards

At Trophies2Go, our business is 50/50 corporate awards to sports and activity awards.  Below are our most popular options for each.

For Business:  Engraved plaques are probably the most common type of corporate award we sell, followed by acrylic awards and crystal awards.  Engraved gifts, such as clocks and art glass, can also be functional personalized awards.  Some trophies are also awarded as corporate awards.

For Sports & Activities:  Sports trophies are the pinnacle of athletic success.  They are an iconic representation of winning.  Trophies can be tall, short, big, small, but all feature main components - a figure, an optional riser or column, and a base.  They can made of any kind of material - metal, wood, marble, plastic, resin - although the most common is plastic and resin.

If your organization decides to recognize achievement either through awards or rewards, it's important to define the process and get buy in from all levels of the organization.  For more about starting an awards program, read my past blog, Recognition Awards - Informal Vs. Formal, 4 Steps for Creating a Service Awards Program, or Motivate Your Staff with Sales Achievement Awards.  We are here to help you with your process, to make the award creating portion as easy and hassle free as possible!

Cheers,
Jessica

Concerned with Employee Retention? Consider Giving Service Awards!

At Trophies2Go, we have a service awards program. Here is Margene with at her 10 year anniversary award!

As a manager or owner of a business, are you concerned about employee retention, engagement and satisfaction?  If so, consider adding Service Awards to your HR tool belt.

These types of awards acknowledge an employee’s year(s) of service to the company. This is especially important when employee turnover is an issue. The cost of an awards program is small in comparison to the cost of employee acquisition and training. Service Awards Programs have been proven to be successful in increasing job satisfaction and improving employee retention.

Starting a Service Awards Program

Whether a large corporation or a small nonprofit, all employees like acknowledgement for the time they have served an organization.  Below are some basic steps for establishing a Service Awards Program.

Art Glass Awards, such as this Blue Rain Drop, make great Service Awards. Recipients can display with pride for years to come.

Step #1:  Establish Time Periods For Awards.

Standard time periods for presenting awards are 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, and 20 years, but can vary depending on the type of work.

-  Well established companies: Recognition at the 1, 5, 10, and 20 year mark is appropriate.

-  Start-ups or companies with higher turnover:  Gifts at the 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 year mark may be necessary. Even six month awards can be useful if the typical employee lasts less than three months in a position.

Step #2:  Determine Your Awards For Each Time Period. 

Typically, more employees qualify for awards in the 1-5 year time frame. Begin with less expensive awards and grow to more significant ones as years of service progress.

Add variety to your awards program. Consistency is good, but don’t give the same gift each anniversary date. One idea is to alternate an award with an edible or useful gift every other time period.  From our years of experience, below are some common service awards companies have given to their employees.

- For earlier years:  Acrylic awards are a great choice. Some examples include the Acrylic Ice Block, or Peaked Acrylic Awards.

- For the middle years: An award plaque would be appropriate.   Another functional gift choice is an engraved clock.

- For someone with 15 or more year of service:  Consider a crystal trophy or art glass award.   These high quality awards add beauty and class to any surrounding.

Step #3:  How To Present Awards In A Meaningful Way.

Service Awards can be given at staff meetings, company functions, teambuilding events or individually. However, recognition must come from the leaders of the company in order to be meaningful. Presentations should be made by a direct supervisor or someone higher up in the company, such as the VP or CEO. Do not have the award sent to the person without direct acknowledgement by a supervisor; that diminishes the value of the award.

Step #4:  Follow Through.

Once a Service Awards Program is created, it is important to stick to it. Follow through shows a company’s commitment to its employees.

Examples of Text for Service Awards

Below are four examples of text that can be used on Service Awards. These are only guidelines; be creativity to capture the essence of your company.

Presented to

First & Last Name

In Appreciation of XXX Years of Service

Company Name or logo

Presentation Year or Presentation Date or Anniversary Date

Presented to

First & Last Name

In Recognition of XXX Years of Dedication and Devotion

Company Name or logo

Presentation Year or Presentation Date or Anniversary Date

Presented to

First & Last Name

In Appreciation of Your Effort and Hard Work

Towards the Success of Our Company

Company Name or logo

Presentation Year or Presentation Date or Anniversary Date

Company Name or logo

XXX Years of Service

Presented to

First & Last Name

Presentation Year or Presentation Date or Anniversary Date

Service Awards Programs are great tools for motivation, recognition and employee retention. Your employees deserve to be recognized in a meaningful way for the time and expertise they give to your company.  In return, that recognition will add value to your business in the form of satisfied employees!

Cheers,
Jessica

At Trophies2Go, our goal is to create the perfect award for you to give to someone special.  We take great pride in expertly etching a unique, personalized message on each award we create.  We want the award you purchase to stand the test of time and be a cherished for years to come.

One obstacle we often see in creating a memorable award is engraving errors, especially MISSPELLED WORDS.  We try our hardest to catch these offenders when they come through our website, but sometimes they get missed.  Customers accidentally type the wrong information, or sometimes it’s our mistake – you call your order in, and there’s a typo, for example.

With this blog post, I hope to point out common errors we see in the hopes that everyone, both our staff and customers, double and triple checks the engraving so that it’s error free when engraved onto the award.

3 Most Common Engraving Errors

How many engraving errors can you find on this phony plaque? It was fabricated specifically for today's blog.

Here are the top 3 errors we regularly see:

1. Commonly Misspelled Words.  According to our engravers and our customer service team, here are the worst offenders that they see misspelled over and over again:

Achievement

Congratulations

Commitment

Fantasy

If you have any of these words in the text of your award, use your spell check to make sure they are correct before submitting the engraving.

2. The Wrong Date.  An order gets repeated from the previous year, yet last year’s date doesn’t get updated.  When you get your order confirmation email, be sure to double and triple check the dates, especially the YEAR, to be sure the date on the award is correct.

3. Misspelled Names. Often we have to re-make awards because names are misspelled.  To remedy this problem, it’s a good idea to confirm spelling before entering engraving information. For participation awards, double check your team roster with parents before submitting the engraving for your trophies.  For corporate awards, double check the spelling of the winner’s name before placing your order.

Our goal is to create a fun and hassle free ordering experience for our customers.  But unfortunately mistakes do occasionally happen.  When an award is incorrectly engraved, give our customer service team a call at 877-926-4700 to find a solution.  To prevent errors, double and triple check the engraving text when placing your order.  We strive to create accurate and beautiful awards to be enjoyed for years to come!

Cheers!
Jessica

Your grown child has moved out of the house, and you’re reclaiming his/her room as your own. What do you do with that collection of old, dusty trophies? Here are some ideas of how to give those old trophies a new life.

Trophy Recycling

Our engraver Mike's box of brass scraps bound for recycling.

Unfortunately, the awards and recognition industry does not produce many recyclable trophy components. Most of the trophies we create cannot be recycled and must be either reused or disposed. Hopefully our industry will soon change its ways and reduce waste by offering recyclable products or products made from recycled materials. Until then, we have some suggestions for more utility from your old awards.

What Can Be Recycled?

Most metal plates that are attached to plaques and trophies can be recycled. Usually these plates are made from aluminum or brass and can be taken to a local recycling center. We recycle all of our scrap metal from plates.

Many solid wood plaques are biodegradable. Our Eco-Plaques and Bamboo Plaques are harvested from environmentally-friendly sustainable forests. These are a great product choice for eco conscious buyers.

Donation, Donation, Donation

This eco-plaque is made of sustainably harvested cherry and the engraved metal plate can be recycled.

Many larger chain thrift stores, such as Goodwill or Value Village, accept donations of gently used awards in good condition. They clean and sell the old trophies to their customers. It’s surprising what creative things people can make out of old awards!

Unfortunately, many smaller thrift stores do not accept trophies. If you have a question, call your local second-hand store before making your donation.

Reuse Your Old Trophies

If you decide to reuse trophies for another season, the old engraved metal can be removed and recycled. New metal plates can be ordered and easily attached to existing trophies using double sided tape.

Make Your Own Trophies

If your team is concerned about purchasing products that cannot be recycled, consider making your own awards out of wood or another biodegradable material. At Trophies2Go, engraved plates are available for you to attach to your awards. All of our engraved metal is recyclable.

We appreciate and share your commitment to our environment. At Trophies2Go.com, we strive to create meaningful recognition in an earth-friendly way!

Cheers!
Jessica