The First Step to Appreciation

Remember how happy you were as a child when receiving a trophy, medal, or any other award for your hard work, even if it was a small 100 meter race? That award meant the world to you as it meant you were recognized for an accomplishment.

Eventually, we leave childhood and transition into adulthood, but your excitement for awards and recognition doesn’t change. Don’t you appreciate a pat on the shoulder and "good job" from your CEO, a trophy for never missing a day at work, a medal for running a marathon or other road race? You could show these awards and recognitions off to your families, friends, and colleagues as well as share them on social media!

Recognition at work

Appreciation and recognition never go out of style; regardless of age, position, or job, every employee expects the employer to recognize their efforts made towards the development, efficiency, and growth of the company, regardless if they are the president of their department or just a simple technician. Employers of most companies recognize their employee’s efforts as a way to appreciate their contribution and motivate other employees to continue their hard work.

If you have not began recognizing and commemorating your employees for their hard work, you should start. Recognition could be awarded with just a "Good job. Thank you for the hard work, we appreciate it" or it could be awarded with custom trophies, medals, key chains or jackets.

Useful tips

Here are some tips for starting an employee recognition program:

1. The first step is understanding the purpose of the recognition program and identifying what the goals are. Are you aiming at increasing profits? Or are you focused on boosting employee morale? However, you should ensure that the goal reflects the company’s interests but does not conflict with the company’s policies. Moreover, discuss your goals with your managers and a few employees. Some employees may not be appreciative of public recognition. They may just be content with a simple appreciation letter.
2. Once you have figured out the basics of your recognition program, it’s important to set aside a budget for the awards. The awards range from redeemable gift certificates, custom trophies, a bonus, and are not limited to those. It is advised to consult your company’s accounting department to draft a budget in accordance with the company’s financial position.
3. Recognition programs can fail because of the absence of responsibility and accountability. A smart step when implementing your recognition program is appointing a committee of a few employees and someone at the management level to carry out the program effectively.
4. Recognition programs and awards are only effective when they are unbiased and fair. To ensure this, it is important to lay down rules and guidelines for the program.
5. Now here comes the fun part: selecting the awards for the program. Choose these based on the budget and feedback from your employees. There are many awards you can give, from custom trophies to gift cards.
6. After finalizing all the details of the recognition program, it’s now time to start communicating the program to all of your employees.
7. The impacts of recognition programs usually do not last long if you are not consistent. So remember, to make this program successful, award employees annually or semiannually and make it part of the company policy.

Appreciate your employees to increase morale and your productivity.

In this article, the author has shared his knowledge about trophies, medals, and plaques and the kinds of materials that are used for making the awards.