Happy employees are productive employees. According to Huffington Post, 69 percent of employees said they would work harder if they received recognition at work.
Productivity and employee performance makes all the difference in how much money you earn and save each quarter, so set your employees up for success. Help them become better equipped to produce more results by recognizing their hard work.
When it comes to awards, aim for humor to keep the mood light during the recognition ceremony. Funny awards are a great option because some can be bought at a fraction of the cost of traditional trophies or plaques.
Here are some creative employee awards to add to your list.
9 Creative Workplace Awards for Employee Engagement
1. Bee's Knees Award
The award is for the person who's always encouraging others. Think of the team builder in your office who always takes an extra step to morale high.
This person might not be in a leadership role, but they always have the most positive attitude and are willing to help keep everyone motivated. Present the winner with a jar of gourmet honey to honor their efforts.
You can personalize the award by using a custom label with their name along with the name of the award to mark the occasion.
2. Red Starburst Award
Another award idea for a person who's great at boosting morale is the red Starburst award. This person has the best personality on the team and is always equipped with the best dad-joke or wholesome, funny meme.
They always remember everyone's birthday and cover for you when you're late. You actually let the red starburst person follow your private social media account.
The red starburst is arguably the best starburst flavor in the pack. Recognize the person on your team with the best personality with a giant pack of starbursts.
3. Duct Tape Award
The Duct Tape Award goes to the person who can fix anything. They find solutions to problems, no matter what, and usually without complaint.
Most people on the team have no idea how to repeat their troubleshooting methods but are just happy the show went on. Spray paint a roll of duct tape metallic gold and present it to the winner.
4. Top Dog Award
The Top Dog Award goes to the person on your team who's a natural leader. They're the person you always go to for answers on what everyone is doing.
The Top Dog’s emotional intelligence is out of this world and will one day make it to upper management. This award can be presented as a giant stuffed dog.
5. Bottom Dollar Award
Profit is at the center of any business. The person who recognizes this and consistently finds ways the company can earn more money should get the Bottom Dollar Award.
This person puts efficiency first and always has ideas for change. They somehow always know what competitive companies are doing internally and use this information to the team's advantage.
6. You Rock Award
A great miscellaneous award idea is the You Rock award. This award can go to anyone both senior or junior level who has an amazing quarter.
The You Rock award covers sales, marketing or operations. Present the recipient with an actual rock to show your appreciation.
The rock can be presented to multiple people in a first, second and third with the largest being number one.
7. Bringing Home the Bacon Award
Top sales performers should receive the Bringing Home the Bacon award. Order a ribbon with a slice of bacon attached to present to the winner.
Order these in quantity if you're planning to recognize the entire team. The ribbons make great desktop decor that easily reminds employees that you see their hard work.
8. Hot Spot Award
Some awards have nothing to do with employee job performance. The hot spot award goes to the person on the team who always knows the best places for takeout, no matter the budget, number of people or cuisine requested.
The food they recommend is always amazing allowing everyone to save time and money while on lunch. Their recommendations aren't just limited to lunch menus.
The hot spot award winner usually has recommendations on the best activities and places to hang out, outside of work hours too. Present the award winner with a heating pad to recognize their efforts.
9. supply chain Award
A great award for the team member who always seems to need a stapler, pen or extra post-it is the Supply Chain Award. The Supply Chain award can be a string of paper clips made into a necklace.
At the end of the necklace, add a post-it note with the person's name and award name.
How Do You Recognize Your Employees?
Employee awards ideas are everywhere. Think of existing inside jokes within the team to get inspiration on what objects to give away.
The key to keeping your employee recognition awards manageable is keeping them cheap. You can recognize employees weekly or monthly if you don't need to order a specialty plaque each time someone does a good job.
Employees need to know that you see the hard work they put in each day and view them as valuable members of the team. Innovative ideas happen at every level from the receptionist, to the CEO, and are worth recognizing.
For more information on finding the best employee recognition strategies for your team, check our blog for updates.
*This blog was originally published on February 11, 2020 and was updated on February 5, 2021 for accuracy.