February 2, 2011

Employee awards: Yea or nay?

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With Hollywood's awards season officially in full swing, I thought it would be fun to discuss on-the-job awards for the rest of us working stiffs. Using Facebook and LinkedIn, I conducted an informal, unscientific poll on what rank-and-file employees and managers think of handing out awards in the workplace.

[Photo by andybee21]

Those with employers that have an awards program in place said they were all for it. However, they did offer a few suggestions for the powers that be behind the awards at their company:

Forget the cheesy plaques. While great for the resume, a piece of paper or hunk of crystal isn't what people want. Money talks. So do material goods or a night on the town. If you want to show your appreciation for members of your team, show them the green, give them a gift card they can use as they wish, or take them out for a nice dinner as a group.

Embrace contests. Want to motivate people to sell more, come up with more innovative ideas, or complete a project ahead of deadline? Make a contest out of it -- with prizes awarded for first, second, and third place winners -- and you'll see your people that much more engaged and driven to meet the goal.

Don't play favorites or award workers for political gain. Your employees aren't stupid. They know when an award wasn't earned and is just being handed out for show. If your awards program isn't meaningful, employees won't take it seriously, which means you're missing a prime opportunity to motivate and engage them.

Encourage peer nominations. If your company's awards system suffers from the above image problem, consider using peer nominations instead. Workers can't complain that management is playing favorites if they themselves are the ones selecting the awards shortlist or recipients.

Include telecommuters and other flex workers. More than 1 billion people around the globe now telecommute some or all of the workweek. If you want all your employees to value your awards system, make all employees eligible for it -- no matter where, when, and how many hours they work.

What do you think of employee awards programs? If your employer has one, are you a fan of it? If not, what changes would you make to your employer's approach to handing out awards if you could?

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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benefits, ethics, etiquette, motivation

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