What do you think of when you hear the words 'employee awards'? Chances are, every person who hears these words thinks of something different and creates their own picture of the perfect employee award. This is one of the most challenging aspects of planning an employee awards program. Your first step is to determine what type of awards you will choose for your event. Then figure out how many awards you will need and define your budget. In summary, the questions you need to consider include:

1. What type of awards should we choose?
2. How many awards should we have?
3. How much should we spend?

Well, that all depends on who is receiving the award. To be truly effective, employee awards must be symbolic and personal. That means the awards must be different and unique for each recipient.

The reason that experts recommend giving a deserving employee a tangible award like a crystal obelisk, a star, or an eagle perched on a tree, is because the award acts as a symbol of achievement for the recipient after the recognition event ends. The award embodies the achievement itself and the personal satisfaction the recipient feels when they are set apart. The award that you choose takes on symbolic meaning immediately! Later, these emotions and memories come back to the recipient when they glance at their award.

Our advice is to match your award choice to the magnitude of the achievement and the personal style of the recipient. Choose an award that personifies the impact of the achievement itself. Think about what the all-star employee has done for the organization then choose an award that embodies those qualities in its shape and size.

Also consider the personal style of the recipient. If the recipient portrays a personal style that is trendy, contemporary, and up-to-date choose an award that is designed with those characteristics. This will go a long way with the recipient and will make the award even more valuable and significant.

The best way to find out what types of awards your employee will appreciate is to ask! When you hire a new employee ask them to complete an employee recognition profile. This document asks simple questions that uncover your employees’ likes and dislikes. Information like this will help you determine what type of award to choose for the employee. Here are a few sample questions:

1. What would you do on a day off of work?
2. What are your favorite foods, drinks, activities, and hobbies?

You can have as many different awards as you see fit. However, it’s important to make sure that the employee earns the award and that each award correlates to one of your corporate goals. Rewards that are not earned are like empty promises – their value is depleted. Rewards that don’t relate to a corporate goal will not help you accomplish your goals or make your employees more productive.

Your corporate culture should dictate how much you spend on an award. Your budget should depend on the impact that you want from the award and on each recipient. If you want to make a big impact choose an award that will make a profound statement - think expensive or a really large award. Other times, it will make more sense to give a small number of inexpensive awards in order to reach more individuals.

Every person who is rewarded at work internalizes the experience differently, but all walk away more engaged. They know that the company they work for cares about them and they care about the company. Engaged employees are more productive and happy at work. They provide better service which leads to more satisfied customers, and ultimately more sales.