The value of receiving an award is very important to all of us but so is the recognition of being nominated by one or more of your peers or colleagues. For every award given there are several other people who are equally deserving and may have been nominated several times before they were chosen to receive an award.
If your organization has an award process one of the best ways to motivate your staff is to have those who were nominated also receive recognition prior to the awards ceremony. Establish a time well in advance of the awards ceremony to publish the names and roles of those who were nominated.
As you go through the process of establishing the awards you would like to present start looking the accomplishments by the people in your organization and create awards based on the specifics of your industry. Awards can be specifically designed to enhance your business model and drive the team to achieve the targeted results your organization needs to be successful.
It is also very important to create awards and recognition for people of various levels in the organization. As an example someone who is in an administrative role may not be seen as a flashy position but they are essential to the success of the organization. People in finance do a lot of what is considered routine work but the organization could not function if they were not in place.
Establishing the categories of an awards program should not be a stagnant process. Each year challenge your staff to evaluate the current set of awards and decide if they are relevant to the past year. Has your business or focus of your organization created a new opportunity to provide recognition for a specific person or department?
After the awards process has taken place find a way for those who were recognized to be able to display their award and periodically reference the award and their daily performance during the next year. The act of giving an award should be a way to motivate the staff or members throughout the year.
By Ted Miller, CHME, CHSP, CGTP, CGMP, HMCC