It is the beginning of November already, and for many Human Resource professionals and small business owners, this marks the time of year when holiday parties and end of year award events are meticulously planned. There are many ways to recognize employees at the end of the year, but how can you ensure your award efforts will engage employees and end the year on a positive note? This week I would like to present three different award programs as simple but powerful end of year solutions that will leave a lasting impression on your recipients.
Corporate Holiday Gift Program
If you are in charge of planning a holiday gift program for one location or department within an organization, a corporate holiday gift program is an ideal way to mark the end of the year. Employee recognition can be given at a gathering, such as a banquet or meeting, by presenting staff members with a customized gift booklet. Each employee is given an envelope with her or her name on it, and included inside is a gift booklet and greeting card customized with your company’s logo and artwork. The gift booklet lists out instructions on how to redeem a corporate holiday gift of each employee’s choice and contains about one hundred lifestyle merchandise items to select from. By letting each person select his or her own corporate gift, you take the guesswork out of what to get each person and let employees reward themselves with the gift of choice.
Online Corporate Gift Program
If you are responsible for putting together a reward program that will be presented to multiple locations and/or your organization has employees spread out across a region, then an online corporate gift program is the way to go. Instead of gathering everyone together for an award event, an online reward program gives you the flexibility to send out letters or emails thanking everyone for their contributions throughout the year and instructing them to visit an online redemption website to select a corporate gift.
Recognition websites are very flexible and you can include a personalized message for each employee when he or she logs in to redeem. Online gift programs can be customized with a company logo and designed with a central theme. Your recognition letters or emails are designed to complement the website as well so everything is coordinated. Some of my favorite recognition websites I have designed feature holiday themes and they really make an impression on employees.
Milestone Recognition Program
Has your organization reached an important milestone in 2010? Whether it is safety, customer service or a manufacturing achievement, there is no better time to celebrate a company milestone than at the end of the year. A client of mine in the automotive manufacturing industry is celebrating a few company milestones at the end of this year including five years in business, ten thousand metric tons of steel shipped from their facilities and two and a half million cars on the road with their product. To commemorate a company milestone and recognize employee contributions, you can develop a deluxe recognition packetthat is customized with your organization’s logo and artwork and also personalized for each employee.
Deluxe recognition packets can be bulk shipped to each location or shipped individually to employee homes. The wonderful thing about the packets is that they feature a folder, recognition letter and certificate of appreciation that can be saved as a reminder of all the hard work it took to reach an important milestone. Deluxe packets really assist you to end the year on a positive note.
Depending on the structure of your organization and what you want to recognize and celebrate at the end of 2010, you should pick a reward program that meets your needs. You can take a lot of the work out of an end of year corporate gift program by working with an experienced award program provider that will design your artwork, print and ship any materials needed and administer the redemption process for you.