Awards + Recognitions Guide

WHY HAVE AWARDS + RECOGNITION CEREMONIES?

One of the most important ways to signal your culture and values to your team is to have an awards and recognition ceremony. The act of calling someone out for something good can be a huge morale booster. It’s entirely up to you to figure out a way to remind and reinforce the behaviors you seek from your team in a way that matches your company’s style. By spotlighting people and actions that you feel are exemplary, you’re signaling to everyone what success looks like on your team.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU HAVE THEM?

It’s up to you to determine a cadence that feels authentic and real for you and your team. Is there a weekly all-hands meeting? If so, maybe you can spotlight a “bright spot” every week if you have a reason to call out someone for doing something extraordinary. Maybe you align your awards with your bi-annual town hall meetings or annual goal setting retreat. Regardless of how often you host such celebrations, it’s important to clearly communicate your culture and values and make it clear that there will be recognition at a particular cadence for outstanding examples.

WHAT SHOULD THESE CEREMONIES LOOK LIKE?

Awards ceremonies can be as informal as a “high five” to formal sit-down dinners with speeches.  So long as you name the value that you are highlighting and are making it clear why someone is getting the award, it doesn’t entirely matter how you honor people so long as you do it. The ways in which you honor your culture can be enormously informative to your team. It’s worth putting some time and thought into what you do and how you do it.

WHO DECIDES WHO GETS AWARDS?

How you determine who gets awards is really important. It’s a big signaling moment to your team. Will the CEO unilaterally make the decision? Is there a nomination process? Do managers put forward names? Is there a committee or an action learning group that oversees this process? Does the most recent recipient select the next one? It’s entirely up to you to decide, but whatever you decide will have ripples. Try to ensure the process is transparent, fair, and interrupts bias. You want to make sure to notice all levels of the organization - and distribute the recognition to different people across the company.

WHAT DOES AN AWARD LOOK LIKE?

You can have some real fun figuring out how you want to honor people in your company. Do you want to give them a “top banana,” a special piece of swag, an item that represents your values and norms like a giant captain’s wheel? Is there one item that gets passed around within the company and is on display for a while with whoever has it? Or, is it an item that is custom-made for each awardee?  You can be super creative. While spot bonuses are always appreciated, you may want to pick something that does double duty by reinforcing your values as well.