Personalized trophies and plaques make for great top sales awards. Luxury corporate gifts are awesome to give to newly promoted employees. And perpetual plaques are a fantastic way to build healthy competition with a team or department. But statistics and quotas shouldn’t be the only thing an employee gets recognized for. There’s so much more to work than numbers; at the end of the day, it’s people that matter. Corporate gifts for employees are a great way to keep workers engaged and enthusiastic about their jobs. The best way to make plaques feel special is by making the occasion or reasoning surrounding them unique.
Employers should move beyond traditional ‘employee of the month perpetual plaques or generic engraved glass gifts for when an employee lands a major client. Make the occasion surrounding corporate gifts playful and exciting. Consider the traits of employees and what only they can bring to the table. If a team is diverse enough, chances are each of them can be recognized for something completely unique, making their corporate gift, whether it be a personalized clock or business card holder for desk, all the more memorable.
Ways to Poke Fun and Recognize Talent at the Same Time
Perhaps the favorite part of school yearbook, for most people, is the “Most Likely To…” page. You know – “Class Clown”, “Most Likely to Start a Commune”, “The Scholar” – playful titles like that break down barriers and make corporate gifts more exciting. But what if we brought that vibe to the office, and created personalized and unique corporate gifts for those special personality traits that make each member of your team valuable? Here’s a few ideas:
- The Mediator: Every workplace gets stressed sometimes, and every team has disagreements – it’s human nature. Think about a unique corporate gift like a personalized clock for that employee that is always the low-key debate moderator. Personalized clocks are available in a variety of shapes and designs – find the perfect one for the most calm and reasonable employee.
- The Rainman: It’s important to recognize employees who always come in handy for remembering small pieces of information that most can’t. They’re a helpful figure around the office and add value to meetings and internal documents. An employee with a strong memory would definitely enjoy a unique corporate gift like an art glass award, or ultra-modern, angular acrylic award plaque – something that reflects both their niche talent and their creative thinking.
- The MacGyver: Is there someone in the office that never fails to create a solution to every problem? Your resident fire extinguisher? To make things more interesting, give them a unique corporate gift that serves a practical purpose and makes their job easier. Consider personalized pens or a business card holder for desk. One can only imagine the use they’ll get out of a practical, workplace oriented corporate gift.
- The Scholar: We all have unique backgrounds, and most of us don’t work in fields that have anything to do with our university degrees. And many workplaces have benefited from having a team that has diverse points of view. Every office has that one team member who shares seemingly irrelevant information that somehow becomes relevant at key moments. Present them with a unique corporate gift like intricate bookends or a trophy award featuring a bronzed encyclopedia.
- The Office Optimist: This is that employee who is always upbeat and encouraging, no matter if it’s 7am on a Monday, or if the whole team has to work late. This person deserves a personalized corporate gift that’s just as lively as them, like a colorful art glass or crystal recognition award.
- Most Likely to Skip Lunch: This is another place a personalized clock set in an elegant award plaque would be a fun employee award idea. Perfect for that one employee who gets so engrossed in their work that when they look up from their computer for the first time of the day, it’s already half past 4.
- Most Likely to Laminate: Do you have a resident organizer? Someone who loves rules and manners? An employee that’s always asking to create new guides for employees, reorganize the file room or inventory the warehouse? Gift them an acrylic award plaque that mimics their love for all things neat-and-tidy; this teammate helps keep your office running smoothly.
- Most Likely to Own a Crystal Ball: Every office has that team member that’s so intuitive, it seems that they can predict how almost any situation will pan out, even when it’s a complete gamble. A spherical, blown-glass trophy award will give a nod to this resident office oracle, who’s likely helped your team to get ahead of several potentially risky situations.
- Most Likely to Close the Deal: Certain employees beat sales expectations every month and are known to be masters at closing deals. For a quality top sales award, consider treating to an engraved business card holder for desk. A personalized corporate gift like this will allow the recipient to give out their business cards in style with a visually interesting card holder.
- The Artist: If an organization employs a team of designers, creatives, or anyone who works with visuals, it can be fun to tie both their work and corporate gift together. Art glass awards, which comes in dozens of shapes, sizes, and designs, are hand blown engraved glass gifts which immediately make a room shine. Works of literal art, these engraved glass gifts come with plates which can be engraved. How fitting… to give an artist a work of art.
Employee Recognition: Personalized Corporate Gifts Boost Morale and Cooperation
Any and all employee recognition is important. Each office and workplace have its own dynamic, meaning it’s up to executives and managers to find the best way to appreciate and reward their employees. While the options listed above are inventive, it’s possible that they may not work best for all workplaces. To create similar titles, look at award options first and then find the employee who is best suited for the corporate gift.
Recognizing employees with personalized corporate gifts and awards boosts morale, teamwork, and it makes everyone more likely to stick around longer at the company. But even the best award programs have the potential to become monotonous. Be sure to diversify the personalized gifts employees receive and ensure that all workers are getting awards that are different and unique. No two employees should receive the same corporate award – it won’t leave them feeling as special. Ultimately, ensure that the gifts and titles associated with the personalized corporate awards reflect the personality and talent of the employee. Do that enough, and managers will be surprised as to how receptive employees can be when they’re properly motivated.
