Best Employee Award Ideas to Meaningfully Recognize Your Team

Do you have employees who go above and beyond for their role and team? Are you searching for various ways to recognize them and their contributions? If so, consider celebrating your employees who go the extra mile with a meaningful employee award. An employee award is a great option for showing your top performers they are appreciated, valued, and seen by your organization. 

In this post, we'll explore why employee awards are an effective recognition method and provide seventeen examples of employee awards you can use to recognize your hardworking staff.

What are Employee Awards?

Employee awards are a common form of recognition organizations use to honor their employees for outstanding performance, achievements, value-aligned behaviors, and positive contributions. These awards can come in various forms ranging from certificates and plaques to monetary rewards and experiences. For example, a few types of employee awards you may be familiar with include Employee of the Month, Employee of the Year, and service anniversary awards.

Why Employee Awards are Important

Employee recognition plays an important role in today’s modern workforce. Recognition is a key component for building a meaningful employee experience – one that can satisfy, motivate, and engage employees. 

When employees feel valued and appreciated by their organization, good things follow: employees are more likely to be engaged, productive, and stay longer. These are all outcomes that can have a significant impact on an organization’s success, impacting everything from culture to productivity to the bottom line.

In fact, research shows recognizing your staff has significant benefits for both employees and organizational outcomes:

• Employees who are recognized are nearly six times less likely to look for external job opportunities.
• Frequent recognition can improve employee engagement, productivity, and performance by 14%.
• 92% of employees are likely to repeat a specific action if they receive recognition for it.

Employee awards play a critical role in helping organizations realize the above outcomes and also creating more meaningful touchpoints throughout the employee experience. Coupled with other recognition methods, employee awards can be used to reinforce positive behaviors, motivate employees to strive for excellence, and recognize employees’ impactful contributions and achievements.

17 Best Employee Award Ideas

Looking for employee award ideas you can quickly implement to boost engagement and lift morale? Here are 17 examples of employee awards you can use to improve the employee experience and reward employees’ contributions:

1. Employee Service Award Ideas

Recognizing employees for their years of dedicated service is essential for fostering long-term loyalty and strengthening an employee’s connection with your organization. 

Employee service awards are a traditional type of award organizations often use to recognize employees on their annual work anniversary. It's common for organizations to celebrate and reward their staff on all the major employee milestones, such as a one year, five year, and ten year service anniversary.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to recognize the years in between the major milestones! With retention being top of mind for HR and senior leaders, it’s important to recognize every employees' milestone beyond the major anniversaries. Each work anniversary you celebrate adds an additional memorable moment in the employee experience. If you want to make these awards stand out, you can amplify the celebration with a digital recognition platform like Inspirus Connects, which allows employees to select a budget-aligned gift of choice on their service anniversaries.

2. Leadership Awards

Effective leadership is essential for any successful organization – a strong leadership team has the power to drive innovation, inspire teams, and successfully navigate challenges and setbacks. A great way to support, encourage, and reward this leadership style is through leadership awards. 

Leadership awards honor individuals who exemplify these qualities, recognizing their ability to inspire, motivate, and guide others toward achieving organizational goals. Whether it's through visionary strategic planning, mentorship, or leading by example, these awards celebrate the impact that exceptional leadership has on the success and growth of the employees and company.

Leadership Award Title Ideas:

• Visionary Leader Award: Recognize individuals who demonstrate forward-thinking, strategic planning, and the ability to inspire and guide others toward achieving organizational goals.
• Mentorship Excellence Certificate: Honor leaders who excel in mentoring and developing the talents of their team members, fostering growth and success within the organization.
• Change Catalyst Trophy: Celebrate leaders who exhibit innovation, adaptability, and resilience in leading teams through transformative changes or challenging times.

3. Innovation Awards

Is innovation one of your organization's goals or core values? If so, consider implementing an innovation employee award. This type of award can be used to recognize individuals who dare to think differently, challenge the status quo, and pioneer new ideas, processes, or technologies — all attributes organizations need to adapt, evolve, and thrive in the ever-changing business world.

Innovation Award Title Ideas:

• Trailblazer Plaque: Honor employees who spearhead  new initiatives, processes, or technologies that lead to significant advancements or breakthroughs.
• Out-of-the-Box Thinker Certificate: Celebrate team members who embrace unconventional approaches and solutions to solve complex problems and drive innovation.

4. Partnership Awards

Have an employee who goes out of their way to lend a hand to their team members and support their projects? Consider implementing a partnership award to recognize these individuals who exemplify the power of teamwork, unity, and synergy in achieving shared goals and objectives.

5. Employee of the Month Awards

Sometimes, there’s nothing better than using a go-to award such as an Employee of the Month award. These traditional awards spotlight individuals who consistently go above and beyond in their roles, demonstrating exceptional dedication, performance, and commitment to excellence. They not only acknowledge outstanding achievements but also serve as a source of motivation and inspiration for others to emulate. 

6. Employee of the Year Awards

Want to recognize a top performer at the end of the year? An Employee of the Year Award could be a great option.

The Employee of the Year award is the pinnacle of recognition — honoring an individual who has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance, leadership, and dedication throughout the year. This prestigious award celebrates the outstanding contributions of an employee who has made a significant impact on the organization's success, embodying the company's values and serving as an inspiration to their colleagues.

For Example: At Inspirus, we have a prestigious annual Employee of the Year Award called the “Spirit of Inspirus.” At the end of every year, each Inspirus employee has the opportunity to nominate one colleague that they feel exemplified Inspirus’ core values throughout the year. The nominee with the most votes receives an award presented by the CEO.

7. Teamwork Award Ideas

As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work! Organizations would not be successful without the work, innovation, and collaboration team members contribute daily. 

If you want to recognize employees who prioritize respect and encourage collaboration and partnership within your workplace, consider implementing a teamwork award. This award celebrates the power of collaboration, unity, and synergy within a team or department. It's a good method for recognizing the collective effort and shared commitment of individuals working together to achieve common goals and objectives.

Teamwork Award Title Ideas:

• Collaboration Champion Plaque: Gift a plaque to an employee or team that demonstrates exceptional collaboration, cooperation, and synergy in achieving collective goals.
• Smooth Sailing Award: Present this award to the team that successfully navigates through challenges, demonstrating resilience, teamwork, and a shared commitment to excellence.
• Unity in Diversity Certificate: Recognize teams that celebrate diversity and inclusivity, fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment for all.

8. Customer Service Awards

Reward and acknowledge the efforts of employees who go above and beyond to ensure their clients have a positive customer experience with a Customer Service Award.

Customer service awards are a great option for recognizing your client facing staff who provide exceptional customer service. Having a knowledgeable and supportive customer service team that can understand and meet clients needs is crucial for retaining clients and fostering long-term partnerships. When customer service teams provide excellent service to their clients, the lifetime value of a customer can increase drastically, which benefits the organization.

Customer Service Award Title Ideas:

• Customer Satisfaction Star: Award this to employees who consistently receive outstanding feedback and ratings from customers, demonstrating exceptional service and dedication.
• Service Excellence Medal: Recognize the individuals who go the extra mile to provide exceptional customer support, resolve issues efficiently, and build strong relationships with their clients.
• Client Champion Trophy: Celebrate team members on your Customer Success team who excel in building and maintaining long-term, positive relationships with clients, leading to increased loyalty and retention.

9. Sales Awards

Do you want to create a little healthy competition in your sales team? Implement a sales award to incentivize your sales team to strive for excellence and drive the most revenue for the organization!

This award method can be used to recognize your sales team’s top performers who consistently exceed sales targets and quotas. Whether it's securing new clients, building lasting relationships, or generating significant revenue for the company, these awards highlight the vital role that sales professionals play in driving business success.

Tip: To make this type of award most impactful, make sure to add in a reward that's worth working towards! Incentivize your team to drive more revenue and close deals with a monetary bonus, company paid trip, high-quality rewards, or even a budget-aligned gift of choice. For instance, many organizations choose to send their top sales representatives on an annual all-inclusive vacation on the company’s dime.

Sales Award Ideas:

• President’s Club: The President's Club is typically reserved for the highest-preforming sales professionals. Acknowledge and celebrate your top performing sales representatives with this prestigious award and a high-quality reward or an all expenses paid for trip.
• Top Closer Award: Recognize individuals on your sales team who excel in getting deals across the finish line. 
• Growth Award: Award your sales team members who demonstrate significant growth and improvement in their sales performance over a defined period of time.

10. Mentorship Award

Mentors play an important role in employees' learning and development. They are essential for creating a purposeful employee experience that encourages continuous growth and learning. 

Recognize the mentors that go above and beyond for their mentees with a “Mentorship Excellence award.” These awards celebrate the positive impact of mentorship on individual growth, career development, and organizational success. You can celebrate mentors for providing guidance, sharing knowledge and wisdom, or even for serving as a role model and inspiration to others.

11. Community Impact Award Ideas

Is your company heavily involved with its local community or have a corporate social responsibility pledge? If so, consider implementing an award that highlights the importance of corporate social responsibility and making a difference in the world. 

A great example for this is a “Community Impact Award” that celebrates employees or teams who make a meaningful difference in their communities through volunteerism, philanthropy, or civic engagement. These awards are a good option for recognizing individuals who go above and beyond to give back and make a positive impact outside of the workplace.

Community Award Title Ideas:

• Community Champion Trophy: Award employees who actively engage in community service, volunteerism, or philanthropic initiatives, making a positive impact beyond the workplace.
• Social Responsibility Star: Recognize individuals or teams that demonstrate a commitment to corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and ethical practices.
• Citizen of the Year Certificate: Celebrate employees who exemplify good citizenship, leadership, and civic engagement, contributing to the betterment of their local community or society at large.

12. Adaptability Award Ideas

Since the pandemic, organizations have been plagued by volatile economic conditions and a rapidly changing work environment. What’s kept organizations successful these past few years is their employees' adaptability and resilience. Consider implementing an award to celebrate the individuals or teams who demonstrate resilience, flexibility, and agility in navigating change and uncertainty.

Adaptability Award Title Ideas:

• Flexibility Award: Present this award to employees who demonstrate resilience and agility in navigating change, uncertainty, and evolving circumstances.
• Change Management Champion: Recognize individuals who play a key role in leading and managing successful organizational change initiatives, inspiring others to embrace new ways of working.
• Adaptive Innovator Plaque: Honor employees who not only adapt to change but also proactively identify opportunities for innovation and growth in dynamic environments.

13. Creativity Award Ideas

Creativity awards honor individuals or teams who demonstrate innovation, originality, and ingenuity in solving problems and driving progress. These awards celebrate out-of-the-box thinking, unconventional approaches, and breakthrough ideas that push the boundaries of what's possible. Whether it's developing new products, services, or processes, these awards highlight the important role creativity has in driving innovation – or even being resourceful.

Creativity Award Title Ideas:

• Creative Genius Trophy: Recognize individuals who consistently bring innovative ideas to the table, driving progress and improvement within the organization with a dedicated trophy.
• Solutions Superhero Award: Celebrate employees who excel at finding creative solutions for complex problems.

14. Employee Appreciation Award

Are you looking for a way to recognize your entire staff? Implement an Employee Appreciation award!

These awards are a great option for recognizing employees for their dedication, loyalty, and positive attitude within the organization. They are a good award choice for showing gratitude and appreciation for all employees’ contributions, hard work, and dedication.

Pro Tip: Did you know there is an Employee Appreciation Day? It’s an annual celebration that takes place every March that's dedicated to recognizing your staff. If you want to make your employee appreciation awards extra special, consider announcing them on Employee Appreciation Day. That way your employees have something fun to look forward to every Employee Appreciation Day!

15. Core Values Award

Organizational core values are a key aspect of every organization that shapes the workplace culture and employee expectations. Honor your employees who embody your company’s values daily with a Core Values award. These awards are a great way to recognize staff that have unwavering commitment to the company’s core values, serving as role models for their peers and inspiring other through their actions and behavior.

16. Funny Awards

Do you have a lighthearted company culture at your workplace? If so, funny awards may be the perfect way to recognize your staff and boost morale. 

Funny awards can add a touch of humor and levity to employee recognition -- celebrate employees quirks, inside jokes, or memorable moments in the workplace. Whether it's recognizing the office comedian, the master multitasker, or the tech troubleshooter, these awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the unique personalities and contributions of individuals in a fun and engaging way.

One effective method for distributing funny employee awards is through company superlatives. This type of award is a great way to include your employees in your organization's awards process. Here are a few company superlative ideas you could consider using:

• Most Likely to Show Up Early
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Night Owl
• Office Clown
• Phone Tagger
• Customer Happiness Hero
• Office Cheer mister
• Stealthy Superstar
• Tech Wizard
• Growth Ninja
• Grammar Queen/King

17. Personal Growth and Development Awards

Implement a Personal Growth and Development award to recognize staff who demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning, self-improvement, and professional development. This type of award is perfect for celebrating employees who invest in their own growth and seek opportunities to expand their skills, knowledge, and expertise. 

Best Practices for Employee Awards

Employee awards are a great way to honor employees, boost morale, and enhance engagement. When done right, they reinforce an employee’s purpose and role within an organization, strengthening their connection with the organization and fostering employee loyalty.

Here are a few best practices you can follow to ensure your awards are most effective.

Align the Awards with Company Values

Employee awards are a great way to reinforce company values. As you plan out your various employee awards, ensure they reflect your company's values by aligning the awards criteria with core principles.

Provide Transparency into Criteria

Prior to starting the award process, take the time to define criteria for each award. Once defined, communicate the awards criteria to your staff to ensure employees understand what factors the award will recognize. If you decide to  publicly announce the award winners, you may want to explain the process the team used to solidify the awards winner(s) and what criteria was used to determine it. 

Enhance Awards with Rewards

Amplify the impact of your awards by providing a nice, thoughtful reward with it. This could include a gift card, company branded merchandise, or even a budget-aligned gift of choice. You can even streamline the reward process by automating it with a digital recognition platform like Inspirus Connects.

Incorporate Peer Recognition

To make your employee awards more meaningful, consider soliciting your employees help! Provide your staff with opportunities to nominate their colleagues throughout the award process. Clearly articulate the criteria and process for submitting nominations to make the process as easy as possible for your staff.

Deliver Meaningful Employee Awards with Inspirus 

Employee awards are an essential part of recognizing and empowering your employees. If you are looking for a way to streamline award creation, we can help! Inspirus digital recognition platform, Connects, makes it easy to recognize your hardworking staff through meaningful awards and recognition.

Talk to one of our specialists today to see how we can help you streamline your company's employee awards and save your precious time with an automated award process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you write an employee award?

When writing an employee award, begin by clearly defining the purpose and criteria for the award. Depending on the type of award, consider including details about the employee's contributions, achievements, or behaviors that align with company values or objectives. Then craft a personalized message highlighting the specific examples of excellence and the positive impact the employee has made. Ensure the language is clear, concise, and genuine.

What is the most valuable employee award?

The most valuable employee award varies depending on the organization's culture, values, and objectives. However, awards that recognize overall excellence, outstanding performance, partnership, or significant contributions to the company's success are often considered highly valuable.

What is an example of an employee recognition award?

An example of an employee recognition award is the "Employee of the Month" award, which is commonly used to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding performance and contributions on a monthly basis. This award typically includes a certificate or plaque, along with additional perks such as a designated parking spot, a monetary bonus, or other incentives.