Everyone needs appreciation at some point of time. It motivates them, and then there’s a “feel good” factor that is immensely pleasing. If you are the head of a company or you lead a team, you have a lot of responsibility resting on your shoulders. Right from achieving the targets to ensure that every employee works to his full potential, you are responsible for the performance of your company.

A pep talk is a great way of motivating your team, but once they attain the targets set for them, they will definitely want to be appreciated for their efforts.

Employee recognition awards are a great way of letting your employees know they are valuable and their efforts are appreciated. Just giving your employee a trophy isn’t enough, you can get creative with employee recognition awards. Here are some pretty amazing ideas for your employee recognition awards that will definitely motivate your employee to maintain to perform even better.

• Gift card for dinner – If your employee has worked hard and earned the recognition that you have decided to bestow on the person, then you can treat them and their partner to a dinner at a lavish restaurant. This will definitely make your employee and their partner feel valued.
• Social media announcement – These days almost everyone is active on social media, and if your company too has a page dedicated to themselves, you can make an announcement on that page about how the employee contributed to your firm, and this will definitely motivate others to perform to their full potential. Using social media to confer employee recognition awards has become quite popular these days.
• A celebration- The best way to make someone feel special is to have a celebration where that individual will be in the limelight. A cake, some confetti, and quirky badges with statements like- “star of the month,” can prove to be quite the perfect employee recognition award. You can give a short speech where you thank the person for his dedication and efforts.
• The wall of fame- Dedicate an area in your office which is solely dedicated to appreciating your employees. This wall of fame can have the candid pictures of your employees at work. Every month you can add an outstanding employee’s picture to this wall of fame. This is one of the most creative ideas for employee recognition awards.
• Target the desk- You can decorate the employee’s desk with their pictures, and some small trophies. You can even write thank-you messages on post-its, or you can get them a box of the donuts they prefer. There’s nothing better than pleasing the sweet tooth!