Recognizing your employees helps to develop a culture of gratitude. When employees know that their hard work is being noticed AND appreciated, they tend to work harder and feel better about it! A favorite in the world of recognition is the award certificate. Certificates are classic, effective, and with the right language and design, they can even be fun! Read on for five tips for a seamless presentation:
- Say it with style – A good award certificate includes all of the pertinents: the award winner’s name, achievement, and date of award. A fantabulous certificate takes a pinch of imagination. How can you make your employee’s award stand out? One way is to use superlatives. Positive words like “excellent” and “outstanding” aren’t inappropriate on a certificate. After all, if their work wasn’t super, you wouldn’t be recognizing them in the first place!
- Take a little time with the design – Be creative! Choose border paper or award certificate paper to match the feel of the award occasion – be it fun and colorful or elegant and serious. When I started at Baudville, I received this fun welcome certificate and it totally fit the laid back, lighthearted atmosphere of the company.
- Give it some gusto – Give your certificate a punch with a signature of a powerful player or two. Ask the company president to sign the certificate along with the employee’s manager and, if appropriate, their team members.
- Present it properly – An award is an honor that’s meant to be presented and displayed. Leaving an award certificate with smeared ink in your employee’s mailbox won’t do either of you justice! Choose a quality certificate paper, place it in a certificate folder or even frame it… then present it personally. Elegant presentation really underscores your appreciation and the employee’s importance.
- Strive to make it special – Present your superstar with their award at a company meeting for a healthy dose of applause! Or, if you prefer to present the award one-on-one, make if special by treating your award winner to lunch.
Priceless Pointer
Sometimes managers may feel uncertain or awkward creating the verbiage for award certificates when they’re not used to doing it. Make it easy for them to pick a stellar saying with our popular post, “Say it with Flair: 50 Award Titles Give You the Perfect Words.”
Audrey is brand spankin’ new to the ‘ville (that’s what they call Baudville around these parts). As the new Marketing Coordinator, she’ll be talking printer-ese, corralling creatives for our catalogs, and writing headlines and blog posts about Baudville’s #1 passion, employee recognition!
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