December 8, 2025
. Employee awards play a crucial role in boosting employee engagement and fostering a sense of pride in their work. When employees are acknowledged […]){kind=link}
An employee award today isn’t like your high school superlatives. Your staff wants to be recognized and appreciated for their performance at work (and not just voted “class clown” or “best smile”).
Employee awards play a crucial role in boosting employee engagement and fostering a sense of pride in their work. When employees are acknowledged for their dedication and achievements, it motivates them to stay committed and take pride in their contributions.
Recognition looks different for everyone, but a series of studies by Harvard Business Review show that symbolic awards (written notes, certificates, and plaques) might be more effective than traditional monetary incentives (cash, bonuses, and gift cards). The studies suggest that employee awards and recognition significantly increase performance, retention rates, and intrinsic motivation.
Take your employee award ideas beyond “Employee of the Month” and “Top-Performer of the Year” by adding a splash of creativity and originality. Below, we’ll walk you through 15 examples you can use to spice up your employee award titles and personalize recognition at your business.
First, let’s get on the same page about why this matters.
Why Employee Awards Matter
Think about employee recognition awards you’ve achieved throughout your career (if any)—do you remember what they were and why you earned them? Probably. You likely still have the plaque sitting on your desk or somewhere nearby. The highlights of your achievements—what set you apart and made you a recipient—are what make these awards memorable.
Now, think about employee compensation rewards you’ve earned throughout your career—can you remember how much you earned, why you earned it, and what you purchased with it? Probably not.
Here are a few reasons employee recognition and engagement matter:
- Employees who feel a sense of belonging have a 50% lower risk of turnover and 56% higher performance than employees who feel they don’t belong.
- Employee productivity and customer service are 14% higher where recognition occurs compared to where it doesn’t.
- Organizations that give regular recognition experience 23% less employee turnover.
Recognizing high performers not only celebrates their contributions but also motivates others to strive for excellence. Employee recognition is not just that—a simple gesture—but a meaningful way to reinforce company values and foster a culture of appreciation.
Types of Recognition Programs
Recognition programs are a cornerstone of a thriving workplace culture, helping organizations honor employees for their dedication, hard work, and commitment. There are several types of employee recognition programs that companies can implement to show appreciation and boost morale.
- Employee recognition programs can be formal or informal, ranging from structured award ceremonies to spontaneous shout-outs in team meetings. These programs are designed to recognize employees for their achievements, whether it’s delivering high-quality work, demonstrating exceptional performance, or consistently going the extra mile.
- Service awards are another popular form of recognition, celebrating employees’ years of service and loyalty to the organization. Honoring milestones like five, ten, or even twenty years on the job not only shows appreciation for long-term commitment but also encourages many more years of dedicated service.
- Customer advocate awards recognize employees who consistently deliver high quality work and provide outstanding customer service. These awards highlight the importance of customer satisfaction and honor those who go above and beyond to ensure clients have a positive experience.
By offering a mix of recognition programs—whether for service, performance, or customer advocacy—organizations can effectively recognize employees’ contributions, reinforce company values, and create a culture where hard work and dedication are always celebrated.
Award Categories and Criteria
Establishing clear award categories and criteria is essential for a successful employee recognition program. Well-defined categories ensure that recognition is fair, transparent, and aligned with your company’s values and goals.
Common award categories include outstanding performance, exceptional results, and dedication to company values. For example, an award might go to a team member who consistently delivers high-quality work, demonstrates a strong work ethic, and exceeds expectations in their role.
Other categories, such as team player, innovation, and community service, recognize employees who bring fresh thinking, solve problems, and improve processes within the organization.
When setting criteria for these awards, consider using specific metrics like sales targets, customer satisfaction ratings, or measurable improvements in workflow. This ensures that employees know exactly what is expected and how they can achieve recognition.
By celebrating a range of achievements—from individual excellence to collaborative success—your recognition program will motivate employees to strive for exceptional performance and embody your company’s core values.
15 Original Employee Award Ideas
We’ve curated a fun list of employee award ideas you can use for your recognition program. Feel free to borrow these exactly as is or use them as a jumping-off point in coming up with your own one-of-a-kind awards.
1. Culture Steward Award
Recognize employees who protect your company culture and live your values. Making sales and smashing business goals are important, but your company won’t survive long-term without individuals championing your culture.
The Culture Steward Award can go to someone who is known for supporting and uplifting their colleagues, and who brings people together to foster a sense of unity and collaboration among the team. These employees help create a positive work environment by encouraging teamwork and building strong relationships with their colleagues.
While PDFs and posters of your values help reinforce them, a better visual reminder is an individual that embodies the values you aspire to. When faced with a problem, your employees can think, “What would Josh in customer support do?”
2. Above and Beyond Award
Most of the time, it’s easy to do your job and complete the bare minimum requirements. However, it takes more dedication, commitment, and extra effort to go above and beyond your job description to improve processes and eliminate obstacles.
The Above and Beyond Award is designed to recognize employees who consistently demonstrate the ability to exceed expectations and tackle new challenges.
Recognize employees that do more than they’re asked—they’re usually not hard to find. They’re the ones who raise their hands (when no one else does) and solve problems nobody took the initiative to tackle.
3. Better Together Teamwork Award
Celebrate an entire team that worked together to accomplish something extraordinary. This might be a big campaign, milestone, or cross-team collaboration. This award also recognizes teams that support their coworkers and foster collaboration, highlighting the importance of mentorship, leadership, and positive work relationships.
Recognizing an entire team shows the collective value individuals can have when they work together, and it demonstrates you notice.
Since sharing a plaque or trophy can be difficult, consider awarding this team with dinner, time off, a team-building event, or other special offsite activity.
4. Level Up Award
Recognize employees who learn new skills or gain higher education. For example, you might give this award to an employee who pursued another degree or completed a certification course.
Recognizing these accomplishments shows your company that you care about career development and building skills they’ll use for the rest of their lives. This award also celebrates employees who expand their knowledge and actively share it with the team, fostering a culture of learning and growth.
5. Customer Is Always Right Award
Dealing with difficult customers isn’t easy, but customer support and success teams deal with it on a day-to-day basis. Show your support team you care with an award highlighting an employee who truly wears the customer’s shoes.
Another great way to recognize employees who champion customer satisfaction is with a Customer Advocate Award, which honors those who act as the voice of the customer and consistently improve the customer experience.
They might have solved a complex issue, retained an important client, or put out a fire before it expanded.
6. Make Things Happen Award
There are thinkers and doers, and both are valuable to your business. Award your employees who take ideas (big and small) and make them a reality. This employee award can also go to those who implement creative solutions to drive progress and overcome challenges. That might be as simple as finally fixing a broken workflow process or planning the company’s first offsite event.
Whatever it may be, recognize the employees who get things done rather than just talk about it.
7. The Ace of Sales Award
The sales department can be a competitive environment at just about any business, especially if compensation is dependent on commission and performance. Show your sales staff you care with an award that recognizes employees that make a big difference for your bottom line. Consider giving the prize out for different accomplishments:
- Most sales for the quarter
- Highest deal closed
- Most complicated deal closed
- Big-named client deal closed
- Largest up-sell or cross-sell
8. Traffic Driver of the Year Award
Marketing can sometimes be a thankless task, but these employees are often responsible for the lead generation and website traffic that eventually convert into customers. Award your best writer or search engine optimization expert for having the most impact on organic or paid search traffic.
9. Headhunter of the Year Award
It takes people to run a business, and your human resource department spends its hours finding and retaining top talent. Recognize your leading recruiters with an award that shows your business values their efforts. You could award your human resource staff for various achievements:
- Recruited the most employees
- Filled a high-level position
- Launched an important new employee perk
- Decreased employee turnover
- Found opportunities for internal transitions and promotions
10. Home Away From Home Award
Your office is a home away from home, and many employees spend more waking hours there than they do in their own houses. Your office operations team is responsible for everything from keeping the place clean to welcoming visitors—show them some love with an award that proves their smiling faces (every day) mean something.
11. Employees' Choice Award
Your employees know what goes on behind the scenes of every successful launch. They know the silent players your business can't live without. Put the power in your employees' hands and let them vote on who should receive a recognition award.
This method helps you celebrate everyone at your company, even when they're not the loudest at the table.
12. Like a Boss Award
It's not easy being a manager. Recognize the junior and senior leaders at your company that take mentorship and leadership seriously. These go-getters get things done while building up their direct reports and driving their careers forward.
13. Safety First Award
While it's great to reach business goals, it's important not to get ahead of yourselves. Celebrate the individuals who help everyone take a step back and focus on physical, mental, emotional, and social health. These employees remind you about what's important and put people before metrics.
14. Stick Around Award
Award employees who've stayed at your company for an extended period of time. Depending on the age of your business, that might be three years, or it could be forty. Show that you value tenure and commitment by recognizing those who've stuck with you through the good and bad times.
15. Remote Champion Award
Many companies have adopted remote-friendly policies, but working from home isn't easy for everyone. Recognize the champions at your company (remote or in-office) who strive to make the hybrid model work.
They might be the ones who always add Zoom links to conference room meetings, or they could be the individuals who take time to pause and get feedback from folks on the call.
Best Practices for Implementing Employee Awards
Launching an effective employee awards program requires thoughtful planning and a commitment to fairness and transparency. Start by setting clear criteria and categories for your awards, so employees understand how they can be recognized for their dedication and hard work. Make the recognition process open and inclusive, encouraging nominations from all levels of the organization.
It’s important to communicate the objectives and benefits of your recognition program to every team member. This helps create a culture where everyone feels valued and motivated to participate. Offer meaningful rewards that resonate with your employees, whether it’s public recognition, a personalized gift, or an experience they’ll remember.
Regularly recognizing achievements—through monthly, quarterly, or annual awards—keeps the momentum going and ensures that appreciation becomes a natural part of your company culture. By following these best practices, you’ll create a process that not only rewards great work but also fosters a supportive and engaged workplace where employees feel truly appreciated.
Measuring the Success of Employee Awards
To ensure your employee recognition programs are making a lasting impact, it’s important to measure their effectiveness. Start by gathering feedback through employee surveys, focus groups, or informal check-ins to gauge how recognition is boosting morale, engagement, and job satisfaction.
Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as employee retention, productivity, and customer satisfaction to see if there’s a positive correlation with your recognition efforts. Analyzing this data will help you identify what’s working and where there’s room for improvement.
Celebrating employees’ contributions and successes not only boosts individual motivation but also enhances your organization’s culture. When employees feel valued, they’re more likely to show initiative, creativity, and enthusiasm—qualities that drive team performance and overall success.
This is where Terryberry can help elevate your efforts. With comprehensive recognition tools—including service awards, social recognition, performance incentives, and engagement analytics—Terryberry gives HR leaders real-time insights into how recognition is influencing employee morale and organizational outcomes.
Our platform not only makes it easy to celebrate achievements, but also helps you track meaningful data so you can continuously refine your strategy and maximize ROI.
By regularly reviewing and enhancing your recognition programs—and partnering with a trusted provider like Terryberry—you’ll ensure they continue to inspire, motivate, and support your team for years to come.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even the best-intentioned recognition programs can fall flat if they’re not designed with care. Here are some of the most common pitfalls—and how to steer clear of them.
1. Not Communicating the “Why” Behind the Program
If employees don’t understand the purpose, criteria, or benefits of your recognition program, it can feel confusing or arbitrary. Make sure the goals and expectations are clear from day one so everyone knows what great performance looks like and how recognition is earned.
2. Giving Rewards That Don’t Feel Meaningful
Generic or irrelevant rewards can make recognition feel like an afterthought. Tailor rewards to what your employees actually value—whether that’s public praise, extra time off, or a personalized award that reflects their contributions.
3. Recognizing the Same People Over and Over
When only a select few are consistently recognized, it can create frustration and disengagement among the rest of the team. Ensure your program highlights wins across departments, roles, and performance levels to maintain fairness and inclusivity.
4. Making the Process Opaque or Inconsistent
If employees can’t tell how recognition decisions are made, trust in the program erodes quickly. A transparent, well-defined process helps people see that recognition is earned—not given at random.
5. Treating Recognition as a One-Time Event
Recognition shouldn’t be reserved for annual awards or milestone anniversaries. Genuine, ongoing appreciation builds a culture where employees feel valued every day—not just once in a while.
6. Forgetting to Connect Recognition to Business Goals
Recognition is more powerful when it reinforces the behaviors and results that matter most. Tie shoutouts and awards to your company’s values, goals, or desired outcomes to help shape the culture you want to build.
Launch Your Employee Recognition Award Program with Terryberry
Building an employee awards program from the bottom up can be intimidating and time-consuming. Skip the learning curve and adopt a recognition system that works with Terryberry.
Whether you need performance and incentive rewards or a social recognition platform, we've got you covered. Schedule a demo with our team to see how Terryberry can transform engagement and recognition at your company.
