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"Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." - Michael Jordan

As summer arrives, are your employees thinking more about being outside for summer BBQs than focusing on their work? Is their disengagement harming customer relationships? Gallup reports that "organizations in the top decile of engagement outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share, and have 90% better growth trends than their competition." Strengthen your employee incentive programs with these ALL STAR recognition awards to improve employee engagement levels around your office, improve employee-customer relationships, and improve your bottom line.

Recognition awards should evoke 4 key emotions within your employees: Enthusiasm, Empowerment, Inspiration, and Confidence. According to a Dale Carnegie study, 95% of employees that feel at least 3 of the key positive emotions are engaged at work. Many HR professionals and managed service providers have trouble helping employees feel these 4 emotions. We present recognition awards immediately after an employee does something to deserve it in order to have the biggest impact.

We find the most success when we present one of our three HR ALL STAR recognition awards using our employee recognition software:

• Outstanding Performance Award
• Teamwork Award
• Unique Performance Award

Outstanding Performance Recognition Award

Steph Curry Crossover

If you've been keeping up with the playoffs, you know that Steph Curry is on fire. If you haven't been watching the playoffs, or don't watch basketball at all, you can watch below as he puts on a clinic:

(Source: Streamable)

Did you just see that? He deserves an award for that! Even though your employees aren't performing in front of 18k+ fans, there is no reason you can't celebrate their accomplishments like they just put one of the top defensive players on ice skates in front of 18 thousand people. 

When your employees make awesome moves like this, be sure to recognize their accomplishment with an Outstanding Performance Award. Not only will your 'A Player' get a boost in morale from your support, but these performances pump up the whole team! (And Yes, that convulsing on the sideline are all of Steph Curry's professional colleagues cheering him on)

If your 'A Player' is in a slump, try setting up a goal for them to accomplish using our free SMART Goals template. Doing so will add structure to their routine and allows you to easily track progress as they work towards reaching their goal.

Teamwork Recognition Award

Lob City Alley Oop

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." - Michael Jordan

(Source: Vine)

Take your team to a championship level by promoting teamwork throughout your office. In Los Angeles, the Clippers love to throw alley oops to each other. While Chris Paul has to make a great pass to DeAndre Jordan for the alley oop to happen flawlessly, rather than awarding Chris Paul an assist award and DJ a slam dunk award, award them both with a teamwork award. Promoting teamwork within your office is a great way to improve enthusiasm and when your employees work as a team, the quality of their work will be much stronger. 

Looking for more ways to promote teamwork in your office? Read our other post covering SMART Goals examples which includes different types of SMART Goals you can set up within your office to foster a strong sense of teamwork.

Unique Performance Recognition Award

Andrew Shaw - What Did He Just Do?

Do your employees ever approach you having completed a project to your liking, but the process they followed to complete that project seem completely foreign to you? Andrew Shaw is that type of an employee and we've got a perfect recognition award for scenarios like this.

"You can't solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to rise above it to the next level." - Albert Einstein

(Source: Vine)

It was the 2nd overtime of a playoff hockey game. The score was tied and as Shaw skated in front of the goal, the puck appeared right above his head. So, like any ice hockey player looking to win the game, he head butted the puck into the net...like he was playing for the Chicago Fire rather than the Blackhawks. No one had ever seen this before, and the goal would be waved off. So his goal didn't win the game and it didn't win them the Stanley Cup, but it did something else. It got the Chicago crowd pumped up and they used that momentum to eventually put in the game winning goal in the 3rd period.

So maybe that crazy thing your employee just ideated won't have an immediate payoff, but if you believe it to be something which positively impacts your business and its operations, share a Unique Performance Recognition Award. By doing so, you will promote an environment for your inspired and empowered employees to take the initiative, take it to the next level, and try new things.

Conclusion:

Dale Carnegie Training recommends "direct managers should foster healthy relationships with their employees" because 80% of employees who are dissatisfied with their direct manager are disengaged. Use these HR ALL STAR awards to strengthen your relationships with your employees. By doing so you will increase their engagement in their work and this will help your business because companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. Don't just award your sales people for good work, set SMART Goals for all your departments in order to empower, inspire, and give your them confidence by showing them they are truly valued by your company. 

Tried implementing these recognition awards examples into your routine and still not receiving the results you expected? Read our post discussing ROCK STAR SMART Goals Examples or look at some of our performance review examples.