Selecting the employee of the month is a way to recognize hard-working and wholly dedicated employees, and it’s a great way to keep track of who’s doing a great job.
Here are some tips to help you identify the employee of the month in your workplace:
- Recognize a wide range of achievements
A recognition program will be more meaningful to your workforce if it celebrates various achievements and recognizes employees from various departments or divisions. For example, you could create a small committee that meets regularly to discuss which employees have done exemplary work; this way, you’ll have multiple eyes on your organization looking for worthy candidates.
- Look at the employee’s performance regularly
To properly evaluate your employees, you need to keep track of their achievements and accomplishments throughout the month. You can do this by having a private log on your computer or paper in a binder. Every time you notice an employee going above and beyond, note that in your log. This is especially important if one of these employees wins a service award.
- Make sure that everyone who should be eligible knows they are
If you’re thinking of selecting your employee of the month, here’s what to keep in mind:
- The person has to be eligible for the award. If that criterion is so broad that no one fits it, you’ll be stuck with many undeserving nominees and won’t win any votes.
- Accentuate the positive. This person may have made a mistake or two, but these got better as he learned from them.
- Have a few criteria, so you’re not just judging on a feeling
Having criteria for selecting the employee (s) of the month will help you determine a clear winner for your award. It will also ensure that the process is fair and that employees feel like it’s less biased. But what should these criteria be? Let’s start with an example.
Criteria: Employee who successfully trains two or more new hires in their department, increasing overall efficiency by 10% or more. This is great because it’s definite and measurable. We know precisely who to judge, what they’ve done, and how we’ll measure their performance.
- Keep it positive
Keep the employee of the month award favorable. This is not the time for you to critique your employee and let them know what they need to improve on. Instead, focus on their strengths and how they positively contribute to your business. When writing up someone’s nomination, don’t highlight any negative qualities.
- If you choose someone who is always nice to you and consistently does a good job, other employees will notice
When it comes to your employee of the Month service award, consider giving it to the person who deserves it. If you choose someone who is always nice to you and consistently does a good job, other employees will notice. The award will be more meaningful, and employees will be more motivated to be good workers. A win-win situation.
- Let your employee know what the award is for, so that employee can be recognized later by their peers or customers
Given the importance of employee recognition, employers need to provide an avenue through which their employees can let others know about their accomplishments. For some organizations, this is as simple as emailing out a little memo to everyone or posting recognition on a bulletin board. For others, it requires more effort.
It’s no secret that employees feel underappreciated these days. This is where the employee of the Month award comes in. Every month, you can select an employee who has been performing exceptionally well and acknowledge their efforts by giving them a certificate of recognition. The service awards also help to improve employee morale and ensure that your staff is motivated to work hard for the company every day. However, before you give out an Employee of the Month award, there are certain things you need to keep in mind to make sure that it’s effective in motivating your employees.
- Is this employee deserving of an award?
- Are they doing a great job at meeting targets?
- Do they have a good attendance record?
- Are their reports always on time and accurate?
If yes, then it’s time for them to get recognized.