Many companies make use of employee-of-the-month gifts. There are several employee-of-the-month gifts types and styles. Some employee-of-the-month rewards honor employees through posted plaques and certificates in the place of business. Some businesses use an employee-of-the-month special privilege gift such as reserved parking. Others use gifts such as T-shirts and pens.

No matter which employee-of-the-month gifts types and styles you choose for your business, your employees will appreciate your recognition of their hard work. When thinking about how to honor your employee of the month, consider the following thoughts:

1. Plaques and signs display the employee-of-the-month awards information for others to see.

2. Special privilege employee-of-the-month gifts encourage employees to work for a reward.

3. An employee-of-the-month gift provider offers several gift options.

Action Steps
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Post your employee-of-the-month awards information on a plaque or sign

Most employees will not pass up the award of public recognition. Using a sign or plaque to reward your employee of the month allows others to quickly recognize the honored employee. You may choose to add a name tag to a plaque, post a picture sign, or have your employee of the month wear a special badge.

I recommend: Gifts for Professionals sells plaques on which to display employees of the month from month to month. Gimmees sells attractive employee-of-the-month pins for your worker to wear. Purchase in larger quantities to save.

Use low-cost special privilege employee of the month gifts

Honor your employee of the month with a special privilege. The most common special privilege for employee of the month is a reserved parking space. This rewards your employees and is low cost. Simply buy one employee-of-the-month parking sign and use it with a different employee each month. Other privileges include a longer lunch or an extra break.

I recommend: Employee-of-the-month parking signs from Parking Sign Corner are available in four styles and meet all parking sign standards. My Parking Sign also offers employee-of-the-month reserved signs. Personalize your sign by adding special text or design your own sign.

Choose a gift from an employee-of-the-month gifts directory

Gifts are another way to honor and reward an employee of the month. Search for employee-of-the-month gifts information from an employee-of-the-month gifts provider to find the perfect gifts for your special employees. Purchase the same gift each month or personalize the gift to match your employee's assets and personality.

I recommend: View the employee-of-the-month awards directory from Successories, which is organized by themes. Browse the employee-of-the-month gifts list and choose from attributes such as leadership, service, attitude, and excellence. Give your employee of the month a smile with specially designed chocolate photo bars from SayItSweetChocolateFavorWorld.

As you study employee of the month gifts information, you'll see that workers who receive recognition are more likely to remain loyal to your business and are less likely to leave an organization. Most workers don’t expect anything elaborate. Just the idea that you took the time to recognize them is often enough.

While some business performance gifts are milestone markers with a company, employee of the month gifts emphasize a much shorter time span. Because of that, more workers are likely to find it’s easier to get their names on the employee of the month awards list than any other awards list.

You can use employee of the month gifts for a variety of purposes. They include:

1. Positively reinforcing good behavior with an employee of the month gift.

2. Giving workers the positive feedback they need to maintain job satisfaction.

3. Motivating everyone to strive for the company, as well as toward personal goals.

Action Steps
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Pick framed award certificates as employee of the month gifts

This is an inexpensive way to recognize employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. Find a simple certificate, create a template, and each month print off a certificate to award to the employee of the month. Once you print the certificate, it's a simple matter to frame it.

I recommend: The employee of the month gifts directory at Successories offers a full selection of awards certificates you can adapt for your business. Once you complete the certificate to your specifications, you can insert it in a presentation frame. Staples provides a selection of blank award certificates that you can easily make into employee of the month rewards.

Give employee of the month gifts along with permanent recognition on a plaque

You can purchase employee of the month gifts that come in a package with a display plaque. Each month, a new employee's name goes on the plaque. The monthly gifts that come with the package depend on the style you purchase. Some have lapel pins, while other kits offer different items.

I recommend: Baudville offers plaques that you can use as your employee of the month awards directory. Most plaques allow you to engrave the names of twelve employees. Some of these plaques come with individual employee of the month awards. Gifts for Professionals offers a similar line of plaques you can use to present employee of the month awards information to your customers and staff.

Present unique employee of the month gifts

You can give the traditional gift, like a plaque, certificate or trophy, but you can also find employee of the month rewards that are different. Once again, these gifts do not need to be expensive.

I recommend: Garrett Specialties has a number of individual awards that can serve as employee of the month awards. Positive Promotions, an employee of the month gifts provider, has a number of items you can use as employee of the month gifts.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Employee of the month gifts don't need to be expensive. You can give the winner a preferred parking spot for the month, an extra day of vacation, or some other reward.
• •  Once you start giving employee of the month gifts, you need to continue the program. Be sure to set guidelines for earning employee of the month status. Designate someone on your staff to keep track of employee of the month rewards information.

You can find employee of the month awards information that discusses the pros and cons of developing an employee of the month rewards list for your business, but many websites that provide this information want to sell you award plaques.

As you contemplate whether you want to start an employee of the month awards list, you have to consider employee of the month gifts pricing and costs, as well as the intrinsic value of the reward itself. Some studies show that improperly managed employee of the month rewards cause more problems than they're worth, so carefully select the program and the criteria you use to select the employee of the month.

The good news is that when employee rewards programs are set up properly, employee of the month gifts have value and become something the employees work hard to earn. When this happens, employee of the month gifts can:

1. Improve your cash flow and net profit through increased sales.

2. Inspire your employees to find ways to improve your business processes.

3. Employee of the month gifts also encourage employee retention and customer satisfaction.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Evaluate employee of the month awards information

Know what your pricing options are before you start an employee of the month program. There are a number of models available, so determine which kind of program best suits your needs.

I recommend: Consider the value employee of the month gifts offer your employees. Information on various styles of employee of the month awards is available from Loyaltyworks in the form of a white paper on price points and value. As you read the employee of the month tips at the Employee Rewards and Incentives blog you'll see that rewards do not have to be expensive to be effective.

Calculate the cost of employee of the month gifts

Because the value of employee of the month gifts is intrinsic to employees, it's hard to measure in dollars and cents the value of a program. But if you factor in employee retention, you can begin to put a dollar amount on the value of a program.

I recommend: Use the cost calculator from GuaranteedEmployeeRecognition.com to determine how much money you may be losing by not offering an employee of the month awards directory, either in the form of wall plaques or individual rewards. Allow The Business Group to evaluate employee of the month awards information pertinent to your business with its ROI calculator. Or, you can sign up to use the calculator without a consult.

Compare employee of the month gifts pricing and costs

If you plan to give individual awards or create an award wall, you need to consider those costs on a monthly basis. Some employee of the month rewards cost less when purchased a year at a time.

I recommend: Compare the costs of a single plaque versus individual recognition plaques from the employee of the month gifts provider, Riherds.com. It offers a number of options so you can compare the costs of this type of employee of the month gift. You can also find employee of the month rewards and compare the costs of different programs and styles available from Award Plaques.

Employee of the month gifts indicate a job well done by that employee. The company then rewards the employee with a gift such as a plaque or a recognition pin. Other possibilities are a preferred parking space, free lunch or sales incentives such as discounts on company products.

Know what motivates your employees and find the right employee of the month gift for them. Choose the gift that tells your employee you want to be their employer not of the month, but for a very long time to come.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Perpetual Plaques

Perpetual plaques are employee of the month gifts that honor the employee by putting their name on the plaque along with their month to shine. Each month the company adds the employee of the month's name and/or picture.

I recommend: Successories provides information about perpetual plaques. Gifts for Professionals offers details about perpetual plaques.

Employee gifts awards and sales incentives

Employee gift awards and sales incentives are things a company can award the employee of the month. Instead of a gift or a plaque, the company may offer the employee a discount on their products.

I recommend: Epromos provides detailed information about how each of these programs works.

Employee recognition pins

Employee recognition pins are employee gift of the month pins that the person can wear with pride. These pins attach to the lapel and usually contain a personalized message to the employee.

I recommend: Brite Ideas offers detailed information on recognition gifts including a section on employee recognition lapel pins.

Employee incentive programs

Employee incentive programs offer the employee the opportunity to get a perk in addition to their wages for doing the job well. Employee of the month is an incentive program that provides gifts as the incentive.

I recommend: Select Your Gift offers detailed information about employee incentive programs and why they work.

Recognition program

A recognition program provides the company an opportunity to praise an outstanding employee. Employee of the month programs are recognition programs that provide gifts or incentives to employees.

I recommend: Baudville provides details on keeping your recognition program focused.

Motivation

As far as employee of the month programs are concerned, motivation means to give the employee reasons to do her job as effectively as possible. The programs are to entice employees to perform well for the sake of the work, not only for a monthly gift.

I recommend: Workforce Management explains in detail good and bad ways to motivate today's employees.