Employee of the Month programmes are a fantastic way to drum up a little healthy competition between colleagues. But there’s a big difference between a programme that’s been set up in a hurry, and one that’s truly driving value for your business and your team.
A successful Employee of the Month programme engages your employees, and drives results for your business. Here are 5 steps you can follow to make yours a success.
1. Define your goals
What do you want to get out of your Employee of the Month programme? Are you looking to drive productivity, innovation, attendance, or something else?
This is your chance to define what a successful employee looks like at your company. Think long and hard about the attributes you’re looking for.
Knowing what you want to achieve will make the next step even easier…
2. Create your awards
Traditional Employee of the Month programmes reward one employee every month. The clue’s in the name, right?
But one winner means you’ll only be rewarding a single type of behaviour.
If you choose to offer multiple awards, you can reward and incentivise multiple behaviours. After all, a successful business needs all kinds of employees, with a wide range of skills.
How about an award for collaboration? Or mentoring? Or innovation?
Think about the skills your company values. Build your awards around them.
3. Define your voting criteria
You don’t want your employees just voting for their mates every month. So make it clear what people should be looking for when they nominate a colleague.
Add a clear criteria to each award, so everyone knows what a winner looks like.
Ask your employees to provide examples of why their nominee should win – but don’t demand an essay. A couple of sentences is fine – and gives you something to read out when you announce your winners.
4. Choose your rewards
This is the fun bit. You get to decide what your employees are competing for.
A trophy is fine, but if you don’t offer any other prizes, you might be accused of being cheap.
But you don’t need to blow the budget either. Get creative. You could offer winners the chance to take a duvet day at short notice. Or take all your winners out for lunch together.
If you’ve got some cash to burn, gift vouchers are usually a safe bet. But be careful to choose something that works for all your employees – especially if your team is split across multiple locations or regions. You could offer free cinema tickets, but make sure you pick a chain that’s available nationwide.
5. Get everyone involved
Now the hard bit – getting people to take part.
The trick here is making your announcements loud, public and unavoidable. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Give employees plenty of time to vote, and plenty of reminders as you approach the deadline.
If you’re really struggling, you can incentivise the voting itself. Enter everyone who votes into a raffle. That way people will want to take part, even if they don’t feel like they’re going to win one of the main awards.
Finally – celebrate your winners. Go over the top with your awards ceremony. And make sure they feel valued long after it’s over. A wall of fame is a great way to acknowledge past winners – and encourage others to try and join them.