It is always a great time to recognize your employees for their contributions to the company’s success.  Even if the economics aren’t favorable, providing employee recognition boosts morale and productivity of your staff and workforce.  Companies that focus on the value of their personnel find greater loyalty and dedication to the well-being of the corporation’s health.

When planning to recognize employees, make the presentation an event.  Awards presented in front of the staff do more for self-esteem than awards presented in private.   The recognition inspires the entire staff to work harder and reach higher to achieve your corporate goals.

As the planner of a recognition event, you will need to handle the minute details that create a successful function.

Here are some tips that can help make planning your
Employee Recognition Event easier.

Find a fitting venue.

You will need to determine if the location will be easily accessible for the guests.  Consider parking, room size, lighting, sound, available staging, pipe and drape (curtains) and possible seating arrangements for excellent visibility.  You will want to have access to a podium, but should also have access to hand held microphones on stands and wireless lavalieres in the event a presenter requests them.

It is important to discuss room availability for set up, sound check and striking your equipment following the event.  If the venue is catering your meal or refreshments, get everything down to the napkins and silverware in writing. This way the venue can provide you with a complete quote and there will be no surprises.

Once the room is arranged – get the invitations out!

Invitations should be sent at least three weeks prior to the event.  Make sure it is easy to R.S.V.P. so you have an accurate head count for the caterer.  If you haven’t heard from guests by the required date, have a follow-up in mind to be certain of your attendance numbers.

Order your awards! 

Talk with your supplier about the purpose of the awards event.  Find a trophy or plaque that will symbolize the event and purpose of the award.  Make certain your supplier will deliver the awards with enough time that you can check all engraving.  In the event of a mistake, you will want time for them to make corrections.

Talk to presenters early! 

They will need time to craft their speeches and prepare.  People may be funny in a one-on-one setting, but under the spotlight, an unprepared speech is painful to watch.  You may want to consider hiring a corporate MC to warm up the crowd and keeps the evening flowing.  A professional corporate emcee can do wonders to elevate the status of your recognition event.

Create an award profile for each recipient. 

Make sure to include their name together with a phonetic pronunciation.  There is nothing worse than having your name announced incorrectly at an awards banquet.  Have presenters practice the names so they get it right.  This small tip goes a long way in showing employees you value them.

Employee Recognition Event - Awards dinnerAvoid The Slow…

Have you ever been to an awards banquet that was painfully slow?  Nothing can kill the momentum of the evening like a drawn out awards program.  The Emmy Awards, The Oscars, The Golden Globes and all of the music awards shows have learned that viewership drops off as the evening wears on.

One way to solve the problem is to set a schedule and make certain everyone sticks to the agenda.  Presenters should be given time limits to make their speech before the award recipient is announced.  Make sure they craft their presentation with a short discussion of the specific contribution or reason behind the award.

If you plan on allowing recipients an opportunity at the microphone, ask people who are up for awards to keep acceptance speeches under 30 seconds.  This helps to prevent long winded speeches that can drag out the evening.   Keeping the presentations and acceptances on topic allow the program to flow smoothly.  Your evening can fly by before anyone notices.

Avoid long hikes from the back of the room when someone’s name is announced.  Plan your seating chart so the winners are spaced throughout, but have easy, fast access to the stage.  A DJ who can play some music as people make their way to the stage adds a great touch of class.

You may want to consider hiring a corporate emcee to keep everything on schedule.  A professional emcee will keep your audience laughing and enjoying the evening as he or she seamlessly guides the flow.  Problems may be easily covered and the emcee can also advise people to help shorten a program that is in danger of running too long.

If you plan on having awards banquet entertainment, consider placing the entertainment before the awards.  Following dinner, people require time for their food to digest.  If the awards slow down the evening, you may lose the audience before your entertainment ever hits the stage.  That is a waste of your budget.  A good program following dinner can elevate your audience into an excited state.  That will make the awards program even more enjoyable.

When you are hosting an employee recognition event and require an emcee or after dinner corporate entertainment, contact our office for a complimentary event consultation.  We look forward to helping you create an incredible evening everyone will remember!