Employee of the month is one of the most common recognition awards, and the one most likely to go stale. It starts well, and by month six the same few people have won, the announcement has become an email nobody opens, and the plaque in the lobby is three names behind. None of that is a reason to drop it. It is a reason to run it with a little more thought.
The ideas here are about keeping the award alive: varying what it recognizes, changing how winners are chosen, making the presentation worth attending and giving the winner something they will keep. Pick two or three. An award that tries every idea at once is as tiring as one that never changes.
Give each month a focus
The quickest way to stop the same people winning is to stop asking the same question. Instead of “who was best this month?”, rotate what the award looks for. The award keeps one name and one plaque; only the focus moves.
- Customer month: the person customers mentioned or thanked.
- Teamwork month: the person who most helped someone else succeed.
- Improvement month: the person who fixed, simplified or documented something.
- Safety month: the person who caught a hazard or kept a clean record.
- Learning month: the person who picked up a new skill or trained a colleague.
- Values month: one company value per month, with the winner chosen for living it.
- Behind-the-scenes month: reserved for roles that never face a customer.
Publish the year’s focus list in advance so people know what is coming and nominators know what to look for.
Change who chooses
- Peer nominations. Coworkers see things managers do not. A short form is enough; nomination examples has one to copy.
- Last month’s winner picks, or helps pick. It passes the award along and gives the winner a role.
- A rotating panel. Three people from different departments, changed each quarter.
- Customer input. Count mentions in reviews, surveys or thank-you messages.
- Manager decision from peer nominations. Peers nominate, a manager or panel decides against the criteria. This is the most common arrangement and the easiest to keep fair.
Whichever you use, write the rules down. The criteria, eligibility and tie rules are covered in how to run an employee of the month program.
Other formats worth considering
- Team of the month. Alternates with the individual award, or replaces it where work is mostly done in crews.
- Employee of the quarter. In a small workplace, monthly awards run out of new winners quickly. Four a year, done well, can mean more than twelve done thinly.
- Rookie of the month. For people in their first year, so new hires are not competing with veterans.
- One award per site or shift. So the night shift and the second location are not always measured against the head office.
- Monthly winners, annual final. The twelve monthly winners become the shortlist for employee of the year. See employee of the year awards.
Make the presentation worth attending
How the award is given matters as much as what it is. An email with a name in it is an announcement. A presentation is recognition.
- Present it in person, at a set time. The first team meeting of the month, the same slot every month.
- Read the reason aloud. One or two sentences from the nomination, in the nominator’s own words where possible.
- Have the right person hand it over. The nominator, the previous winner or a senior leader, not whoever is nearest.
- Take a photograph. For the bulletin board, the internal newsletter or the wall beside the plaque.
- Tell the people who were not there. Other shifts, other sites and remote staff should hear the same story.
Check first whether the winner is comfortable being recognized in front of a group. Most are; a few would much prefer something quieter, and forcing it undoes the point.
Perks to pair with the award
A perk is the part enjoyed this month; the award is the part that lasts. Small and reliable beats large and occasional.
- A reserved parking space for the month.
- A paid day or half-day off.
- Lunch with a leader of their choice, or lunch for their whole team.
- First choice of shifts or vacation dates for a period.
- A gift of their choosing from a short list.
- A donation to a cause they name.
- A feature in the company newsletter or on the internal home page.
More on what makes a good gift, and when to give one instead of an award, is in employee appreciation gifts vs awards.
What to give: the plaque, the keeper, or both
There are three physical forms an employee of the month award usually takes, and the best programs use two of them together.
- A perpetual plaque. A wall plaque with the award’s name at the top and a plate for each month’s winner. It stays in a shared space and becomes the visible record of the program.
- A keeper award. A smaller piece each winner takes home or keeps on their desk, with their name and the month on it.
- A traveling award. One object that sits on the current winner’s desk for the month and then moves on. It works well alongside a perpetual plaque.
We build all three: wood plaques with printed acrylic faces and metal name plates, and custom or semi-custom acrylic awards as keepers. See employee of the month awards for the options, and perpetual trophies for how many plates to plan for, which is the detail most often underestimated.
For what the plaque and each plate should say, see the employee of the month section of employee award wording.
Keep the wall current
Nothing undermines the award faster than a plaque that stopped being updated in the spring. Decide at the start who is responsible for each month’s plate and when it goes up, and treat it as part of the presentation rather than a job for later. A plaque that is built with its plates in place from the beginning, left blank until each is needed, makes this far easier and keeps every plate matching.
When the plaque is full, hang a matching one beside it rather than starting over with a different design. A row of plaques covering several years is one of the better things a visitor can see in a lobby.
Add some lighter recognition alongside it
Employee of the month does not have to carry all of a workplace’s recognition by itself. Alongside it, many teams run something informal: quick thanks between coworkers, covered in peer-to-peer recognition, or an annual round of good-natured awards from work superlatives and funny award ideas. The serious award stays serious because the fun has somewhere else to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make employee of the month meaningful?
State why each winner was chosen, present the award in person, keep the wall plaque current and vary what the award recognizes so the same few people do not win every time.
What do you give an employee of the month?
Most programs combine a name plate on a perpetual wall plaque with a small award the winner keeps, plus a perk such as a parking space, time off or lunch.
What are good alternatives to employee of the month?
Employee of the quarter for small teams, team of the month where work is done in crews, a rookie award for first-year staff, or separate awards per site or shift.
Should employee of the month be chosen by managers or coworkers?
A mix works best. Coworkers nominate, because they see the day-to-day work, and a manager or small panel decides against written criteria so the result is consistent.
Can you make an employee of the month plaque with our logo?
Yes. Send the award name, your logo and how many months of plates you want room for. We design it and send a proof before anything is produced, and there is no minimum order.
Need the plaque as well as the plan?
Tell us the award name, how many months of name plates you want room for and whether winners keep a piece of their own. We will design it and send a proof.
See employee of the month awards
