Team Awards: Matching Custom Awards for Every Member

Short answer

A team award recognizes a group for a shared result, and it works best when every member receives their own piece rather than one trophy for a shelf nobody owns. We build matching sets: the same design for everyone, with each person’s name on theirs, plus an optional larger piece for the office wall. Semi-custom awards, acrylic plaques and medallions all suit sets. There is no minimum order, a design proof comes first, and a set can be extended later if someone was missed.

First, second and third place awards on wood bases with printed acrylic faces and cut metal numerals

One trophy for the team, or one each?

This is the first decision, and it shapes everything else. A single team trophy is a good record for the organization. It is a poor reward for the people, because nobody takes it home.

One each: every member gets an identical piece with their own name. This is what people keep, and it is what most teams should order.
One for the wall: a single larger plaque or trophy listing the team and the result, kept where the team works.
Both: the usual answer for a significant win. The wall piece is the record; the individual pieces are the thanks.

Sets are where semi-custom awards earn their place: a stock body with your artwork on it keeps every piece identical and makes a set of thirty as straightforward as a set of five.

Teams that get matching awards

Project teams

A launch, a migration, an opening. The award names the project and the date, so it still makes sense years later.

Departments and shifts

Team of the quarter or year, chosen against stated results. Often paired with a perpetual plaque in the department.

Sales teams

Region or branch of the year, with a keeper for each rep and a perpetual for the office.

Safety crews

A crew or site that reached a safety milestone together, where the result belongs to everyone on it.

Company leagues and tournaments

Winning teams at the softball league, the bowling night or the cook-off. Medallions suit larger rosters.

Volunteer and event crews

The committee or crew that ran an event, thanked as a group with a piece each.

What goes on a team award

A team award has one more decision than an individual one: whose name is largest. On an individual keeper, lead with the team or project name and put the person’s name beneath it, so the piece reads as a share of a group result. On the wall piece, list every member or none; a partial list is worse than no list.

Team of the Year
Warehouse Operations
Maria Estrada
Company Name · 2026

Check the roster twice. The most common fault on a team order is not a misspelling but a missing person: the contractor, the part-timer, the colleague who moved departments in the autumn. The employee award wording guide has more examples for teams.

Team award names

Team of the Year or Team of the Quarter: the standard, and the one to use if the award repeats.
Project of the Year: names the work rather than the department.
Collaboration Award: for two departments that delivered something together.
Launch Team: for a one-time result, with the product or site name.
Champions: for league and tournament winners, with the event and year.

For lighter categories at a team party, see work superlatives and funny award ideas.

Getting a set right

Fix the roster first. Agree who counts as on the team before the order, including people who left partway through.
Decide on roles. Either every piece is identical, or the lead’s differs in one stated way. Unexplained differences cause more trouble than they are worth.
Send names in one list. A single spreadsheet, spelled as each person uses their name, checked by someone on the team.
Plan for the late addition. The design can be reordered, so one more matching piece can be made afterward.
Present them together. Hand out the whole set at one time, and name the result before the names.

If team members are spread across offices or work from home, awards for remote and hybrid teams covers shipping to individual addresses.

Materials and ordering

We build team sets in acrylic, wood and metal, cut and printed in full color in our own shop in Carson City, Nevada. We do not sell glass or crystal awards. Send the team name, the result, the roster and any logo; we send a design proof for approval, and the name list should be checked against it line by line. Request a quote against your presentation date. For everything else we have written for companies, see the Recognition Library.

Team Awards FAQs

What is a team award?

An award given to a group for a shared result, such as a completed project, a strong year or a tournament win. It is usually a set of matching individual awards, sometimes with one larger piece kept by the organization.

Should each team member get their own award?

In most cases, yes. A single shared trophy records the win but gives nobody anything to keep. Matching individual pieces with each person’s name are what team members value.

Can every award have a different name on it?

Yes. The design stays the same across the set and the name changes on each piece. Send the names in one list and check every one before you approve the proof.

What if we forget someone?

The design can be reordered, so an additional matching piece can be made after the original order.

How small or large can a team order be?

There is no minimum order. A team of three and a department of sixty are both normal orders.

What is a good name for a team award?

Team of the Year, Team of the Quarter and Project of the Year are the most used, because they are clear and repeatable. For a one-time result, name the project itself and add the date.

Racer in a helmet raising both arms as gold confetti falls under stage lights

AWARDS FOR THE WHOLE TEAM?

Send the roster and we will design the set

Send the team name, what they achieved, the list of names and any logo. We lay it out on a design proof, and you can change anything before it is produced.

There is no minimum order, and a matching piece can be added later if the roster changes.

Request a Quote

Team Awards