There are a lot of ways to motivate your team and let them know you appreciate them. Since we are in the season of major award shows and nominations, I wanted to offer some suggestions on ways to help motivate and encourage your people “red-carpet style.”
Several of these can be done with a limited budget and many of these can be tweaked or combined to create an all-out superstar event that your people will talk about for years to come.
1. Roll out the red carpet
Make your employees feel like stars. Surprise them with a red carpet experience that they won’t soon forget. Rent a large red carpet and have your employees enter work in style. Encourage a “dress-up day” citing some important people arriving that day.
In addition to the red carpet, have some volunteers who are clamoring to take their picture with these VIP’s. Who doesn’t like attention like that?
Variations:
Add a limo to have your team take pictures in before going in to work. Or, as they arrive, let them take a ride around the block in the limo and have some paparazzi (see below) waiting for them when they come back.
2. Give Your Team the Paparazzi Treatment
You can pair this with another event listed here, or do it on its own. Surprise your employees at work one morning with a line of paparazzi waiting for them to enter the building.
Imagine your team walking in with people shouting their name and taking massive amounts of pictures of them as they arrive, making them feel like Golden Globe or Oscar nominees.
3. Plan a Limo Lunch for Star Employees
Once a year or once a quarter (depending on your budget), take your star employees out for a nice lunch and transport them there via a limo.
How will you choose which ones go? Have a contest (sales, production, etc.) and set criteria to qualify. Everyone who qualifies gets to go.
Variation: Want to pair this with a way to increase customer service? Combine the qualification process with those who receive a certain number of compliments, customer service awards/points, or positive customer experience evaluations.
4. Host an Oscars Awards Night for Your Team
It’s time for some serious fun and some serious planning. Combine all of the above events to create an awards nights for your crew. This will take a lot of leg work and advanced planning, but what better way to honor your employees?
Hand out awards as part of the night. Be creative. Hand out serious awards, plus some fun ones. Get a team together to help brainstorm and plan the night.
5. After-party.
Plan an after-work party to thank your employees. Hire someone to cater food and drinks. Bring in a DJ for some after-work foot-stomping fun.
Variation: Go to an off-site venue, such as a lake house, hotel, or other hot spot in the area.
6. Create a “People’s Choice Awards” Event
Host an awards night where members of your team vote on different categories of awards to give out at a party dedicated to honoring the best and brightest among your crew.
Possible awards to hand out:
Best Salesman
Best Saleswoman
Best Support Staff
Best Advertising Campaign
Variations:
Have a crazy awards night – brainstorm some creative ideas on awards to give out and make it a fun, creative event.
“Most Likely to Sell Snow to a Snowman”
“Most Likely to Call in Sick After [favorite sports team] Loses”
“Best Excuse for Missing Work”
7. Premier Movie Event
Honor your employees by hosting a premier movie event. Announce that they will be experiencing a one-of-a-kind movie premier as a way of thanking them. What you don’t tell them is that they are the stars in this movie premier.
Hire a videographer to take some covert shots of your crew performing at their best. Have an editor compile it into a movie-premiere styled video and show it off at a local theater.
Variation: Combine this event with the After Party idea and/ or limo rides (above) to make it a special night that will “wow” your team.
What other ways can you think of to thank your people “red-carpet” style? Which one sounds most do-able for you?
[Photo credit: Zoonabar via Flickr.]