Have you ever been at work and felt that a little more fun could make your day brighter? Well, you’re not alone. In the fast-paced world of deadlines and meetings, sometimes all it takes is a bit of laughter and recognition to boost team morale. That’s where fun awards come in!
What Are Fun Awards?
Fun Awards, as the name suggests, are creatively named and entertaining awards given to colleagues to celebrate their unique qualities and quirks. These awards are all about spreading good cheer, breaking the ice, and building a sense of camaraderie within your team or department.
At Pinnacle, we’ve had great fun ourselves, in creating these fun awards for our customers over the years. While not every company uses them, those who do keep coming back for more, year after year. Why? They tell us that their employees love it, that it’s a great team-building experience and that the awards themselves are a big hit! Because fun awards have a way of bringing teams closer, fostering a positive work environment, and creating lasting memories.
Creating Excitement with Online Voting
One way to amp up the excitement around fun awards is to introduce online voting. Let everyone in the group cast their votes in advance, and then reveal the winners during a special Awards Night. It adds an extra layer of anticipation and fun to the whole process.
The Golden Rule: Keep It Light
A crucial thing to remember about fun awards is that they should never, ever be at the expense of anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings. Instead, they should add a dash of fun to the workplace, spread good cheer, and encourage people to connect.
With that golden rule in mind, let’s dive into 12 creative fun award categories. You can use these as is, or use these to jog your imagination and create categories that will fit your employees best. The idea here is to make categories fun!
1. Sweetest Team Member Award
There’s always someone in the team whose presence lights up the office. Easy going, helpful, with a ready smile all the time. They are, as the award suggests, super sweet. Applauding them for their inherent goodness at your award ceremony, is sure to draw good cheer from the crowd and a round of applause.
OR, you can make this a tongue-in-cheek fun moment. If you’re in the mood for mischief, give this award to a serious person in your team. Or to someone bullish who can come across as rough around the edges, or someone who is hard to get a smile from. We bet this ironic award will get grinning. 🙂
2. Duct Tape Award
This is so apt to give to someone who holds their organisation or department together. It could be an office manager, it could be the peon who brings tea, or the longest serving employee. It could even be the Boss, if the boss is a uniting force. This is a fun way to acknowledge the ones who don’t ask for attention but are happy to serve and hold everyone together.
3. Always in a Meeting Award
You have this person in your office. Everyone has at least one such person. Their calendar is always full, it is hard to block their time. This is especially fun when it is given in the presence of their family.
4. High Spirits Award
This acknowledges the partiers in your team. It could be the one who is always in good cheer. Or it could be someone with the capacity to drink a lot but still stay sober. It’s sure to draw a good chuckle from the crowd.
5.Never Missed a Beat Award
A fun award for the best dancer in the group. It can also be given to someone known to be quick witted, who is quick with quips and never misses a beat on a comeback.
6. Office Master Chef Award
Clearly, this one goes to the person who brings the best lunch boxes to work. The bakers who bring the fresh baked cookies, the chefs who experiment and then bring leftovers to share with colleagues. How we love them!
7. Office DJ Award
Every party has one. Every office has the person who is most up to date with the music scene and takes over the playlist at every get together, car ride or office party. That’s your office DJ.
8. Super Snacker Award
This is a fun award for a team member who always has a handbag or a desk drawer full of snacks or the person who loves to munch through zoom meetings.
9. Office Alexa Award or the Human Encyclopaedia Award
No matter the internet, we all need that one person in our life who we turn to, to get answers to all sorts of questions related to the company. They know the company’s by-laws, it’s history, all the products and the best people to go to for the information they don’t know! Give this award to the person who has all the answers.
10. Green Thumb Award
This one is for the nurturers. The ones who plant new ideas, take care of them relentlessly day after day and take great pride in their growth. It can also be given to people with a passion for plants, who love to keep plants and flowers in their offices and on their desks.
11. Emoji King / Emoji Queen Award
Since at least half our communication happens in texts now, emojis are a part of our life and are here to stay. Of Course then there are some amongst us who use emojis as a language. This award is for that person! Whose texts and missives are peppered with all manner of emojis.
12. The Early Bird Award
This is a fun award that acknowledges the person who is always the first to reach the office. Or the person who is always on time or even early to log into zoom meetings.
There are many more fun award ideas that you can implement that will suit your company culture and team spirit best. We end up coming up with more fun ideas with every new customer, depending on their organisation and the people they want to award.
Reach out to us to learn more about putting the fun back in your employee recognition programme.
The Fun Continues
Remember, fun awards are about bringing joy and recognition to your workplace. They’re not just pieces of paper or trophies; they’re tokens of appreciation and camaraderie. As you explore different award ideas and celebrate your colleagues’ quirks, you’ll find that your workplace becomes a more engaging, enjoyable, and united environment.
So, whether you choose to use these awards as they are or let them inspire your own unique categories, keep the fun alive in your workplace. And if you’d like more tips on creating a recognition program that truly works, check out our blog. Better yet, reach out to us, and let’s discuss how we can infuse more fun into your employee recognition program. Here’s to celebrating your team’s quirks, talents, and, most importantly, the fun you share together!
