How to build a staff rewards programme around an awards ceremony

26 July 2018

 

Recognising your staff’s hard work with rewards should be a formalised part of your business. Implementing a dedicated incentive programme has a number of benefits, including:

  • Increasing workplace engagement and satisfaction.
  • Demonstrating to employees that their day-to-day matters.
  • Rewards programmes can also be an appealing part of a benefits package to help attract future employees to your business.

It seems Australian enterprises are now coming around to the value that follows a rewards and recognition programme. Aon Hewitt research shows Australia was one of the few regions in Asia-Pacific where businesses increased the workplace focus on rewards and recognition incentives in 2017, with a 3 per cent increase from the prior year.

As for the cherry that should sit on top of your rewards programme? A professionally-produced awards evening.

Offering your employees the chance to win rewards, culminating in a major awards night, is vital to making your business more desirable. Offering your employees the chance to win rewards, culminating in a major awards night, is vital to making your business more desirable.

Why does my rewards programme need a formal awards ceremony?

If your rewards and recognition programme is formally structured and aligned with your business values, you’ll want all your employees to see the benefits of succeeding in the areas you want them to. The best way to do this is to host a formal rewards and recognition event celebrating the achievements of your best workers and giving the chance for colleagues and other levels of management to recognise what types of behaviour you value.

Delivering on a winning awards ceremony can be a challenge in and of itself, however. Your event needs to tick a certain number of boxes in order to match the intentions of your presentations and be considered a success. This encompasses a number of requirements:

1) A fit-for-purpose venue

As long as your venue fits the intention of your awards evening, it doesn’t matter where you host it. While hiring the ballroom of a hotel or booking out an events centre enables you to add a layer of glitz and glamour to the evening, hosting your awards night in your own office can still deliver an air of class and celebration with the assistance of event professionals.

Businesses nationwide increased their rewards programmes’ focus by 3 per cent between 2016-2017 according to Aon Hewitt.

The most important thing is that your chosen location fits your occasion. A space too big or too small for the number of attending employees will ruin the vibe; acoustics play a major role in clear communication throughout the presentation; and your decor needs to be laid out just right in order to communicate an air of professionalism while remaining fit-for-purpose.

2) A thoroughly-planned presentation

Your awards night shouldn’t just be thrown together as a chance to talk about the business’ successes – by thoroughly planning out your evening, you create an event that’s all about your employees. Design a call sheet to determine how your night will run, and practice it to ensure everyone knows their roles. Any onstage mix ups or mistakes can cause your employees to seriously doubt your business’ commitment to celebrating their success. You also need to keep your presentations succinct to keep your audience engaged.

CMS Australasia can help you in every facet of planning your awards night. From helping source guest speakers or MCs to drawing up an event agenda, preparation shows your employees that you care about delivering a memorable awards night that’s all about them.

3) Put on a show

Your awards night should be more than just a few speeches – you need to dazzle your employees with a light show and soundscape that excites and celebrates in equal measure. But even more than that – your employees need to be able to see and hear everything said onstage. Getting these basics right is easier with the help of event production experts.

Rewarding your employees with the best

The CMS Australasia team has years of experience in designing and executing memorable audio-visual displays for celebrations all over the Asia-Pacific, and we also have access to a warehouse full of camera, light and sound equipment to help make your next awards night unforgettable. You bring the ideas and we can make them a reality in class and style.

For more information about how you can pull off a once-in-a-lifetime awards ceremony to celebrate your employees, request a proposal from the CMS Australasia team today.