So, fun Awards are a way to appreciate and recognize co-workers in an informal and creative way; for their hobbies, interests, and personality traits. Hence, they create a positive and informal atmosphere at work without offending anyone.

The whole idea of fun awards is to ensure that the employees feel valued while having a good time and a great laugh.

Hence, it’s all about recognizing an employee as a person and not just a co-worker or a resource for the organization. Therefore, they should be integral to the employee engagement plan of every organization.

Undeniably, fun awards are a great way to build a positive, informal and engaging atmosphere at work. Therefore, every organizations should look at incorporating them in their employee rewards and recognition programs.

So, here are a few creative and innovative ideas for informal/fun awards:

1. Dr. Fixit Award: Seems to have a solution for every problem.

2. Office Picasso Award: The most artistic person around.

3. Fitness Freak Award: Lives and breathes fitness.

4. Caffeine Lover Award: Who cannot do without his or her cup of coffee.

5. Early Bird Award: Arrives to office and to every meeting much before anyone else.

6. The Clean Slate Award: Keeps their work area spic and span.

7. The Fashionista Award: Is always perfectly dressed for the occasion.

8. Walking Wikipedia Award: Seems to know everything about everything.

9. Stand-up Comedian Award: Who always cracks witty jokes to keep others in good spirits.

10. Super Snacker Award: Who is a true foodie and lives and loves his or her food.

11. Instagramer Award: Who is very active on Instagram, posting stories several times a day.

12. Office DJ Award: Always has the best music playlist for office parties or trips.

13. Terabyte Memory Award: Has a terrific memory and rarely forgets anything.

14. Netflix Navigator Award: Who always has the best recommendations for shows on Netflix.

15. Event Planner Award: Who is amazing in organizing office parties and other events.

16. Hot Spots Award: Who always has great recommendations for best places to hang out.


Similarly, many other such ideas for fun awards could be explored:

1. Gadget Guru

2. Trivia Buff

3. Master Chef

4. Smiling Face

5. Turbo-charged

6. Sports Champion

7. Ace Adventurer

8. Bookworm

9. Car Czar

10. Music Maestro

11. Best Dancer

12. Biker Boss

13. Gaming Guru

14. Selfie Champion

15. Crossword Master

16. Marathoner

17. Shutterbug

Without a doubt, there is no limit to the number of categories of fun awards that can be conceived and implemented.

Obviously, the key objective of any employee recognition program is to keep the employees motivated and engaged. Hence, enhancing the fun element of these programs can prove to be a simple yet effective way to make the employees feel appreciated and happy.

So, here are a few guidelines that can help organizations come up with a great fun awards program:


1. Be as Creative, Innovative, and Wacky as possible

Since the entire focus of fun awards is being as wacky and funny as possible; it is important that this is reflective of all aspects of the program. So, from the award categories, to the titles of the awards, the nomination criteria, and even the process of recognition should be innovative and creative.

Hence, the awards should focus on recognizing the quirky and interesting traits of employees that only few co-workers might be aware of.


2. Seek the Involvement of the Employees

The organization should seek ideas and inputs from their employees while deciding on the fun awards and titles. So, this could be achieved by getting together a group of employees to brainstorm on the ideas for fun awards.

Hence, making the process of deciding on the fun awards inclusive in this manner can go a long way in enhancing employee engagement and their involvement in the program.


3. Be sensitive about Cultural Nuances

Organizations need to ensure that the fun awards they choose do not embarrass the employees rather than entertaining them. Also, the awards should never make fun of the ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin, or other such aspects.

Organizations should keep in mind cultural sensitivities of their employees while deciding on the fun awards program to avoid hurting their sentiments.

 
4. Use a Digital Platform for Implementation

A digital employee recognition platform such as HiFives should be leveraged to make the implementation of the fun awards program easy and ensure a high level of employee experience. Hence, the digital platform should make the process of recognition, communication, and rewarding simple, seamless, and easy.

Social features such as a digital wall of fame, likes, comments, leaderboards, etc. can help in enhancing the employee experience. Additionally, reward points given along with the fun awards can be redeemed for electronic gift cards, driving greater participation and engagement.


5. Develop a Calendar for Fun Awards

Also, it might a good idea to create a schedule for inviting nominations and announcing the winners for the fun awards. For example, every fourth Friday of the month can be called a ‘Fun Friday’, ‘Freaky Friday’ or ‘Fantastic Friday’. So, nominations could be accepted through the week and the winners could be announced on that Friday.


6. Communicate to Drive Participation

Additionally, regular, engaging, and peppy communication can help drive participation for these programs. Digital means of communication such as email, Teams/ Slack channels and WhatsApp groups can be leveraged to build up the excitement for these fun awards.