How to Set Up an Employee of the Month Program

Can you improve team performance through an Employee of the Month Program? I say, DEFINITELY YES!

Let me share a simple program that we did and how it improved team performance and culture...

THE STARS & STRIKES PROGRAM

When we started our company, we briefly encountered a stressful and emotional period wherein anger and yelling started happening between supervisors and subordinates. This was brought about by errors and negligent work issues.

It would start innocently enough. A staff would make a mistake. The managers would talk about it and the next thing we knew, blood pressure would rise and people would flare up. Needless to say, morale was low and the team became fearful of the bosses. Negative comments were amplified and positive comments went unnoticed.

We did not want our company culture to be this way, so we started the Stars & Strikes Program. It's a fairly simple program that can be used per department or the company as a whole and linked with the Employee of the Month Award.

In the Stars & Strikes Program, we basically have two types of colored cards.
a. Blue cards for Stars --- where we commend and write down each good performance and deeds of our staff.
b. Yellow cards for Strikes --- where we write down each mistake and reminders to perform better to our staff.

We drop these cards in a confidential box. Then at the end of each month, we open the box in front of our staff. We count the Star cards against the Strike cards. Whoever, gets the highest amount of Star Cards (less the strikes) is our employee of the month. The Employee of the Month gets a cash prize and a day off.

I like this program because:

a. When a staff makes a mistake,
- it gives the manager time to pause and think before getting angry.
- it is a writing tool to express reminders and corrections.
- it is a tracking tool to quantify the criteria for employee of the month.

b. When a staff performs well,
- it gives the manager a medium to express gratitude.
- it is a written commendation that employees can keep.
- it helps us recognize the exemplary deeds and contribution of each employee.

Lately, we noticed that we have been writing a lot of Star cards and very minimal Strike cards. This shows that performance is up. Our company culture is on the right track and morale has never been better.

If you have comments, questions or clarifications, please reply to this post.
If you have your own favorite program that you would like to share, feel free to reply to this post.

Let's all help each other improve our companies. Ultimately, this will lead to a better Philippines.
For more tips on Performance Management, check out Businessmaker Academy's seminar on Coaching Techniques for Managers & Supervisors, as well as their HR Management Seminar Series.

>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.