Define a Promotion Plan

Marketable events exist over a variety of areas, including business events (sales; grand openings; product promotion), social events (parties; reunions), school events, and fundraisers. Each hopes for a slightly different outcome, but the approach is the same for all. Utilizing proper promotional tactics for events can assure that little time or money is wasted in the process.

An effective event promotion starts with a solid plan, so spending some time developing a concrete strategy can save valuable time and money down the road.

• Identify the targets: Include individuals with whom you have previously done business, as well as those who have attended similar events in the past.
• Define the objectives: What are you hoping to accomplish with this event? What are you hoping your chosen targets can bring to the table?
• Construct the tactics: Determine what tactics can effectively combine chosen targets and objectives.
• Organize implementation: Develop a promotional team and assign tasks to each team member.
• Define the timeline: Schedule a starting date and ending date, as well as key promotional dates in between, such as presence at similar events or key dates for posting via online mediums.
• Allocate the budget: Determine how much money can be spent on promotions and distribute accordingly.
• Evaluate the results: Analyze all efforts and determine the return on investment. Use these results for future promotional efforts.

Online Promotion Tactics

As of June 2012, 2,405,518,376 people had access, and were using the internet. Whether for business or pleasure, it’s safe to say that any promotion effort enacted online will certainly have a broad reach.

Online scheduling has replaced traditional calendars, old-fashioned meetings have made way for Skype sessions, and virtual shopping is giving traditional storefront a run for its money. Businesses that recognize the value of online promotion for products and events can stay ahead of competition in the battle for customer loyalty.

Social Media

The unbelievable growth of social media in recent years has forced businesses to reconsider their marketing efforts. Facebook currently has 1.15 billion users, Google+ has 343 million, Twitter has 500 million, and Instagram steadily rising at 130 million. Each of these social media giants has implemented promotion plans for businesses, making it easier than ever to drive customers to an event.  Some tips for promoting an event through social media include:

• Offer a couple of free tickets to the event within a post.
• Post videos of event highlights, including notable speakers or special activities.
• Encourage users by offering coupons or discounts for those who share the event.
• Create a weekly posting schedule so that your event will stay on your customer’s radar.
• Create an event listing on Facebook. Letting users see who is attending as well as post their own comments is an excellent way to keep users engaged and excited.

Email Campaigns

Stay in touch directly with email campaigns; send-out campaign platforms such as Constant Contact or MailChimp to simplify the email process. It’s important to remember the following to create the most effective emails:

• Create compelling subject lines: To avoid an email being sent to a spam filter and never to be seen again, ensure that the subject is personable and to the point; offer a discount or coupon code within the subject to offer as much information as possible before they open the email.
• Include a call-to-action: Make sure the person knows what they need to do and how to act on event coupons or special notices.
• Be thorough: Include all relevant information about the event, so there’s little left unknown. Include the place, time, date, and where/how to buy tickets to the event. Include a link to the ticket purchase site if possible.

Event Website and Registration

Developing a user-friendly website for the event can make ticket purchase simple and also help businesses keep track of ticket sales and attendee contact information. Many event registration platforms also include an email portion that allows businesses to contact users directly via email about any changes to the event or to confirm the ticket purchase.

Sites such as eventbee.com or eventbrite.com can make the ticket sale process easier and can also be connected to social media sites for simplified promotion posting. Creating an event website can greatly improve visibility and promotion towards a targeted audience, while allowing for further social media marketing opportunities.

Promotional Products

Even though online promotional efforts have proven to be effective in today’s fast-paced marketplace, physical promotional productshave always found a place in event promotion success. When investing in giveaways, it’s important to remember the following:

• Choose products that can be used daily, such as pens, cups, cozies, and water bottles. The more useful the item, the more it will be used, and ultimately the more exposure it will receive.
• Choose timeliness to give away promotional items, including during similar events, at related conferences or to businesses which would have an interest in attending the event.
• Assure that all important information is included on the product, including how to register or buy tickets for the event.

Effective event promotion can be accomplished with careful planning, implementation of online resources and creative promotional products. With a little work and a lot of creativity, your event can be a financial success and a cherished memory.

Planning an event? Let EDCO Awards and Specialties help with your marketing efforts. With a wide selection of promotional products available, including pens, key chains, water bottles, mugs, golf tees, flashlights, umbrellas and more, EDCO can help make your event a success!

Essential to any fruitful organization is strong leadership supported by a recognition awards program. One of the most valuable assets of an organization is their employees. Both employees and managers are the backbone of what makes companies operate successfully. Managers and other supervisors are tasked with ensuring they are overseeing a productive workplace while also finding various ways to develop relationships and motivate their employees. Quality managers can create a workplace in which employees strive be a part of and over perform their duties for the overall benefit of the organization. Becoming an effective leader and creating a more productive, cohesive workplace requires supervisors to gain a deeper understanding of their employees, motivate successfully and create an atmosphere where goals are reached.

Developing a loyal workforce is a task that many managers struggle with, yet it is possible to create. Finding ways to connect with employees, understand their individual needs and what motivates them, separates bosses who drive employees away and bosses who have earned employees allegiance. Through methods such as team building activities, individual check-in’s with staff members and regular recognition, managers have the ability to learn more about their employees and provide them the assistance they need to become successful. Becoming a quality boss also involves having simple traits that employees look for in their supervisors. These traits include various ways to ensure that employees feel they are respected and treated fairly.

Communicating With and Leading Employees

Employees like to feel a sense of purpose in their work. The responsibility falls onto managers to convey the reasons and benefits of tasks that are assigned to their staff. Through straightforward communication, employees can gain a better understand of what is expected of them and effectively complete them knowing they have the support and assistance of management, if necessary. Building a deeper understanding of daily activities can, in itself, make a great difference in the productivity of employees. Creating an “open-door” atmosphere encourages workers to approach supervisors with concerns or questions and allows for productive dialog to be had. 

Effective communication allows managers to lead and shape the workplace atmosphere to cater to their employees. Transparent communication between employees and supervisors closes the gap created by hierarchy and can provide, for example, an insight into how decisions are made and why. One method of transparency in the workplace is to provide employees the opportunity to understand the thought process behind decision making. Instead of simply delivering instructions to employees after decisions are made, take the approach of creating an open dialog with employees and allowing them to be involved or up-to-date on decisions being made. Lead in a way that eliminates gaps, and creates a cohesive environment.

Motivating communication and encouragement through generosity and fairness equates to loyal employees. Individuals work to make a living, and while there may be less desirable tasks, or ones that go beyond the scope of an employee’s job description, people need to be motivated and recognized for their time and efforts. Communication in these instances is more important than ever as it allows supervisors to determine the best method for inspiring.

Motivation in the Workplace

Each individual is motivated differently. The responsibility fall onto manager and supervisors to know their employees well enough to determine the best and most effective way to encourage them. Whether the workplace morale is lackluster or employees are excelling in their roles, there is always room for inspiration and showing appreciation for hard work and effort. It is proven that employees who feel respected have a greater level of happiness at work and are less likely to look for alternative employment.  To reduce turnover, managers are encouraged to take a look at their current methods of motivating employees and whether or not they are effective. Some examples include:

• Incorporate fun: Consider looking into different ways to bring employees together during the work day and engage in fun activities. This allows employees to relax and enjoy their day instead of feeling as if they are simply there to get a job done, creating a greater sense of unity in the workplace.
• Give awards: Custom, corporate awards can be ordered for any occasion and given out to show appreciation to employees for their efforts, for reaching a milestone or achieving company goals. These awards are a way for employees to have a lasting memento of their successes at work and a reminder of the respect managers have for their team.
• Bonuses: Monetary incentives, if possible, provide employees with the ability to utilize the benefits they were awarded. Organizations can offer this type of motivation in several ways including sales competitions or outstanding customer service reviews. Regardless of the reason, bonuses are a great way to motivate staff members.
• Positive Recognition: In company meetings or other events, managers are encouraged to take the time to personally recognize any employees who have exceeded in accomplishing specific tasks or any other reason to call out individuals for their successes in front of their peers.
• Show Results of Efforts: A simple and cost effective way to show appreciation is to show employees the outcome of their work. If an individual is responsible for a small component of a project, when it is complete, being able to show what their work ended up producing can be a great strategy to motivating.

There are a variety of ways to acknowledge and show appreciation for the hard work employees do to maintain an effective workplace. Whether an individual has reached a company goal, gone above and beyond their job duties or they provide excellent customer service, part of being an effective manager is making employees feel appreciated.  Start motivating employees today by sending a clear message excellence with custom corporate recognition awards from EDCO. Corporate awards build excitement and inspire employees to continue on their path towards success while also proving that their efforts are recognized and valued by their managers. 

The Best Places to Work

For the 100 Best Companies to Work For , the organizations chosen must be at least five or more years old and have at least 1,000 employees in the United States. The list is nomination-based, and winners are chosen based on several factors, including:

• A thorough employee survey, which includes the Trust Index-Employee Survey and The Culture Audit. Although the surveys are anonymous, they truly provide the best insight into the company’s employee satisfaction, perceptions, opinions and attitudes. These surveys count for 2/3 of the decision.
• An in-depth evaluation of both surveys, as well as an analysis of company programs and policies according to the Great Place to Work Model.

Most organizations choose to take advantage of the feedback provided to improve their company’s culture for employees, hoping to find a place on the list for the next year. For companies that are looking to improve their workplaces and keep their employees happy, the best way to learn is by example.

The 2013 100 Best Companies to Work For include Google, SAS, CHG Healthcare Services, The Boston Consulting Group, Inc., Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., NetApp, Hilcorp Energy Company, Edward Jones, Ultimate Software and the Camden Property Trust. Here is what makes the top two companies, Google and SAS, so fantastic.

Google
The recent movie The Internship opened America’s eyes to what a fun place to work Google seems to be, but the real reasons for employee satisfaction in this industry giant’s workplace goes far beyond just a fun atmosphere. (Although these onsite perks aren’t bad, either: medical and dental facilities, valet parking, oil change, bike repair, laundry rooms, and free gourmet meals).

• Focused on women’s needs: A good percentage of Google employees are women, and when the HR department noticed a lower retention rate that seemed to center around a too-short maternity leave, changes were made. Rather than a standard 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, Google employees were given five months, with full pay and benefits, and could even divide that time out however they pleased. The focus even extended the new fathers.
• Thought for family: Forbes magazine recently revealed that if a Google employee dies, the company will pay his or her spouse half of the employee’s salary…for a decade. Recognizing the importance of family and showing compassion are two main reasons Google succeeds in keeping its employees happy.
• Investing in employees: Google’s Global Education Leave program allows its employees to take up to five years to further their education, and reimburses up to $150,000 to do so. Google proves to employees that they are believed in, at the same time strengthening the company’s brainpower and skills.

Google is a company of around 45,000 people and worth around $245 billion dollars, making it easy to provide these kinds of benefits. However, there are valuable lessons to be learned that any company can accomplish: recognize the importance of family, show compassion and invest in employee education and training when available.

SAS 
The second best place to work is SAS, an analytical software company in Silicon Valley, California. With over 6,300 employees, and a 5.6% job growth, this company is known for taking care of its employees and recognizing their hard work.

• Putting the people first: When the 2008 recession caused massive job layoffs of SAS competitors, CEO Jim Goodnight held a webcast to all employees that assured them their jobs were safe, but that everyone’s help would be needed to watch spending and push through. SAS is a company that values its employees and shows them that they are considered in decisions. Family members are also included in importance, with an extensive family resource program that includes family counseling, adoption, eldercare and childcare.
• Flexible hours: SAS prides itself on giving employees flexibility on the hours they choose to work. While a 35-hour work week is what is expected, the hours can be accomplished when and how the employee chooses, and the CMO, Jim Davis, pointed out that most work many more hours that required because they “enjoy those hours as opposed to ‘slaving in the office.’”
• Promote pride in work by recognizing accomplishment: SAS takes large measures to recognize employee successes and give credit where credit is due.  In identifying achievement, SAS finds that employees are more likely to take pride in their own work. The company even designates certain areas of their property to individual landscapers, so that they will treat it as their own.

SAS leads by example in its treatment of family members, employee consideration and recognition of employee successes. Other businesses can take these lessons home, finding ways to incorporate family values and showing acknowledgment and appreciation for hard work and success.

Regardless of size or financials, a company can always show its employees how important they are. Whether through considerations for family and personal time or awarding recognition for jobs well done, a company can always find ways to prove to its staff that they are appreciated and understood. 

Find some simple ways to recognize achievement in your organization, with EDCO Employee Recognition Awards. Since 1969, EDCO has provided quality motivation and recognition tools for any occasion. From sports trophies, to corporate awards and promotional items, EDCO carries all types of awards for any organization’s corporate needs. EDCO’s products are fully displayed on its website and can be customized and shipped in a week or less in most cases. 

Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it."

Employee motivation has become an important practice in an economy that requires organizations to produce more results, with fewer resources than ever before. Studies show meaningful employee recognition awards encourages workers to buy into the success of the organization, rather than using management tools to manipulate employees into better performance.

The Benefits of Employee Motivation

 An excellent definition of motivation is, “the inner force that drives individuals to achieve personal and organizational goals.” Studies reveal that companies that provide relevant employee recognition programs have 31 percent lower voluntary turnover rates than companies that do not.

The theory explains that companies making persistent efforts to recognize good work have happier employees. It is consistent with B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning psychology, which indicates that people who are rewarded for good behavior are more likely to repeat it. Consistent and meaningful recognition will build a stronger company over time.

People need to be respected and treated as a primary weapon for a company when gaining the competitive advantage. All gains toward a company’s growth and prosperity boils down to the work of employees, and the manner in which a company treats its staff can determine the overall success of the organization.

Organizations are constantly enhancing and improving their operations. In doing so, they are realizing that a direct relationship exists between the overall performance of an organization and that of individual employees.

What Motivates Employees?

Learning what motivates is a key objective for management. A manager cannot be successful without  a dedicated, supportive team, so  keeping employees engaged in the work, offering support, and assuring they have room to grow within their jobs and the organization  are essential to bringing out their full potentials.

Project managers or lower-level corporate managers might not have the decision-making power or resources to provide large financial incentives or bonuses, but one of the most effective ways to reward employees for good performance is by simply recognizing their hard work and accomplishments.

Complimenting employees in the presence of a more senior boss or offering the chance to present the team’s work to higher management can make a difference. It conveys to employees that their work is appreciated and trusted, and that management supports their efforts.

Recognition awards should be individual and specific to each employee. For some employees, public recognition will provide the most praise, such as presented during a large company meeting, followed by  a round of applause. But for other employees, public recognition can be an awkward embarrassment. The latter type of employee would much rather praise came in a private, one-on-one meeting. For a manager to be an effective motivator, they must understand that staff will respond to different types of praise or acknowledgment and adjust methods according to the individual.

Recognition does not always have to be verbal. A letter or email written to the staff member can be just as effective. A manager may want to copy higher-level corporate officers to the correspondence so the employee knows the praise is reaching management.

Another nonverbal way of recognizing an employee’s efforts is to present them with keepsakes such as  trophy or plaque awards. Custom awards can be engraved with the employee’s name and other information regarding the project, or can include employee’s contributions and accomplishments. These can be given privately or presented during corporate awards ceremonies.

Regardless of how they are presented, such gifts will recognize the efforts of the employees who receive them, hopefully motivating the employee to go even farther in his job performance. As the employees succeed, so does the company.

Organizations realize significantly better results when they frequently recognize employees’ performances in the forms of praise, even more so than simple monetary rewards.

Constructive Praise

 Although the evidence points to better outcomes when employees are frequently recognized for their work, it is important to make recognition meaningful and to do it is actually deserved.

It is true that all employees’ efforts should be recognized; the simple fact that they have their jobs should be testament that they deserve recognition at some point. But it is important to only recognize the efforts that are truly remarkable or the compliments lose their effectiveness.

Praise should also be specific. Rather than simply telling an employee that their work is appreciated, go a step further and name specific instances where their performance made a positive difference for the team.

Culture of Recognition

An employee’s direct manager is responsible for a healthy amount of recognition. Besides, it is the manager who observes and evaluates an employee’s performance and compares it to the rest of the team’s members.

Often an employee’s coworkers also have a clear vantage in understanding the daily work of their counterparts because they “work in the trenches” together.

 Although it can be tricky to mandate employees‘ recognition of each other’s efforts and accomplishments, it can be encouraged by taking the time during a meeting or other gathering to ask employees to give examples of when they noticed coworkers putting forth extra effort. There can also be a designated bulletin board or other area where employees can post such praise for their coworkers.

Peer recognition takes some of the responsibility of recognition off the manager’s desk, but it also fosters a more cooperative team atmosphere in which employees learn to recognize successful behavior and strive to duplicate it.

Recognize Often

Now that we have examined the relationship between recognition and motivation, how often should it be practiced? As long as recognition is specific and deserved, it should be granted as often as possible and it should granted consistently.

If you’re looking for an excellent way to show an employee how much your value his or her time and appreciate the work he or she has done for your company, visit EDCO Awards and Specialties for all employee awards needs, including trophies, plaques, acrylic awards, name badges and more.

Research shows nearly four out of five managers believe that motivating employees is one of the primary duties of their roles as leaders; nearly two-thirds say it is becoming more difficult to do. Three out of four also say they must change their approaches to how they motivate their employees. With a variety of ways to motivate employees, it is important to effective recognize their successes with a method that is effective and beneficial to an organizations overall performance.

Recognition That Works 

87 percent of organizations stated that their recognition programs are geared toward acknowledging tenure. Clearly, recognition for tenure not only eliminates performance, it turns success in an organization into something for which one waits, rather than something to be achieved.

Furthermore, many believe that today’s workforce should expect to live a life of learning, perhaps with three or more careers. A large number of highly skilled, vastly experienced — “tenured” — workers lost their jobs and saturate the hiring pool. Tenure-based recognition would slight those employees who may have decades of education and experience and these individuals may end up choosing to work for other organizations, possibly even competitors.

Having a recognition program can have a positive impact on voluntary turnover rate and the overall performance and welfare of a business.

Here are some simple tips organizations can use to target their recognition programs effectively:

1.     Knowing the Employees

Effective leaders — whether corporate officers, lower-level managers or football coaches — should know each person that works under their lead. This includes knowing what types of recognition will best motivate each staff member.

Does the person find it pleasant to be cheered on in the company meeting, or would he or she find it embarrassing or awkward? Perhaps, a one-on-one presentation would be more fitting; each employee has his or her own personality and it is up to the manager to figure out each one.

2.     Recognize Accomplishments Often

How many people feel over-appreciated by their employers? There probably are not a lot people dealing with that problem at work. They should be.

To a leader, the staff of an organization should be looked upon as its top asset — that which truly sets a workplace apart from its competitors. Their work deserves to be recognized. In fact, leadership should create a culture of recognition in which all managers and staff are supported and encouraged to recognize each other. Sometimes the most meaningful recognition can come from peers, rather than management.

3.     Meaningfully Recognize Staff Achievements

Saying “good job” to an employee who deserves it is pleasant but it does not recognize what the employee achieved that was so “good.” Nonspecific praise like this just seems like the manager does not really care about the employee’s efforts and it also wastes a motivational moment to teach other employees how they, too, can emulate the actions of the successful employee and receive equal recognition.

Recognition should be specific. More effective praises for successful employees might be the presentation of a plaque award or crystal paperweight that has the employee’s name and accomplishment engraved into it.

4.     Trust Is Recognition

People have impressionable senses of self-esteem. If leadership believes in its employees, they will, too, and individuals will be more motivated to succeed based on wanting to maintain that trust. Managers need to show their trust to enhance an employee’s confidence in their abilities.

For example, granting autonomy and acting as an encourager, rather than controlling the project gives room for employees to take ownership of projects and decide how best to finish them.

Not only should leaders allow employees the space to find their own success, but management must also accept when employees fail. Professional growth occurs in both success and failure.

Recognition awards or custom banners with messages of encouragement can be a whole lot more effective motivation than micromanaging employees and controlling all aspects of a project.

5.     It Doesn’t Need to be Expensive

Many leaders make the mistake of believing that recognition has to include cash rewards for it to be motivational for an organization’s employees. Actually, cash rewards can backfire because they attach a numbered value to an employee’s efforts which can become complicated when future projects require more work but have lesser dollar amounts attached.

People wish to be appreciated, not treated like numbers. When an employee makes an extra effort to help the team or the organization, that employee will respond much more positively when the specific effort is recognized.

A more thoughtful recognition gift than money might be an engraved pen, a plaque or acrylic award or other custom corporate award. These types of recognition permanently tie the employee’s success to the successful project and reinforce the connection between the employee’s personal interests and those of the organization.

EDCO Awards and Specialties can be the solution to inspire and acknowledge successful employees.. Since 1969, EDCO has provided quality motivation and recognition tools for any occasion. From sports trophies, to corporate awards and promotional items, EDCO carries all types of awards for any organization’s corporate needs. EDCO’s products are fully displayed on its website and can be customized and shipped in a week or less in most cases.

Ever wonder how artwork is reproduced on glass with such close precision and depth?  Engraving glass is a skillful craft and the industry gold standard is a process called sandblasting.

The term sandblasting is actually quite descriptive of the process itself.  It involves a mixture of air and an abrasive material which is blown at a high velocity toward the material.  The abrasive then etches or cuts away the material surface.  Here at EDCO Awards & Specialties we utilize the sandblasting process for decorating glass and crystal recognition awards as well as engraving on marble and metal trophy components.

Sandblasting has many applications.  Aside from engraving crystal trophies, it is frequently used in the auto industry to remove rust from metal parts and burrs from castings.  Dentists also use a form of sandblasting in production of crowns and bridges to roughen surfaces so cement or porcelain can attach easier.  In the sign business, it is used to decorate messages on a wide variety of products.

Sandblasting items such as glassware is a straightforward process. First you adhere a stencil to the item to be blasted.  A stencil is a mask containing cutout areas of the design and message.  Stencils are commonly made from vinyl, rubber or in our case a photoresist film.  When engraving glass or crystal we use photoresist, a film that is photographically exposed and processed.  Usually black and white artwork is used in the photographic process where a negative is used to selectively allow light to pass through and develop the stencil.  The non exposed areas "resist" the stream of sand while reproducing an image on the crystal surface.  

When the stencil is in place, a steady stream of abrasive particles, such as aluminum oxide, is aimed directly at the item.  The best abrasive varies with the material being blasted and the type of cut desired.  The abrasive particles cut those surface areas not covered by the stencil.  The etching process for "frosting" typically only takes a few seconds, but if depth is desired can take much longer.  Explore our glass awards and crystal awards collections to get a better idea of what sandblasting looks like on trophies.

Three fraternity brothers stand at a counter in a trophy shop, discussing which recognition award to purchase for a new house sponsor.  After a store employee helps the three young men select a particular crystal award, he shows them a handbook that is opened to a page presenting layouts and messages specifically for crystal recognition awards.

Within a few minutes the young men decide that they particularly like a message and layout shown in the handbook.  With little difficulty, the employee substitutes the recipient's name, the date, the fraternity name, etc, for the information displayed in the handbook.  In less time than they expected, the young men selected a gift with a message that they know the recipient will appreciate.

In this example, a gift message handbook helped both the customers and the employee. EDCO Awards & Specialties offers an "idea book" called the Inscription Guide.  We created this guide to help our customers develop great sounding messages to be engraved on our awards, as well as our sales representatives who always strive to create great looking and sounding awards!

While checking out our Inscription Guide, be sure to explore our brand new selection of Employee Recognition Awards.  Recognition awards show appreciation and can help develop positive feelings about the company also improving employee morale and performance at the office.  Start building your awards program today by checking out our beautiful awards selection.  Motivate your staff with our featured awards;  Featured awards are our brand new designs just released for June 2013 and include the Together Recognition Award, Teamwork Art Glass, the Dedication Award and the Teamwork Recognition Award.  All awards are produced from optical crystal and deep engraved with precision craftsmanship.  Your congratulatory message will look amazingly beautiful on any of these high end designs. We ship to the entire U.S. and all awards include a premium quality presentation box.

If you have any questions please call one of our friendly Recognition Specialists today at 800-377-8646.

Glass Awards receive 5-Star Recognition

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Several glass awards were recently recognized in EDCO Awards & Specialties inaugural recognition of the best quality and design for its corporate awards.

The glass awards receiving the 5-STAR rating demonstrated the best of class in precision craftsmanship.  Awards were closely examined for glass clarity, thickness, edge finish, depth of engraving and accuracy in detail reproduction.  Other elements used for consideration were overall design and the ability to combine media such as wood, steel and colored glass.

Glass awards recognized with this year’s 5-START RATING are:

• Liberty Diamond Jade Glass Award:  From EDCO’s Jade Glass collection, this sleek design attracts the best light with its series of angles and opposing bevels. This corporate award is available in three heights (9, 11 and 13 inches) at a starting price of $69.95 for a single award.
• Flame of Excellence:  Available in two sizes to recognize different levels of achievement, this striking award is constructed of glass, wood and metal.  Low-volume pricing for this award is $79.95.
• Executive Glass Award:  This tall, 12-inch award combines stainless steel, jet black crystal and jade glass.  A single award is available for $159.00. 
• Glass Peak Duet Award:  This 9.5-inch award combines blue and clear optical glass elevated on a brushed silver base.   Single-award pricing is $98.95.
• Ribbon of Success:   New to EDCO’s Jade Glass Collection, this corporate award features a beautiful metal ribbon die-struck with a star pattern that wraps around the length of the jade glass.   Low-volume price is $189.00.
• Expression Art Glass Award:  This 15-inch art glass award features a creative glass rainbow flame.  A single award is available for $149.95.

Each of EDCO’s corporate awards is thoroughly inspected during the quality control process and comes packaged in a premium-quality gift box.   EDCO specializes in delivering high-quality customer service and fast turnaround times, EDCO can provide trophies typically within one week of order and faster for urgent orders.  In addition to Glass and Crystal awards, EDCO Awards & Specialties also specializes in laser engraved acrylic trophies including custom cut and custom printed awards.  The 40 person staff at EDCO is ready and eager to help!  The next time you need a trophy or an award choose EDCO Awards & Specialties and you will be glad you did.

For assistance with your corporate awards order, call EDCO at 800-377-8646.

Fostering Teamwork through Recognition Awards

The ideal employee would show up to work every day, right on time, do all of his or her work (and then some), and never need anything as an incentive to work extra hard.  It would just be in their very nature.  Although this may sound appealing, we don’t live in a perfect world, and we have to make do with the best of the imperfect world that we are given. Providing a little extra something such as performance recognition awards to motivate your employees to work harder may sound unnecessary to the employer, but it has been proven time and time again to be an incredibly effective way to get a little bit more productivity out of your employees and to even create better teamwork in collective projects.  Teamwork can either strengthen organizational goals or it can cripple it.  Teamwork has to be a part of the culture and it has to be rewarded when it is done properly.

Many people would argue that teamwork is the cornerstone of a successful business. Even the most productive and useful of employees wouldn’t be able to get much done if everyone was only working independently.  With globalization occurring in most firms and increased use of teleconferences and working from home, employees are working with others that they may have never even met before. Awarding teamwork and accomplishments is an ideal way to further strengthen the team’s commitment to the mission of the company; especially in these situations.  Collaboration on work assignments and projects is normally strongly advised because of how quickly things can get accomplished, and in a lot of cases it is actually necessary to get done what you’re trying to do.

Teamwork Often Enhances Individual Group Members Efforts

With that said, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to say that you should want to foster a sense of teamwork whenever and however possible; it’s critical to organizational success. Not only would it make your business operations run much smoother and more efficiently, but it also would give your employees appreciation, goal setting and greater work relationships with both coworkers and management.  A lot of these areas are almost completely absent when working separately and not being able to share ideas or approach management.

Using prizes and awards as an incentive for working together is an excellent way to build both a sense of teamwork and community, as well as streamlining the operations of your business.  Good inter-company competition when handled properly can also stimulate the efforts of each project. If you’re envisioning some large award that will just take up office space, this doesn’t have to be the case either; awards and trophies come in all shapes and sizes.

Recognizing team efforts in the corporate setting with a personalized award is in many cases, more than enough to show that you are grateful for them working as a team and providing more output than individually. It’s often time consuming to schedule out presentations and sit each and every team member down to provide feedback on a regular basis other than say, annually.  With an award you are accomplishing the physical connection of ownership as well as subconsciously instilling the words of praise and encouragement without ever having to say them.

Awards and Friendly In-House Competition

Employers will frequently try to get more performance out of their employees by creating some sort of competition. This approach can have several drawbacks however if it is not managed properly.  Firstly, not everyone is a particularly competitive person, which means it may not be effective on them. Secondly, since there is a winner of a competition, you will inevitably have a loser too, and those that have lost the competition may begin resenting your way of creating more productivity.  How the competition is setup, what will be awarded and how it is managed is very important.

This is the beauty of using an award to foster a sense of teamwork for your employee however - nobody feels as though they have been cheated out of anything and those that didn’t get an award will feel inspired and motivated to work harder so that their efforts are noticed too.  If they don’t they are either a low performing employee, or there is not enough value tied to the incentives being offered.  You can also pair a nonmonetary gift (e.g. acrylic awards) with a monetary gift as well such as a gift certificate.

Another benefit of using awards over any other type of incentive for teamwork is the amount of money you’ll invest in it, or rather, the lack of it. Buying acrylic awards in jade, clear or black for example, will be a very low investment and has the potential to create better teamwork and performance than a monetary award by itself can.  Teamwork is a foundation of almost every organization today, collaborative efforts are needed and the relationships and productivity of these groups depends on how well it is managed and rewarded.  The fact that an award can be personalized shows more effort is being placed in the recognition and feedback versus just handing a gift card to an employee that is quickly forgotten about after being used.  There is more value and meaning behind an award, even if it costs less, as the price threshold of appreciation on a gift card is much higher.

EDCO expands custom acrylic awards lineup

EDCO has expanded its lineup of custom acrylic awards with five new designs that incorporate customers’ own designs or corporate logos.

• The Perpetual Recognition Trophy, standing 18 inches tall, features up to 24 individual laser-engraved, brushed silver plates, enabling companies to recognize the achievements of top employees for up to 24 years.
• The Grand Custom Acrylic Cut Trophy combines a company’s logo or award design with an ebony base.
• The new Mina Line Custom Acrylic Award, built with the customer’s design and assembled with a piano-finish base in rosewood or black, can be decorated with full color printing or laser etching.
• The Laser Smith Acrylic Award, custom-produced to your exact specifications, uses EDCO’s premium .5" thick acrylic for profiling the top of the award. The base is produced from .75" thick material and offers a wide slanted front which lends itself really well to personalizing each award.
• The Outer Lines Logo-Cut Acrylic Award offers a clean all-acrylic look without breaking the bank. Combining materials such as a .375" thick acrylic top and a .5" thick base, it will bring the WOW! factor and some heft when being presented.

We have a lot of customers who want to design their own awards or have input in the design.   They bring us their design or logo and our skilled designers create a virtual sample before we start production on the actual award. 

With full in-house capabilities, from award design to laser cutting, edging, beveling, engraving and color printing, EDCO can turn around orders in short order, often in as little as three days.

Delivering high-quality, memorable custom awards is where we really excel.

View our complete lineup of acrylic awards.   Most of our standard acrylic awards can be ordered online.  For custom awards or for assistance with your award, call 800-377-8646 to speak with one of our product advisers.