When it comes to rewarding an employee, you have many options. Ideally, the award should make sense with the company’s branding and culture, be desired by the recipient, and be of appropriate monetary value. As experts in the custom jewelry industry, we’d like to share why these awards are a solid choice for a company’s recognition needs.
Award vs. Prize
When discussing employee awards, it’s important to make the distinction between an award and a prize. Simply put, an award is something that is earned through recognized effort, while a prize is won by chance or through minimal effort. Prizes can be just about anything such as an ipad, grill, or giant teddy bear. These are all items that anyone could purchase at any time. Awards must be earned; that’s what makes them so special. Awards tend to be items like trophies, medals, and certificates. At Dion, we wholeheartedly believe in the superiority of awards over prizes. The sentimental and emotional impact of an award simply cannot be matched by a prize.
Custom Creation
As I said earlier, ideally an award should make sense with a company’s branding. For instance, a beauty supply company probably wouldn’t want to give belt buckles to their employees. However, a belt buckle would make sense to a trucking business. Maybe your branding uses a lot of color, or maybe it has more of a vintage look. Also, discussing your branding style is a great way to begin your consultation and ensure that your custom award makes sense with your brand identity.
Creating custom products also means the pieces can serve a company’s unique requirements. Some of our clients have opted for in-field add-on components that can be added to a main award piece. Others want their consultants to visualize their success by swapping out pin “jackets” when they reach a new rank. Every business has their own way of recognizing their employees, and custom products ensure a perfect fit.
Quality
It’s important that award items are desired in the first place. It’s no secret that thoughtless gifts can backfire (case in point: don’t be the company that rewards their employee of 27 years with a bag of candy!) Few people can argue against the inherent value of quality jewelry. While trophies and certificates sit on a shelf, jewelry awards can go with the recipient. They’re exciting pieces that tell a success story. It’s not unheard of for jewelry award recipients to pass their awards down to their children as an heirloom.
The Price Tag
With so many design possibilities, custom jewelry can fit a wide range of budgets. Jewelry award programs also eliminate the headache of trying to come up with a new item every year. Jewelry upgrades are easy to work into a specific design and give employees the opportunity to physically see their success grow. Some of our clients have opted for an add-a-diamond program in which diamonds are added to their award ring every time they meet a milestone. While the price for a new ring can be on the higher side, the price to add each diamond over time makes it very manageable.
Whether you're rewarding your employees, volunteers, athletes, or donors, custom jewelry can be a great solution to a company’s recognition needs. As custom jewelry experts for the past 54 years, we’ve seen the positive emotional impact a custom award can have. If you’d like to learn more about custom jewelry awards, please feel free to call, email, or chat with us right on our website!
By Aubrey Dion
Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.
