# Employee banquet award ideas. Help



## NW Snow Removal (Oct 12, 2007)

This is a the first employee banquet we are hosting. We have a no damage bonus, a zero complaints only compliments bonus, and a perfect never late No breakdown bonus. For drivers and crew members this will earn them a bonus or prize. We are considering a cash bonus for these honors, but is that the best? We want to have a raffle for 200$ gas cards as lower prizes but we are having a hard time coming up with anything better than cash as the top prize. We want to keep it under a grand. Would you just want cash? How about a gift basket full of top shelf liquor?


----------



## SSS Inc. (Oct 18, 2010)

Give them gold. It will be worth more in the end. But seriously, although you may think that there is little thought on your part giving cash I think its the most appreciated. After all, some of these guys simply need the money I would imagine.


----------



## NW Snow Removal (Oct 12, 2007)

Exactly right about the cash. What about top prize? Cash is king I guess.


----------



## Mick76 (Aug 2, 2009)

NW Snow Removal;1260309 said:


> Exactly right about the cash. What about top prize? Cash is king I guess.


Cash and maybe a gift cert to a nice rest for the other half...after all the women have to put up with our crazy hours as well as the men driving


----------



## Rc2505 (Feb 5, 2007)

I skip the banquest part, and just hand out cash on a Saturday night after the season is over. I have everyone come to my bar, where drinks are on the house, and hand out cash.


----------



## NW Snow Removal (Oct 12, 2007)

Rc2505;1260455 said:


> I skip the banquest part, and just hand out cash on a Saturday night after the season is over. I have everyone come to my bar, where drinks are on the house, and hand out cash.


we're getting the party deck at a chciago fire soccer game. food and drinks on us! Should be fun. We want to have a raffle with about 5 give-aways with 1 being the grand prize. We are thinking of giving everyone a raffle ticket, then maybe sell additional tickets for 20dollars and add the pot to the grand prize. what do you think?


----------



## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

NW Snow Removal;1260493 said:


> we're getting the party deck at a chciago fire soccer game. food and drinks on us! Should be fun. We want to have a raffle with about 5 give-aways with 1 being the grand prize. We are thinking of giving everyone a raffle ticket, then maybe sell additional tickets for 20dollars and add the pot to the grand prize. what do you think?


If I was an employee, and I and fellow employees had to fund a bonus for the top 5 employees (selling raffle tickets to all the employees is having them funding the bonuses) I would make me feel being you can't afford to give awards, bonuses, and food and drinks at the "party deck", then take the "party deck" and plow it where the sun doesn't shine.

Money talks, all the rest walks. If the business had a great year because we worked hard then just give us a bonus. I don't need an employer to give me a party, just pay me better.


----------



## rcn971 (Jan 28, 2011)

He was talking about a raffle of about $1000 to start off and then giving the option to buy tickets to add to that pot. Seems pretty generous to me.


----------



## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

rcn971;1260541 said:


> He was talking about a raffle of about $1000 to start off and then giving the option to buy tickets to add to that pot. Seems pretty generous to me.


Asking the employees to make the pot bigger is in poor taste. Again having employees fund the awards is not generous but cheap.

Putting lipstick on a pig and what do you have?

A pig.


----------



## NW Snow Removal (Oct 12, 2007)

good points. glad to hear different aspects. we pay good, on time, have good routes, are giving bonuses to those that met the criteria for commendation, and are giving away door prizes in the form of a free raffle with lower tier prizes and one grand prize. the additional ticket idea was for those that wanted extra tickets to try to increase their odds of winning a prize and we add this money to the grand prize. If this a bad idea to sell extra raffle tickets, then we may scrap that idea and just give everyone the same shot to win. If there was a way to give out extra tickets how we offer the extra raffle tickets without charging them for it and then maybe creating a separate prize? I loved parties in high school where everyone wrote their name on a 10$ bill put it in a bucket and whomever's name was pulled won it all. I actually won one time and it was 340 dollars. I guess Im more of a gambler.


----------



## Rc2505 (Feb 5, 2007)

So instead of charging extra, for additional tickets, give additional tickets to the guys that made the season without being late, or having complaints, or wrecking equipment. If the grand prize pot is large enough, then next year guys might be a little more carefull in order to increase chances. I know things get expensive quickly, but all the guys should get something, and reward the good ones, by giving more.


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

Rc2505;1260722 said:


> So instead of charging extra, for additional tickets, give additional tickets to the guys that made the season without being late, or having complaints, or wrecking equipment. If the grand prize pot is large enough, then next year guys might be a little more carefull in order to increase chances. I know things get expensive quickly, but all the guys should get something, and reward the good ones, by giving more.


The only problem with that, is your worst guy could still win. Keep the rewards separate acknowledging and rewarding those that do the best work. Your raffle idea is great, just make sure it does not come close to what your top prizes are. Remember you are already covering food and drinks that a good reason to attend.


----------



## NW Snow Removal (Oct 12, 2007)

yea. the guys that get the awards automatically get a bonus so they are already top dogs. The raffle and top prize were just for fun as extras. We may just go with a raffle with 5 prizes all the same few hundred dollar Gas Cards, with everyone having an equal shot to win. We have 53 guys eligible for a ticket so 10% WINNING ratio sounds good.


----------



## Bossman 92 (Sep 27, 2006)

Not to screw with your thread or anything, but you have 53 guys eligible to win, how many guys do you have working for you, and are they full time or just when it snows? How much trouble is it managing all the guys? Just courious, as I've got 7 guys that drive for me and that itself is crazy sometimes, although only one is full time, the rest all have other jobs.

Again sorry to go off topic, just interested how you big guys roll!

Bossman


----------



## shott8283 (Feb 17, 2008)

not reading through the rest of the posts but being an employee once involved with a structure like your talking about (not snow removal , different industry but comparable) 

i think the bonus idea is great, nothing is better then extra cabbage in the pocket. and then something small but personal they can take home or be presented with at the banquet will be nice. 

something usefull or something they can keep and be proud of. im sure some ideas would be nice lol


----------



## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

Cash is always great but a large common grocery store gift card is always appriciated also. I would give a combo of cash and something else for awards and then some gift cards for the raffle. Raffles are always fun and being one of the guys that maybe messed up and didnt get a bonus if he wins the raffle may look back on it and decide to change his ways and better himself next year. Its best if everyone gets something maybe a sweatshirt a blanket just something. People love to get things doesnt matter if it ends up in the garbage later getting something from an employer always makes people feel good. 

The fire dept I am apart of has a year end awards and banqut every year. We have the common awards but what makes it fun is there are 5 special awards, funny things. This year there is an award for the cheif. I forget what its called but he hit a curb with his truck and cracked the rim. We got the rim from the auto shop and made it into a trophy that everyone signed. Last year we purchased a hovercraft, it has been nothing but issues and the dealer is a jacka$$ so for the main guy who has to deal with him for all the broken parts on a plack that was called the Reggie award (Reggie was the dealers name). 

Obviously dont reawrd things that were a negative but if you can find a mishap or funny situation that happened that didnt really hurt anything they make great one off awards.


----------

