Why is it that since the Academy Awards began, everyone involved in the business has secretly hoped to hear those three life changing words…and the Oscar goes to?
Is it fame and fortune? Maybe for some, but I think the reason why so many young actors and actresses dream of making their acceptance speech to the Academy is not this shallow. What all young actors and actresses truly dream of is being recognized by their peers for their talent, hard work, and accomplishments.
The true power of the Oscars is not the red carpet, designer fashion, or A-lists celebrities. No, the true power is how this golden statue motivates thousands of people to give their best efforts, take risks, and push new boundaries. It also motivates the future Oscar hopefuls to raise the bar each and every year.
As I watched the Oscars last night and saw The Hurt Locker take home 6 Academy Awards and beat out the box-office juggernaught Avatar, I kept thinking why doesn’t every organization have its own yearly awards ceremony and hand out their very own Oscars?
While many organizations have reward and recognition programs – very few have made these awards as special as the Oscars. Organizations hoping to make their reward programs more like the Oscars should follow these three guidelines.
- High standards - everyone who hopes for an Oscar knows that you only win the award if you are the best of the best, being average just won’t cut it.
- Peer driven – just like the members of the Academy vote for their Oscar winners, it is important to ensure that the final decision on who wins your organization’s awards is in the hands of the employees, not some unknown committee or a select few leaders.
- Make it a big deal & make it fun – another secret to the Oscars success is that they make it a true celebration for not only the winners, but all of the industry. This motivates and rewards everyone, not just the deserving few that take home the gold.
So, here are a few ideas on what your organization’s Oscar awards might look like…
- Best picture = Most successful initiative of the year in terms of impact on the business/customers
- Best Actor/Actress = The senior/executive leader who best embodies the companies values while delivering exceptional results
- Best Supporting Actor/Actress =The mid-level leader who was responsible for a significant project/business outcome
- Best Independent Film = The little unknown and underfunded project that made the biggest impact
I would like to know your thoughts on this topic. Does your organization have an Oscars awards? If not, do you think it would make an impact? If you do have an Oscar style program – tell me about it!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
One of the things I walked away from last night’s show was the idea of risk and reward. Many of the winners talked about taking chances and how that had turned into success for them. People are able to make their personal and professional dreams come true. They just need to accept responsiblity for them.
I believe recognition is wonderful. Whether it comes in the form of a large scale “oscar” awards ceremony, or just a smart manager who knows how his/her employees like to be recognized and awarded.
Smaller companies could put together an annual event and look to highlight 5-6 areas like you outlines, while larger companies could do it by business unit or individual function.
While I love the idea, I don’t think the gift, award, or whatever is handed out should be all that expensive. I wouldn’t like to see it be a trip or loads of $$$. The reason is that not everyone can win, and we need to remember that it is surely not the Oscars. With only a few of the top performers being recognized, other excellent performers will surely not be recognized. You don’t want to chance losing these folks.
One company I know of that has tons of fun during their award ceremony is Dunder Mifflin in Scranton… Obviously, I’m talking about The Office. Check out Pam winning her Dundy Award:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKSqWR8qBb0
Timely and on point. I’ve actually heard people wanting to give up on recognition at work because it is so hard to get right. But it is worth the effort and struggle. And to Rich’s point – it’s so important that a manager knows how his/her employees like to be recognized and awarded. I’ve been on the giving and receiving side of awards-gone-wrong and it isn’t pretty
Hi JP,
Great post on the power of peer-driven recognition. We’ve been using this formula for over ten years at our company but instead of the Oscar’s we patterned it after The People’s Choice Awards. Each year our entire company nominates peers as best behavioral examples in 10 different categories. Winners are announced at our annual all-hands meeting. It’s been a very popular event.
We have formal awards twice a year at Baudville. One award is determined by the managers and the other is peer nominated. We make a big deal about our awards, and the award value is the same for both.
Time after time I’ve found that the most effective award presentation is the one that is personally tailored for the recipient. But managers have a hard time understanding what that means. We’ve put together a brief presentation about creating great award presentations that we’ll air in a couple of weeks. Check out the Recognition TV website for more details!
Thanks everyone for the great insights on the do’s and don’ts of recognition! I especially like the idea of the People’s Choice awards since peer recognition can be so powerful. In addition, I think that placing responsibility on the manager for knowing how their team likes to be recognized and providing some support like Cori mentioned are fantastic ideas! HR should not own recognition for an organization – they should lay the foundation and support it, but ownership should rest with employees, managers and senior leaders.
JP,
Great post! I do particularly like the peer-driven aspect – that’s crucial and an important insight. My only concern is that sometimes the voting software can be “gamed” and/or one might find that somewhat-natural human potential for backchannel campaigning for votes (see the SXSW process). so I’d say do it in a manner that prevents such activities. Perhaps a quick timeline? Surprise them and force voting immediately? There must be a solution.
I like your focus on positive recognition in such a creative and culturally relatable manner–globally. The Oscars are known around the globe and that does matter.
btw-remember that even the Academy hires an outside firm to do the auditing. Perhaps you follow suit and outsource the actual voting process completely off-site.