Employee of the month

We have a "shining star" award , I think it's quarterly. You get to park in a certain spot, and $250....

I feel that programs like this are bad for morale. The employee who is excellent, but not recognized, gets bitter when they are passed over. Others who don't like the recipient are resentful. It usually goes to the a**kissers who may or may not be worthy. The only way it works is if every employee who legitimately deserves it gets it. The other problem is what happens when the time for awards come and all the good people have already been recognized? Someone is nominated just to fill the slot. This demeans the awards and makes it worthless.

we have a "Nursing star award" not sure how often it goes up because 1. i've never been on it and 2. i don't really care enough to pay attention to it :)

I don't know if they get gifts, its the same people ALL the time so i'm not sure.

I don't like it because the same people keep geting picked over and over. And i'm not a bad nurse or employee. it just makes me upset that i try and try to get recognized but i don't. To me, it makes people want to try less, here is my reasoning:

When you are an excellent nurse, people EXPECT that of you. So therefore when you do something good, you don't get prasied. But if your an "ok" nurse and you do something good, people will praise you because it wasn't expected of you. Like if you do something you don't normally do, like ask someone if they need help you will get recognized because its not something you do all the time. So people will be like GOOOD JOB! IM SO PROUD OF YOU! but if your the person that asks someone if they need help ALL the time, they expect that of you, so you're not really going beyond what you normally do.

^That is my reasoning to make me feel better about never getting a nursing award and i'm sticking to it

I prefer programs that reward individuals for accomplishments. Our hospital has a comment card project where patients and employees can fill out thank you type cards for each other. These are then used during reviews and in portfolios to show positive outcomes. I carry a copy of each one I Have received over the years in my binder, and read them frequently to remind myself that what I do is important.

My place of employment has "employee of the month". We have a "kudo" jar and anyone (staff, docs, pts) can write anything about an employee. At the end of the month, the employee w/ the most "kudos" wins. The winner gets their name on the plaque in the office and $100 gift card.

Nothing has meant more to me than when a patient says thank you, OR (in the case of one really special young man) came back to the floor to see me after he got up and moving.... he'd been in an MVA where his friend was decapitated next to him. I saw the photos of the accident- it's amazing they both weren't crushed flat.

This kid (late teens) had injuries bad enough to end his dreams of being a firefighter. Other nurses squawked about how he was irritable (like, having your friends' head snapped off isn't a good enough reason to be a bit moody???), so I volunteered to take him. Halo, huge open leg wound, and other less serious abrasions. He was a good kid. (not that anybody 'deserves' that). Anyway, he was there for several weeks. He'd been gone for a couple of months when I hear someone call my name from behind me. It was him. He was doing very well, and just came to say hello. Nothing from administration could have topped that :)

I still think about him. On days when I think (because of being on disability) that I'm useless now, I think back to the patients who I really enjoyed taking care of- they weren't the easiest, or even always cheerful (but being sick/injured isn't a big bucket of giggles)... but I did something for them that they couldn't do for themselves- and that was reward enough. I don't always remember their names- but I remember them.

Our managers don't do a whole lot of recognition during the year, but they go all out for Nurses' Week. They do a catered lunch, hand delivered treats to our desk every afternoon, thank you cards, and little gifts on our desks every morning. They bring special desserts for lunch every day, and we also get an email card a couple of times through the week. Usually they'll block off one morning during the week and have a big "coffee bash" for all of us. The mangers bake cookies, loaves, scones, all sorts of stuff. They bring in special coffees and teas and bring fruits platters as well. They might not be the most vocal about appreciating us, but during Nurses' Week they try to ensure we all know that we do a hard joba dn we take good care of our pts. Oh yeah, we have daily "door prize" draws as well.

Hello,

At my place of employment we do have an employee of the month. The person is chosen by other employees. This is not only for nursing staff but housekeeping, kitchen, etc..That person gets a $200 bonus and a special parking spot up front. The nursing staff also gets a $75 bonus for picking up extra shifts and perfect attendance. My boss usually chooses two people from each bag a month! I like the idea:)

Our hospital hosts "star cards" where any employee can recognize another employee for doing something good or helping. These are usually accompanied by a free meal pass or a small $5 gift card to Barnes and Nobles or Olive Garden or something.

My floor has employee of the month and you get your picture on the wall, thats it. Its surprisingly not competitive and based off of employee votes. But no one votes so everyone rotates through. Lol.

I think our hospital has a couple levels of recognition, but to tell you the truth I've never really paid any attention to them. I once got the lowest level and was apparently invited to some gathering to recognize people, but didn't open my e-mail so didn't know about it till a month after the fact. There's also some level where the employee's pictures are posted on the walls of the cafeteria. Don't know what that's all about but it would be a huge disincentive for me.

The one thing that I did appreciate was one time a VIP I cared for wrote nice things about me to my UD right before my review. That was helpful.

I agree with nurse2033's post. Most of the time these are just "brown-noser" awards, given to staff that do not make waves and lay themselves down on the floor so management can run all over them. One place I worked had a "kudos" board, and people were so contemptuous of it after it got used a few times by management, that they started to post fake kudos for the irony of it.

Reading the post has been very helpful to me. I am working on building morale in my unit. We have come a long way and there is a lot of positivity in the unit; however, I have a lot of new staff and I want to help keep them motivated.

One of the ideas that I came up with after reading the comments is to develop a Employee of the Month highlight award. This would allow us to recofnize everyone and highlight what makes them an essential piece of the puzzle that makes up our team. The criteria would include a form that would need to be filled out that includes the following:

Tell us a little about yourself

Provide pictures

What are your career goals?

Name one thing on your bucket list?

what's your favorite color?

What are your hobbies?

Quote that you live by?

I am interested in knowing what you guys think? Thank you Nadine