CrystalPlus.com- Personalized Awards & Gifts

When you run a business, you will often need to offer employee service awards from time to time. This is one of the most effective ways of showing your members of staff that you truly do appreciate the service they offer to the company. This will then increase their morale to work harder, which will in turn benefit the company in the long run. One of the considerations you might need to make when in this position is how to ensure that giving out such awards is not only timely, but also makes sense in the eyes of the employees. One of the most critical aspects of doing this is by letting them play a role in determining how the awards are going to be given. There are a number of ways of doing this including:

Letting them decide who will win some awards

When you give the employee service awards on a regular basis, it’s normal for the employer to first find out who deserves such an award depending on the criteria that they set. The most common of these include metrics such as how much sales they have made during a certain period of the year. However, you could decide to give more than one award, and let the staff members decide who will get it. This can be done by first coming up with an award designation that the employees can get to vote on. This is usually a more or less subjective kind of category, such as the most jovial member of staff.

One of the benefits of letting the employees play a role in determining who will win what at any one time is that it gives them a sense of ownership of the awards. This in turn means that they are likely to end up looking forward to it, rather than thinking that it’s just one of the ways in which you want to control them. In many cases, it also gives the whole ceremony a sense of fun, such that they will want to take part in it actively rather than just because you asked them to.

Letting them decide where the awards can be held

One of the ways of spicing things up is by changing where you hold the awards rather than letting them be in the same place over and over again. For instance, if you normally give out staff awards during end year staff ceremonies, you could opt to ensure that you do it in a new venue every year. There are plenty of team building and conference facilities in the country, so this should not be very difficult for you to do.

Once you have selected a number of facilities that you can afford, you can then ask the staff members to then vote on which one they want to go to for the awards. This has the effect of making it a lot more fun for them, since it means that they can get to experience new locations as well. The only issue you need to keep in mind when doing this is to limit the number of choices they can make, such as by making a preapproved list and then having them vote one facility out of the list. This way, you will not be forced to rent a facility that you can ill afford.

Having them do part of the planning

One other way of involving the staff in the awarding ceremonies is by letting them be part of the planning. Issues such as what type of food will be served during the event and what activities will take place can be determined by the staff members. You can facilitate this by asking them to form committees that will handle the different aspects of the award ceremonies. This has the effect of not only making them be part of the planning process, but also reducing how much work you will need to do in planning. It also ensures that you end up with an event that the staff members will actually like since it will be in a format that they are familiar with. In the end, this will result in a better outcome for all involved.

As you can see, there are many things you can do to involve the staff members in your firm when you are planning an award ceremony. There are many other things you can do, and you only need to be creative in order to come up with more ideas. The most important thing to remember is that doing this is very important, since it reduces the risk of having the employees feel like you are lording over them. This will also go a long way in making the event feel like a lot more fun for all the employees involved.

In any school setting, there are many times when you will need to run some sort of award ceremony. This could be to appreciate some of the students in terms of what they have achieved in and out of class. Planning such an event normally needs a high degree of commitment particularly if you are interested in making it more meaningful in the lives of the children in the school. Doing this will not only seem more appreciative of the efforts of those getting the awards, but it will also ensure that the rest of the student population also has interest in winning the awards in future.

To this end, there are a number of factors that will make the event stand out more, and you should consider using some of these during the planning. Some of the most important of these include:

Get high quality awards

When you are planning such an event, you should aim to ensure that the gifts you give will make a huge difference in the lives of the people you are giving them to. One trick to get this right is to imagine being in the shoes of the person who will receive the awards, and then trying to figure out what type of gift will actually make you proud. Some of the things you can do to facilitate this include:

• Don’t settle for cliché: Awards such as bronze trophies are present everywhere. If you really want the ceremony to stand out, try to get an award that has a unique design. Always try to get away from common designs.

• Try to have them customized: The presence of the recipient’s name on the award will make it even more special to them. If you can, try to get awards that are engraved. The only problem with this is that you need to know the list of people who have won the awards beforehand, which might not be possible for events such as sports days. In such settings, you could delay the awarding ceremony by a few hours to buy you time to instruct the manufacturer to engrave them.

• Get the awards made out of a unique material: Try to go for more modern awards, such as those that are made of glass or crystal. Companies that make crystal corporate gifts are very good at this sort of thing.

• Try to be varied: When choosing awards, don’t get the same awards for a large number of people. You can vary the design and size of the award for each individual. This makes it more personal and unique.

Hype it up

If you are planning such a ceremony and want it to be more meaningful to the student population, you also need to consider the benefit of hyping it up. Simply announcing that there is going to be an award ceremony in a few days’ time is not enough. You should consider starting the announcements way before the actual award ceremony day, so as to increase the anticipation that students have for the event.

Student involvement is key

In all award ceremonies, it’s important that the student bodies be part of the planning committee. You can do this by simply asking them to nominate a few people who can pitch ideas during the planning stages. It might not seem ideal, but you should remember that such a day is all about the student. For this reason, they should have some degree of control over how it goes.

Besides, you will tend to realize that more often than not, the students will actually come up with excellent ideas. This may even be all it takes to make the event more meaningful to all involved.

Use social media to your advantage

You should also consider using social media for the benefit of the event as well. You can use it as a forum to hype up the event, as well as one to get some planning ideas from. For instance, if you are having a hard time coming up with a theme for the event, you could use this opportunity to start an online competition, where the students with the most impressive themes end up getting an award during that day.

Make it fun

Having to sit through such gatherings is usually very difficult for many adults, so you can imagine what it would do to kids as well. If you are planning an award ceremony and want it to make a difference, you might need to depart from the regular format used in schools, and instead opt for a more fun approach. Some of the benefits of doing this include greater student participation. You will also have more fun planning the event in a very different way from before.

In summary, there are many things you can do to make such an even stand out more. Try out all the above, and you will be surprised at just how successful the day will be.

For those of you who have participated in an employee recognition program, you already know how important it is to the employees themselves, the team, and the company as a whole. Not only does employee recognition boost the workplace performance, it also boosts morale among the employees, reduces turnover rates, creates positive attitude among the staff, improves productivity, creates the best working atmosphere and improves overall safety among significant other benefits.

If you want to gain all the above advantages with your recognition program, there are some common mistakes that you need to avoid at all costs. They include:

Inconsistency

You should note that employee recognition programs can only be effective and successful if you follow through them. But some people reward their employees for the first 6 months of the employee recognition program and soon, they begin to slack off. This is wrong and detrimental to your company.

You want to commit yourself fully to the recognition programs so that the employees are properly rewarded for that good thing they bring to your company. Your employees don’t need much from you, if not seeing a pattern of gifts and awards given to help them shine for the next recognition event. Don’t place the program on the back of your burner; employee recognition program is always advantageous to companies that are actually participating in them.

Not defining prerequisites

When you are planning to launch employee recognition programs in your company, you should make sure that you clearly display the prerequisites that are necessary for achieving those rewards. Most companies use their best judgment approach to determine suitability for employee recognition rewards. You should know that this can cause anger and resentment among some employees. The solution is to clearly define what workers must do in order to achieve an employee recognition reward.

No clear objectives and goals

You want to define your objectives and goals before launching any employee recognition program. What is this you are hoping to accomplish anyway? It could be that you want to create a better attitude in the company by showing your staffs that all of their hard work is being noticed or simply encourage employees to be more proactive by using the performance incentive model. Whatever you want to achieve, it is always important to set clear objectives and goals when designing your employ recognition plan. And there is nothing wrong if you want to engage professionals; they will come in handy in this one.

Recognizing the same employee

This is another common and big mistake. You don’t want to continue recognizing the same employees every time. In fact, it is wrong to name the same staff ’employee of the month’ several times. You want to spread the love across the board, so that every other employee has their own opportunity. Be careful because recognizing the same employee every other time can create some sense of discontent among other employees at the work place. Of course there are performers in the work place who you cannot afford to lose, but you want to check if the weaker staffs have improved in their performance too. Reward them for that even if they are not the best performers currently. This way, you will encourage team work and also improve on productivity.

Generic recognition

This happens when you send out bulk messages, gifts or announcements so as to recognize all of your employees without even taking some time to personalize the rewards. You should note that, although generic ‘thank you’ cards are easier to make and consume less time creating tens of the same recognition rewards, they do not carry much weight nowadays. And they won’t have much positive effect on your employees. Chances are high the recipients will toss the gifts in the trash where they cannot be heard of or seen again.

There is a better approach; that of personalizing your gifts or rewards. You want to custom tailor the employee recognition program so that your employees are individually recognized. There is nothing wrong with writing out those ‘thank you’ cards or letters, but it is prudent to make sure that they contain unique information about the individual. Alternatively, you can reward your employee with a personalized plaque or trophy with the employee’s name engraved on it. It is simple; the recognition reward needs to be tailored towards your recipient.

Rewarding wrong recipients

You need to carefully choose your recipients for the recognition program. You don’t want to reward a person who slacks off for a number of hours a day only to annoy the other employees. Make sure that you handout employee recognition rewards to only the people who rightfully deserve them.

Are you wondering what kinds of corporate gifts and other awards you should give your employees? Contact us at Crystal Plus. We stock all kinds of employee recognition awards and gifts you can think of, and we can even personalize the award for you!

Whether you are a professional or an organization responsible for facilitating a team building process, there are some tips that you need to get so as to make the process an effective one and even see results. Below are important tips to give you new ideas on the best way to accelerate team building initiatives:

Create common vision

It is imperative to create a common vision in order for all the team members to see to it that they contribute to the success of the organization. So, spend some time visioning as one team basing on what you are about to create and where you want to go. And this is also the time for you to celebrate your previous or current success. Also, make sure that you develop common goals and ensure that they are supported and understood by all the team members.

Clarify roles and responsibilities

Lack of clarity on individual responsibilities and roles is the main reason why organizations don’t get where they really want to be. It is prudent to clarify these responsibilities in order to help in achieving or supporting your common goals and visions. And ask yourself if staffs understand their specific roles.

Ensure management support

Managers and supervisors play a major role in keeping the learning alive, so ensure that they are following up with members of your team regarding what their needs are as well as how best the team building efforts can be enhanced. Also, managers need to ensure that what has been learnt from the team building initiatives is brought to the office.

Use engaging exercises and reward for best results

Team building can be both fun and challenging as you try to support teams to reach their highest potential. You want to ensure that all the team members are engaged and challenged through the process. One of the best things to do is to think of challenging games and activities and people have to learn from them. And you can choose to reward a team that gives the best results.

For instance, you may want to give trophies as the best reward because you can have them engraved with the company logo and name and also have a label showing what the gift is for. You can also bring in an external facilitator to help you in your efforts. Experienced facilitators can even run a ‘train the trainer’ program with members of the team.

Take it out of the office

You want to take it out of the normal workplace because you don’t want anyone to be distracted. Hold the team building sessions elsewhere in order to reduce everyday distractions. You can look for the best environment where your staff can benefit from, such as nature and outdoors or a more formal corporate team building setting. And choosing the right venue is another important thing. You want a place where everyone will attend and there is all the facilities needed for the event.

Create an action plan

It is proper to create an action plan so as to make the team building a part of your daily work or life. You should note that some team building programs and retreat days have very few links with the organizational objectives. So, ensure that when designing the team building program, you create links to everyday life or to the organization, so that participants can bring what they will learn home. You can do this by building into the program a formal planning time and have supervisors and managers follow up during regular staff meetings. And after the team building event, ensure that you leverage coaching so as to keep the learning alive.

Keep it regular

If you hold team building programs once every year, then you are doing a great job in boosting the morale on the short term. But what if you do it more often? You cannot imagine the results! You can use the same facilitator every time you are holding a team building session because this adds traction to the event. Understanding and trust of the team is always higher every other time you hold such a program; by using the same facilitator.

Have fun

A team building initiative should be full of fun and should be engaging for all staff members. However, they should be meaningful and relevant for the team. You may want to design with the facilitator on what topics or structures will give the team the most leverage. A reputable facilitator should be able to come up with topics, games or structures that will benefit your staff and eventually your organization.

All these are important things to consider if you are looking to hold a team building program. If you want to incorporate gifts or rewards for performers in such programs, don’t hesitate to contact us at Crystal Plus. We supply different kinds of corporate awards and gifts, and we ensure that there is something for everyone!

It is imperative to encourage students to behave in a positive manner and one of the ways is to recognize the changes by rewarding them. And both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards can work wonders even when it comes to motivating them for good performance. Material rewards are an easy way to cut corners and still remain perfect educators. Below are some of the ways you can give your students thumbs up when they do things right:

Lunch bunch

You can recognize a well behaved group of students by inviting them to lunch bunch with their teacher. They can bring their own lunches to eat it together with you in the classroom. You can even ask them to bring their favorite CDs so you can listen together during lunch. Also, let them play games once they are done with the food. And you too will enjoy this time because it is a unique one.

Longer recess

The best thing about this one is that it does not have to take in extra time from you. You can reward a student by letting them play outside until a later bell. For instance, after the third graders come back in, the fourth graders should get to play for a bout ten more minutes. So, you can reward your students by allowing them to stay out until say, the fourth grade bell. But make sure that you double check with the yard supervisor before doing this. You also don’t want to use this kind of reward all the time.

Special seats

You can reward the most improved or the well behaved kid by allowing them to work at the teacher’s desk for the whole day. Alternatively, you can set up a special seat and let the improved students have a chance to sit there. This is quite a thrill for the children and it is zero hassle for you.

Whole group rewards

Another rewarding option would be to let your students earn some points towards a whole class reward. This option is great especially for those students who need attention as they are going to earn positive attention from the entire class for their improvement in behavior. The student can earn a few marbles for the marble jar or a table point for their table group. The good thing about this kind of reward is that it makes difficult students to feel like they are a real part of the group and so, they will be able to perform well.

Afternoon music and art

Music and art are worthy academic subjects. However, it is a bit tricky to fit enough of them into the normal school day. You can motivate your student with this simple reward. The students should listen to music as they work the art project. You will love it and so will kids.

Hand stamp

Hand stamp is another great option for rewarding a well behaved student. Use simple ink stamps to let your students know that they are okay. You can stamp a sign of approval on the back of your student’s hand. However, you should note some parents may not appreciate ink on their children’s hand, so it is imperative to first clear with the parents if you are to use hand stamp.

Read in party

You may want to stay away from the popcorn parties and ask the kids to wear pajamas to school on that material day. Tell them to come with a pillow and their favorite stuffed animal. This should be the day for kids to celebrate the joys of reading. The students should get to lounge around the classroom reading, savoring the joy books and relaxing. And it is even better if you add other literary activities that send a clear message to the kids: Reading is fun!

The wall of fame

Another great way to recognize your students is to have a wall of fame that is located near the administration block. The board should be updated with student-of-the-week honorees in order to create a positive atmosphere in the school and the office area.

The use of trophies

Trophies have long been used as a way to recognize achievement and performance. These ones can be a great reward for the most improved or the well behaved students. You can choose a special day, and invite parents and other stakeholders to this big day where the chosen students will be given trophies for their good behavior and work. And trophies can be customized according to your preference, so it is not a problem getting something that fits in your budget. Just look for the best supplier and you will get value for your money.

At Crystal Plus, we have a wide range of gift items that you can take advantage of for rewarding the deserving students. You can choose to go for personalized crystal awards in order to add value to the gift. Contact us today; we will be pleased to work with you!

It is your duty to motivate your employees, but what can you do for those staff members who are struggling? You should note that some managers think that everyone is an adult, so if their employees are not keeping up, eventually, they must fire them. You don’t want this problem to get there, so put the right effort in order to get your weaker employees up to par. Below are important tips on how to motivate your underperforming employees.

Address it head-on

If you find that an employee is fairing poorly, do not wait to talk to them. Unfortunately, most performance issues are not dealt with directly and this can be detrimental. Because underperformance is similar to an infection, you need to treat it so as to help it heal. Failure to do so, it will only spread and you will become irritated or worse still, affect your production.

Find the root cause

You need to find the root cause of your employee’s underperformance. In fact, if the employee is not the best fit for the job, or simply lacks the necessary skills, that is on you. You can fix the underperformance with training and also know how you and your employee are jointly responsible. And because you could be the one who has contributed to the negative situation, the two of you need to make changes. Just figure out what is the root cause of the problem.

Be objective

Never approach the matter with bias. If the underperformance is angering you, you need to tap your managers so as to contribute to the review of the employee’s work. You need to find any facts that will help you prove that there is either a systemic issue, communication problem or a need for proper training.

Start a conversation

Once you are done with collecting unbiased information, it is now time to talk with the weaker employee. Make sure you tell them what you have observed and how this can affect your team and the company. It is even imperative to stress that you are always available to help. Ask for ideas on how they can improve and give them a day or two to think on it and also come up with a reasonable plan.

Coach them

You should note that there is nothing you can do if an employee is not interested in the coaching. You need to make a decision right away on whether to live with the problem and also at what cost. If an employee is ready and willing to learn or change, then it is time for a plan. Get specific goals and improvements down on paper and make sure to include details on how to achieve them. You can even agree on some measurable actions and start tracking the employee’s progress. Be realistic with the goals and also make sure that you give it ample time because people need some time to change or learn new skills.

Monitor the progress

It is prudent to follow up with your employee. You will have done zero work if you don’t monitor the person’s progress. Because you are free to talk to them, you can ask them if there is someone superior they can trust who apart from tracking the employee’s work, they can also report to you confidently.

Take action if need be

After all this, if you find that there is no improvement, then it is time to change your demeanor. If for instance the employee has started taking advantage of your coaching, mentoring or kindness, then you cannot stand for it. You may want to leave the coaching and get straight into the consequences speech. Because the employee’s behavior hasn’t changed, you may want to explain to them the consequences. However, do not allow your ego into this. And if there is any disciplinary action in mind, take it very seriously. Sometimes, you may want to fire but before you do so, check how this will affect you, the team, the firm and that person.

Reward them for changes

This is a good gesture. If the person in question turns his or her performance around, it is always prudent to reward them. You don’t want to make them feel as if an ax is ready to get into contact with their neck. And there are many ways you can motivate them. For instance, you can give them a ticket to the favorite game or reward them with time off. You can also do their work for them because employees like it when their bosses do their job. Another option would be to reward them with a trophy labeled ‘the most improved employee’.

At Crystal Plus, we supply a wide range of crystal corporate gifts and other crystal awards. We can customize the gifts to fit to your desires. If you want to give any employee service awards, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are ready to provide you with the perfect gift for your needs.

If you are having a large family or friend base, it means that you have to be ready to give lots of gifts. If it is not a wedding, then it might be for a birthday, an engagement, a baby shower and so on. They are people who are famous for giving great gifts that their friends and relatives have a special name for them. You want to be the friend famed for giving cool gifts. Getting this title is no easy task and you have to be ready to put in a lot of thought and effort to get it. Here are a few tips you can use to make your way to being the thoughtful cool gift giver.

Keep it simple

When it comes to gift giving, you do not have to go overboard with it. The idea here is to keep it simple. You do not have to go to the end of the earth to find the perfect gift. Search in the stores that are accessible to you as well as online. The idea here is to identify the gift as the first step and proceed from there. Many people fall in the trap of focusing their search looking for something impressive that they end up overdoing it. Go for something familiar and simple that will add value to the person receiving the gift and at the same time be memorable enough for the person to want to keep it around.

Plan ahead

The worst thing you can do is to wait for too close to the celebration to start looking for the gift. Have a schedule of the upcoming events and use it to plan when to acquire the gifts. That way, you will not be caught by surprise or order a gift that will not come in in time. The schedule will not be of help if you do not put it to good use.

During this era of digital reminders on mobile devices, you have no excuse of starting your gift purchase beforehand. At least, give yourself a month in advance if you have a busy schedule. You can even begin the search earlier to allow for delivery delays if you are buying online. Here again, identifying the ideal gift is the first step to getting the best one for your friend or relative. With the idea of gift in mind, you will be able to order it on time and if it is special order or customized such as a crystal product, it will arrive on time.

Be practical

A mistake most people make is to get a gift that is perfect on its own but it is not practical for the recipient. You can decide to give an outdoor grill to someone living in a small apartment with a tiny balcony. Although this one is a great gift, it may not work for the recipient. Let the gift be useful to the recipient and do not get something just because it was a good deal or it was the best you could get at the time. Match the gift to the recipient.

Think of the recipient first

Always put the recipient first when getting a gift. That is the whole idea behind identifying the gift. Just because the painting will look great on your mantle, it will work the same way on the recipient’s wall. This is the whole point of thoughtfulness when giving gifts. Always be alert to what your friend or relative needs. Do you see them searching for their car keys all the time? Give them a solution for this by acquiring a key holder they can place in a convenient place.

Reinvent old gift ideas

The trend is to go for outside the box gifts that no one else will think of. While this is commendable, it may lead to complications as you may end up with an impractical gift. Apply the concept of outside the box to the already conventional items. Instead of getting a set of water glasses, get a set of crystal wine glasses or whisky glasses that will be more impressive. And instead of just getting a set of mugs, personalize them to the recipient and it will see more appreciation.

When you get online, you can find a wide variety of gift ideas that you can use to impress your friends and be the cool gift giver. At Crystal Plus, you can get a unique gift idea that will help you to impress your friends and relatives. We offer personalized crystal awards that will definitely suit any occasion. This should be your first stop when buying a gift for a loved one. And on our website, you can order free artwork and engraving that ensures you do not have to break the bank to get a cool gift. Contact us today, and you can take advantage of our 48-hour express service!

There are many ways that you can get your company brand engraved into the minds of consumers such that they associate an event with your company. One such way is by sponsoring a sports event. Sports are a public affair that has many people following the outcome. You can tap into this readily available market by having your company associated with a sport or sport event.

A sports event is a sure way to provide the avenue to market your products and services widely. When you do this right, you can have your company brand in the minds of consumers and they will always link it to your particular products or services. When making this decision to be involved in a sport event, consider the following points:

Choice of sport event

The decision of sport event is important as it will primarily target people that fall within your target demographic. The choice should therefore link with your product or service to be successful for your marketing campaigns. If your target market is for children and youth, you can sponsor youth and children sports events that will help to open you up to this market. And you can make it a nationwide event so that you have a wider market base.

Also, you can sponsor events for the elderly if you are looking to target a more mature market. If you sell cars and their products, it makes more sense to go for an event that involves car lovers who may be a ready market for the products you sell. The idea here is to ensure that the people who attend the events fall within your target market.

Level of involvement

It is important to plan how involved you will be in the event. Is it already an existing one or are you looking to create a new event? If you are the sole sponsor, just be ready to be involved all the way and do all the planning for the event. You can also sponsor an existing event and leave the planning of the event to the organizers. This provides an easier option as you only play a supervisory role and you are not involved in the nitty-gritty of the planning.

From the onset, be clear of what your role will be to avoid confusion that will lead to disorganization. Some organizers just require the sponsor to hand over the check and they carry on with the rest. Be careful here to know exactly what will happen at the event you will be lending your name to. If it does not turn out well or marred by irregularities, it will reflect on your company and you will have additional task of clearing your name.

How you will make the most of the event to market your company

Take advantage of the event to market your company to the fullest. On the day of the event, have an area where people can get information on your products or services. Hand out pamphlets to the attendees that will not make their way to your designated area. Encourage people to sign up by giving free samples and other branded merchandise to those who make it to the designated area. The point is to have the name of your organization visible at all points. Use big banners, brand the players’ t-shirts and have your name mentioned at every turn. Prior to the event, have a marketing campaign that will draw people to the event.

Awards that you will give in your name

The award ceremony also presents a great opportunity to have your company name out there. You should have the certificates issued to the players branded with your logo in a major way. Trophies also make a great way to make a statement regarding your company. If it is a team event, acquire an impressive crystal trophy that the team will treasure. It will also motivate the teams to make an effort to win that shiny award. If it is a single player sports event or just to award the MVP of the event, you can get a beautiful pen set customized to reflect the sport. It is prudent to ensure the trophy has your company name engraved on it.

A sports event may just be the major campaign you need for marketing your brand. You will get to reach a wider market and easily get to your target demographic. It is also a way to get the public to remember your brand and associate it with community efforts. At Crystal Plus, you will get outstanding sports trophies and awards you can use for the sports event. We have a variety of shapes, sizes and different materials that will suit any sports event. Contact us today to make your purchase safely and have it delivered in time for your event.

When an employee is about to leave your organization on retiring, it is only fitting that you recognize the years that he or she has put in and give a fitting send off. While many organizations may not see it as an important event, a retirement party makes the retiree feel appreciated while at the same time encouraging others to work on with your organization until they also retire. Like with all other events, it is important to make proper plans so that it goes off without a hitch and everyone will have a good time. Here are a few aspects of the planning that you need to consider as you are preparing for the event:

Location of the event

Most organizations hold the event on their premises without the need for outside venues. If you have a conference room or a room large enough to fit everyone, you can confine the event to your premises. You can choose another venue also to hold the event especially if the retiree was a senior member of staff and you want to make a celebration out of it. Choose a location close to the office so that people can easily get there conveniently. If the location is not so easily accessible, you need to make transport arrangements.

Decorations

Spruce up your boardroom with decorations to give the event a party feel. You do not need to go overboard but a few streamers and other party decorations placed around the room can transform the feel of the room in an instant. You can also get a banner wishing the retiree a great retirement. If you are going for an outside venue, consider decorating the location as well to create the party atmosphere. Also, you can use company colors to tie the event to your organization. The good thing with decorations is that you can store them to use for another day, thus avoid customizing them much later on. For example, let the banner not carry the name of the retiree so that you can use it for the next retirement party.

Time

The time you hold the party is crucial so that everyone can attend. It will serve no purpose to have an event where there will be low attendance. Let the party be at the end of the work day. You can also hold in on a Friday to enhance the party mood. Everyone will be relaxed and will therefore enjoy the party more. A lunchtime sendoff or in between the day will be a rushed event as everyone will be thinking of getting back to their desks or a looming deadline. The event need not be a long one. You can have the formalities done in an hour at most, and release everyone to leave at their own pleasure.

Food, drinks and entertainment

A party is not a party without food, drinks and entertainment. If it is a low-key event, low music will serve just fine especially if you are holding the event in the office. If it is a major event, think of hiring a band or a DJ for professional entertainment. For food, settle for light snacks that you can easily order. And a cake should be available to celebrate the event. Remember to order it in advance to avoid last minute rush. You can also serve juice and other soft drinks for the event. Again, for a major event, you can consider adding champagne to give a toast to the retiree.

Gift ideas

A retirement party will never be complete without a gift. You have a wide choice of gift ideas you can go for. For instance, you can get a memorable item that the retiree will treasure and proudly show off to friends and family. You can choose a functional or showy item or go for a gift that has both. Ideas include the traditional gold watch, a cell phone, items for a hobby, and such thoughtful items. You can also prepare a gift that commemorates the retiree’s time at work as a keepsake. Remember to have the items engraved or branded with a message of goodwill. A trophy is a must have item for recognition of service. Modern trophies come in a variety of designs and unique materials such as crystal, are known to give them a showy look.

Marking the retirement of an employee is important for any organization. Make the event memorable for the retiree by giving a gift item he or she will treasure for all time. At Crystal Plus, we have made your gift purchase a breeze as you can order your gift from our extensive online catalogue. We create custom crystal awards that will provide both function and impressive factors all rolled in one. Log on to our site today and get just the perfect gift that might just have all your other employees wishing it was their turn to retire!

When you are organizing a sports event, you will definitely need to get sports trophies and awards for those who do exceptionally well in the games. In this day and age, it’s easy to get customized trophies, and this is therefore something that most sports organizers are moving towards. However, if you consult many people who organize such events, you will find that a pervading theme in most of their experiences is the fact that finding such trophies is often thought of as difficult.

Some of the challenges you are likely to face when doing so include having the vendor delay in providing the trophies, finding that they are not of the right quality and even having the price of the trophies inflated far beyond your expectations.

Fortunately, this is something that you can easily avoid. By having a level headed approach towards this process, you can end up with the sports awards and trophies you need without having to struggle a lot. Some of the most important points to take note of during this process include:

Start the process early

When you need to buy the trophies for the event, you should not start doing so at the last minute. This will only increase the amount of pressure you have to get the trophies, which will in turn make it more difficult for you to be critical about what you get. Going shopping for the trophies early on will give you the opportunity to compare the different types you can get, as well as comparing the vendors for the best deal. In the end, you will get a lot more value for money by having this approach.

Another very important benefit of starting this process early enough is that it allows you to account for any unforeseen circumstances in the delivery of the trophies. For instance, if the vendor delays, you can easily find another one and have them create and deliver the awards and trophies on time. If you do this at the last minute, you will have no time to do this. In addition to that, it also gives you the opportunity to inspect the awards and ask for any changes if you need them. For instance, if you order the awards early and find some spelling mistakes in the engravings, you will have all the time to lodge a complaint and have the issue resolved.

Choose your trophy vendor carefully

The party you choose to buy the trophies from will have a huge role to play in determining whether you get good value for money or not. They will also have an influence in how much trouble you have to go through in order to get the ideal trophies. High quality and established vendors tend to be in tune with the needs of their clients. This means that they are likely to easily figure out how to provide you with good value for money. They will also help you figure out the technical details associated with getting the gifts as well. Lastly, such vendors are usually very reliable in terms of shipping the awards on time, and also making sure that your instructions are carefully followed to reduce the need to redo the work.

Consider buying online

Providers such as CrystalPlus have developed an online system of ordering. This involves going online, picking the type of award that you need and then specifying how it should be customized. Once they are paid for, the awards are then made and shipped to the buyer in a few days.

This is by far one of the most hassle free methods of ordering for such trophies and awards. This is because you don’t even need to leave your office to order them, which makes it very convenient. In addition to that, the fact that you get to choose the design online means that you end up saving a lot of time and money finding what you need. It’s also typically cheaper buying the trophies online compared to other stores.

Be clear with your instructions

If you intend to get custom made trophies, you will need to provide instructions on how they should be customized. Ensuring that such instructions are clear and complete will reduce the need to have the customization redone if it turns out that it was not what you wanted in the first place.

Get a sample first

If you are going to get a large number of awards that look alike, you should order a sample of your order to find out if it meets your expectations. If it does, you can then ask them to mass produce the rest. This is because if a large number is produced and it turns out that they all have flaws that could have been avoided, you would have to spend a fortune correcting the problem.