Recognizing great work shouldn’t be an afterthought. When an employee goes above and beyond, it’s important to stop and say, “You’re doing an amazing job.” That kind of acknowledgment doesn’t just brighten someone’s day—it strengthens the entire workplace culture. Here, we have introduced a simple and ready-to-use Employee of the Month Nomination Form that makes it easy for managers and team leads to formally nominate employees who deserve a shoutout.
Good employees are hard to come by. But if their high-quality work receives no praise, they may start feeling undervalued or even burned out. In fact, according to one Gallup study, employees who receive great recognition are 20 times more likely to be engaged than those who don’t. On the other hand, when employees don’t feel appreciated, they are more likely to look for other jobs and be less motivated to perform well.
As HR, what you need is a formal process to reward high performers for their outstanding work and dedication to the team. One way is to set up Employee of the Month awards as a way to publicly acknowledge & appreciate good employees. This is a classic way for companies to boost morale and create a sense of loyalty within the workforce. This kind of recognition doesn’t just reward one person—it sets a gold standard for meaningful recognition in the workplace, inspiring others to become the best possible version of themselves, too.
But before we delve into the process of nominating employees and the criteria used by managers to compare nominees using our pre-built Employee of the Month Nomination Form, first let’s ask ourselves…
Who’s a Good Employee?
There’s no one-size-fits-all definition of a ‘good employee’. Different companies place a premium on different individual values. Here are some common traits you’ll find among EM award-winners:
- Consistent high performance
- Ability to work well in a team
- The skill & confidence to lead in a crisis
- Strong work ethic
- A strong commitment to company values & goals
- Ability to innovate and propose creative solutions to problems
- A positive, friendly & ‘can-do’ attitude
A strong mix of these qualities usually makes someone a solid contender for the EM award!
The Nomination Process
Most companies in the US allow colleagues to nominate each other, or even themselves as a potential nominee for the EM Award. This kind of peer-to-peer recognition builds team spirit while also creating healthy competition between employees. The end result is a productive work environment that supports high performance and takes the company forward.
The nomination process typically involves a nomination form or letter, which includes details about the nominee and why they deserve the recognition.
What do We Offer?
Our pre-built Nomination Form saves you hours in design and formatting work. Once you add general information about the nominee and the nominator, it’s time to build a solid case for why this person deserves to win. The form has fillable sections to ask a few open-ended questions about the employee’s work or behavior.
Our pre-made form allows you to:
- Specify the month for which the person is being nominated
- Add details about nominees (Name, Position, Department, Department Head, Supervisor & Years Employed)
- Add details about nominators (Name, Department, Contact No., & Position)
- Add a dated signature of the nominator affirming that the information provided is true & accurate
All copies of this filled-out form should be forwarded to HR. Once the deadline for nominations has elapsed, a review committee or manager often selects the final Employee of the Month based on an assessment of their individual credentials & performance records, as highlighted in the forms.
Assessment Criteria for Nominees
In our template, we use a four-part assessment criterion for judging nominees based on the nominator’s experience of observing the nominee or working with them directly!
We use four questions to comprehensively cover information or perspectives that help you pick the most deserving one:
- Why Should They Be Employee of the Month?
- Did Employee Exceed Company Expectations?
- What Are Their Positive Achievements at Work?
- What Do Others Say About Them?
You can edit or replace our questions as per your needs & preferences using an editable version of the template.
The Perks of Being Employee of the Month
An EM award is more than just a pat on the back. Here are some common perks offered to award-winners:
- A Certificate of Recognition
- Public Acknowledgment: Name featured in newsletters, meetings, or internal platforms
- Cash bonus
- Extra paid time off
- Gift cards
- Lunch or celebration with leadership
- Company merchandise or customized gifts
- Paid experiences (dining, concerts, or travel)
What’s Next?
Once the nomination process is complete, the winner is usually selected by a diverse Selection or Review Committee consisting of managers, HR, and peers. Judging between different nominees is easier when you have a standardized way of comparing their achievements & contributions. In the end, awards are (usually) given to the person receiving the most nominations, encouraging a high-performance mindset across individual employees & teams.
Wrap Up
Whether you manage a small business, work for a large corporation, or run a non-profit, use our free, print-ready template to streamline your nomination process!
For your ease, the template is available in Microsoft Word, PDF, and Google Docs. The template is fully editable and can be customized to your needs and requirements.
Just fill in the appropriate information, upload your company logo, and share the form with your employees. You can customize the question fields, and change the fonts, colors, and backgrounds. Feel free to embed this form into your system or use it standalone – either way, you save yourself hours in research, design, and formatting work!
