MAY 05

Get points for presentation.

MAKE A GREAT IMPRESSION

Imagine with us. There’s starlight and a full moon. Soft music drifts on the breeze from the house. You and your beloved are swinging in the porch swing. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. The time is right. You get down on one knee and…and struggle to…pull the wrinkled shopping bag from your pocket. Extracting a small square box from the bag, you hold it up and pop it open. Almost as if on cue, the moonlight falls across it, clearly illuminating…a 75-percent-off clearance tag!

So, what do you think her answer will be? (As for us, we know we’ll never make that mistake again.)

The point is, presentation counts. So much so, that a survey of more than 33,000 award recipients revealed that the award presentation affects employees’ perception of not only the award but the entire recognition program—and even their perception of the company as a whole.

Learn from the pain of so many who have gone before. Don’t leave it on their desks. Don’t hand it to them still in the shipping wrap. Do spend the time to make it perfect, memorable and inspiring. And remember: proper award presentation means never having to say, “I’m sorry.”