Recognition should not be a once-a-year moment. It should be a rhythm that makes great work visible while it is still fresh.
That is exactly why we launched The Performance Powerhouse Program: Quarterly Recognition at Award Maven. It is our peer-driven program built to celebrate the people behind the progress, the improvements that make everything smoother, and the teammates who consistently raise the bar.
This is not a popularity contest. It is a simple system designed to reward real impact with real clarity.
And yes, we pair the recognition with a bonus because money does matter. A crystal award is a lasting symbol. The bonus is our way of saying we will put our wallet where our mouth is.
Why we built this employee recognition program at Award Maven
We design recognition for companies every day. But like many teams, we also noticed something: even in high-performing environments, great work can become “normal” too quickly. People ship. People fix. People improve. People help. And then the next deadline hits.
So we asked a simple question: What if we made recognition a consistent quarterly ritual, not a random moment?
Our goals were:
- Make impact visible, especially the work that happens quietly behind the scenes
- Reward the behaviors we want more of, not just big flashy outcomes
- Keep it fair and repeatable, so the program earns trust over time
That is how The Performance Powerhouse Program was born.
What The Performance Powerhouse Program is
The Performance Powerhouse Program is Award Maven’s quarterly employee recognition program where our team nominates and votes to recognize one standout contributor from the most recent quarter.
We built it around one belief: employee recognition works best when it is specific, peer-driven, and tied to measurable impact.
What we are recognizing (our criteria)
Every quarter, we recognize one person who delivered meaningful impact in the last quarter.
The 3 core criteria we use
1) Exceptional contribution
Outstanding performance on a project, deliverable, or responsibility that moved work forward.
2) Team collaboration
Supporting others, stepping in proactively, bridging gaps across teams, and strengthening how we work together.
3) Innovation and improvement
Creating or implementing better ways of working that save time, reduce errors, increase quality, or improve consistency.
Example of what a strong nomination looks like:
“Jane Doe deserves this award because she proactively created the new client intake form template, reducing our average data entry time by 15% this quarter and eliminating two major errors.”
That is the standard: clear, measurable, and connected to outcomes.
The reward: why we pair a trophy with a bonus
The winner receives:
- A crystal award (a lasting recognition piece)
- A bonus (money reinforces the accomplishment)
- Bragging rights (the fun part, and fully earned)
We are intentional about the mix.
The award is symbolic, visible, and permanent. It sits on a desk or shelf and reminds the team what excellence looks like. The bonus reinforces the achievement in a tangible way. It signals we take performance seriously enough to back it financially. Recognition is culture, but it is also priorities, and priorities show up in budgets.
Participation and eligibility: the clear rules we set (and you should too)
At Award Maven, we created a set of clear rules regarding participation and eligibility. If you want to build a quarterly program that people trust, these are the questions you should answer up front:
- Who can be nominated? (Who can win?)
- Who can nominate?
- Who can vote?
- How often can someone win?
- What happens if there is a tie?
- Who administers the program and tracks fairness rules?
For our program:
- Any eligible Award Maven team member can nominate and vote each quarter (eligibility is confirmed each cycle).
- Each eligible team member gets one vote.
- If there is a tie, the director makes the final decision to select one winner.
These guardrails keep the program lightweight and prevent it from drifting into confusion or politics.
Our nomination process (simple, evidence-based, and fast)
We wanted this to feel easy, not bureaucratic, so we designed the nomination to take just a few minutes.
To nominate a colleague, any Award Maven team member submits:
- The full name of the person they are nominating
- A short paragraph explaining why they deserve it, including specific, measurable examples of their impact from the quarter
We keep it brief on purpose, but we do require substance. Everyone who votes gets to read the nomination statements, which keeps the program grounded in evidence, not vibes.
Program schedule: quarterly timeline (keep it consistent)
Determine your timeline and stick to it. Consistency is what turns recognition into a culture rhythm.
At Award Maven, we give:
- One week for nominations
- One week for voting
The program runs immediately at the turn of each quarter so we are recognizing the most recent achievements while they are still fresh.
Each quarter follows this flow:
- Nomination window opens
- Nominations shared for review
- Voting window opens
- Winner announced and celebrated
Our fairness policy (so everyone trusts it)
Recognition only works if people believe it is fair. We built in guardrails to keep the program motivating across the whole team.
- No back-to-back wins: A winner cannot be nominated the following quarter
Example: Q1 winner cannot be nominated in Q2. - Maximum wins: No person can win more than twice within any rolling four-quarter period
Why this works (and why it is easier than most companies think)
A lot of employee recognition programs fail because they are either:
- too vague (“be awesome”)
- too rare (annual awards only)
- too complicated (no one uses them)
- too subjective (people stop trusting it)
This program works because:
- The criteria are clear
- Nominations require proof
- Voting is simple
- The schedule is consistent
- Fairness is built in
- The reward is both symbolic and tangible
It is a system you can run without a huge platform or a big committee.
How you can apply this employee recognition framework at your company
If you want to make recognition more consistent, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. Copy the structure.
Step 1: Pick 3 criteria that match your culture
We used:
- Exceptional contribution
- Team collaboration
- Innovation and improvement
You can tailor the wording, but keep the set small so the program stays easy to use.
Step 2: Require a short paragraph with measurable examples
This is the biggest difference-maker. It forces clarity and fairness.
Step 3: Set eligibility rules people can repeat from memory
Answer the five questions:
Who can win, who can vote, how often can someone win, what happens in a tie, who runs it.
Step 4: Choose a timeline and stick to it
One week nominations, one week voting works well for most teams.
Step 5: Pair a lasting award with a bonus
A physical award builds legacy. A bonus reinforces that the achievement mattered. Together, they send a stronger signal than either alone.
Want to build a quarterly recognition program that people actually care about?
We built The Performance Powerhouse Program for our own team at Award Maven because we wanted recognition to be consistent, fair, and meaningful.
If you want help designing a version of this for your company, Award Maven can support you with:
- Quarterly recognition program structure and templates
- Award category naming and award wording
- Premium crystal awards, plaques, and custom pieces
- Optional branded add-ons that employees actually keep
Share your team size, your values, and what you want to reinforce (performance, collaboration, innovation, customer impact). We will recommend a quarterly recognition framework and the award style that fits your culture.