An Employee of the Month Program People Actually Notice
Employee of the month is the recognition program most small and mid-sized companies already run, and the one that most often fizzles: a plaque by the door, a name in a newsletter nobody reads. eCardWidget turns it into a monthly rhythm that reaches everyone: peer nominations through a branded form, a company-wide announcement eCard, a personal card to the winner with an optional gift card inside, each send scheduled ahead so the month runs on the calendar, not on memory.
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Why most employee of the month programs quietly stop
The idea is sound: one person, one month, chosen by colleagues, recognized in front of everyone. The execution usually depends on one HR person remembering to collect nominations, pick a winner, print something, and tell the company. Miss two months and the program is over. The fix is not more enthusiasm; it is a cycle that runs whether or not anyone is busy.
Nominations get lost in email
An eCard form embedded on the intranet lets employees send a nomination to one HR inbox, with the nominee and the reason in the message, so nothing is lost in a thread.
The announcement reaches nobody
A plaque by the door is invisible to a second site or a remote team. A company-wide eCard lands in every inbox, and the open rate tells you it was seen.
The cycle depends on one person
Scheduled sends put the call for nominations, the reminder, and the announcement on the calendar ahead of time, each with its own send date, so the month does not wait on anyone remembering.
The same three people always win
Published criteria and a rotating monthly theme spread recognition across roles that never win a sales-style contest.
Nominations, announcement, and reward in one place
Three pieces that turn a plaque by the door into a program the whole company sees.
A branded nomination form
An embedded eCard form on SharePoint or your intranet lets any employee send a nomination to HR. The nominator picks a template, names the nominee, and writes the reason.
- Nominations arrive in one inbox as eCards
- Works on any internal URL
A company-wide announcement eCard
One bulk send to the whole team directory: the winner, the nomination that won, a note from leadership. Merge tags personalize every copy.
- Reaches remote and multi-site staff
- Open and click analytics prove it was seen
The winner's card, with a reward inside
A personal eCard designed like a certificate if you want one, with an optional gift card attached on the Enterprise plan.
- Claimed in one click
- Logged for payroll (taxable wages in the US)
Run employee of the month in four steps a month
Each step is a scheduled send or a form. Nobody has to remember anything.
Collect nominations
An embedded eCard form, branded to you, lets employees send a nomination to HR with the nominee and the reason in the message. Put it on SharePoint or your intranet, or link it from the call for nominations.
Choose the winner
Review the nominations against the criteria you published. Rotating categories (customer care one month, teamwork the next) keeps the same three people from winning every time.
Announce it to everyone
One bulk send to the whole team directory: the winner, the nomination that won, a note from leadership. Merge tags personalize the greeting for every recipient.
Reward the winner
A personal eCard to the winner, designed like a certificate if you want one, with an optional gift card attached on the Enterprise plan. Claimed in one click, logged for payroll.
A monthly cadence you set on the calendar
Each send is a bulk campaign to the directory with a scheduled date. Set up the call for nominations, the reminder, and the announcement ahead of time and the month runs without anyone remembering. Birthday and work anniversary eCards run fully automatically from the same directory.
- Call for nominations on the first, reminder mid-month, announcement on the date you choose, each scheduled in advance
- A rotating monthly theme keeps the award fair and interesting
- Name the runners-up in the announcement you write and the recognition multiplies
- List past winners in the announcement and a monthly award becomes a tradition
What HR and culture leaders say after launch
Verbatim from the people who run recognition at Axon, Modivcare, and a 7,000-person healthcare system.
"We've been using the eCard widget to automate our birthday and service anniversary messages, and it has genuinely transformed our workflow. What once took hours each month now happens seamlessly in the background."
"We have been able to create birthday cards, anniversary cards, company value cards as well as get well soon, thank you, and sympathy. This program has enhanced our overall culture, and I couldn't be more satisfied with my experience."
"A+ customer service and plugin! Loved the plugin/widget from the beginning, and Tim made it even better by being super helpful and responsive to ensure it worked well for our organization of about 7,000 staff."
Design choices that keep the program fair and interesting
The difference between a program people roll their eyes at and one they want to win.
Publish the criteria
Three or four behaviors, written down, so nominations are about what someone did, not who is popular.
Rotate the theme
A different value each month spreads recognition across roles that never win a sales-style contest.
Recognize the nominators too
A short thank-you eCard to everyone who submitted keeps participation up next month. Naming three or four runners-up in the announcement multiplies the recognition without diluting the award.
Pair it with spot awards
One winner a month cannot cover a good month. Spot awards handle the other wins the same day they happen.
Know the announcement was seen
A plaque cannot tell you who walked past it. The announcement eCard reports opens and clicks by department, and every nomination and reward is on the record.
- Opens and clicks on every announcement, by department
- Nomination volume month over month
- Reward orders and claims in an audit log with CSV export
Rated 5.0 on Capterra and G2 by the HR teams who run it
Reviewers rate eCardWidget 5.0 out of 5 on Capterra, with 4.8 for ease of use and 5.0 for customer service, and 5 stars on G2 and the Shopify App Store. Support is a real person who answers the same day.
Employee of the month is a good start. It is rarely enough on its own.
The same directory and templates run birthdays, work anniversaries, service awards, and spot recognition automatically, so the program covers every employee, not one a month.
Employee of the month, answered
Common questions about starting and running an employee of the month program
See an employee of the month program on your branding in 30 minutes
We will embed a nomination form, schedule a company-wide announcement, and send a winner card with a reward inside, all on your templates. Bring your criteria; we bring the demo account.
- A nomination form on a sample intranet page, sending to one HR inbox
- The announcement eCard scheduled to the whole directory, with open tracking
- The winner card with an optional gift card attached
- Pricing for your headcount, with no pressure to decide on the call
Book your demo
Pick a time on the next screen. We will come prepared with your use case.