No-Cost Prize and Recognition Ideas

Creative certificates

Use the challenge theme to help you come up with creative certificates or awards instead of just first, second and third place.

Celebrate a Winner of the Week

Celebrate your co-worker and make them feel special by giving them extra recognition as “Wellness Council Winner of the Week.”

Brag about your co-workers to all wellness councils

Submit information to your Working for a Healthier Tennessee wellness coordinator to be a spotlight on our Facebook, Instagram or website.

Frame them in a photo

Snap a picture of your challenge winner(s), and jazz up the photo by adding a fun frame or design and award it to the winning employee(s).   

Allow a casual day

With departmental approval, allow your co-worker to come to work dressed down.

Choice of challenge 

Let your winning co-worker choose the next challenge your wellness council hosts.

Give a congrats card

Go old school with a handwritten “congratulations” from your wellness council and department leadership to show your support.

DJ for a day

With approval, allow your winning employee to pick the office music for a day.

Host an after-work healthy hour 

Gather your wellness council after work to celebrate your challenge winner.

Lunch with leadership

With approval, schedule a healthy lunch for your co-worker with a manager or senior leader.

Pick a prize

Ask your wellness council to donate new, unused items to a prize box that winners may choose from.

Photo opportunity with the commissioner

With approval, schedule a photo with someone from your executive team and the winning employee.

Post-it praise 

Leave post-it notes of praise at an employee’s workspace.

Shout out their success

Showcase your co-worker’s success by spotlighting them in an email, on a bulletin board, on social media, in your division/department newsletter, in the news ticker on office monitors or on your department’s intranet.

Standing ovation

At your next staff meeting, give your co-worker a standing ovation for a job well done.

Traveling trophy

Designate an item (doesn’t have to be fancy) to act as a traveling trophy passed from one employee to the next. If you want to get creative, ask employees to add something fun to the trophy.

Wall of Fame

Create a wellness council Wall of Fame to induct employees into.

Webinar winner

Submit your co-worker’s story to WFHT.TN@tn.gov to be recognized on an upcoming Working for a Healthier Tennessee webinar.