How to use itAnyone can nominate with a concrete example. A small panel picks the winner each month using the same criteria.
Who fills it inAny coworker or manager who saw the good work
WhenAny time during the month, up to the cutoff date
Time neededAbout 5 minutes per nomination
Keep itIn a recognition file, plus a note in the winner’s record
Where the employee of the month nomination form fits
Recognition works best when it is specific. Asking for an example turns a popularity contest into a record of good work.
Rotate the selection panel and share why the winner was chosen.
11 items. Keep it on a tablet, or print a copy for the clipboard.
Nomination
The employee of the month nomination form in practice
Selection
Rolling out the employee of the month nomination form
Publish the criteria.
Collect nominations until a set date.
Choose with a small panel.
Announce with the example.
Track winners to spread recognition.
Example
A cook is nominated for training two new hires during a busy month while keeping her station spotless. The panel selects her, and the announcement quotes the nomination.
What the employee of the month nomination form protects you from
A written nomination with a dated example is a record that the award followed published criteria, which helps when someone asks why a coworker was picked. Tracking winners over time also shows whether recognition reaches every shift and role, since a lopsided pattern can look like favoritism even when nobody meant it.
Filled-in sample
Nominee and team
Rosa, prep cook, kitchen
Nominated by
Devin, line cook
Month
March
Category
Teamwork
What they did
Trained two new prep cooks during the spring menu change
Impact
No missed tickets on the three busiest Fridays
Panel decision
Selected, $50 gift card, announced April 2
Sample for Harbor Grill in Portland, Maine. The impact line gives a result the panel can check, which is what lets them weigh a prep cook against a server nominated for customer service.
Frequent employee of the month nomination form mistakes
Letting the same high-visibility roles win every month while back-of-house and night staff never appear. Review past winners by shift and department each quarter and nudge managers to nominate quiet performers.
Accepting nominations that only say ‘great attitude’ or ‘always helpful’. Send vague ones back with a request for one dated example, or the panel has nothing to compare.
Putting the nominee’s own manager alone in charge of the decision. Pair them with at least one person from another team so the choice does not look like favoritism.
Changing the employee of the month nomination form for your workplace
Restaurants and cafesSplit it into front of house and back of house awards so dishwashers and prep cooks are judged against similar work.
Teams under 15 peopleRun it quarterly instead of monthly so the award does not cycle through everyone in a year and lose meaning.
From the fieldRead the nomination text out loud when you announce the winner. Hearing a coworker’s own words lands harder than a manager’s summary.
What people ask about the employee of the month nomination form
Who can nominate?
Usually anyone in the team.
What reward?
A small bonus, gift card, parking spot or time off.
Can the same person win twice?
Set a rule, such as once a year.
Are rewards taxable?
Cash and gift cards usually are; check with payroll.
Should managers be allowed to nominate their own direct reports?
Yes, but hold those nominations to the same standard as peer ones and ask for the same dated example. If one manager’s team keeps winning, have the panel read nominations with the nominee’s name and team covered.
What should we do if nobody is nominated in a given month?
Skip the award rather than picking someone to fill the slot, and say so in the team update. A quiet month usually means the form is hard to find or the cutoff came too soon, so send the reminder earlier next month.
Employees can fill in and sign forms like this in the EZTime app, and the signed copy lands in their digital employee file. Book a demo if you want a walkthrough.
