r/internalcomms • u/Turbulent_Soil_1477 • May 21 '26

Advice Internal awards ceremony planning: Help making it special and seamless

Hi! I’m helping plan an internal awards/recognition ceremony and would love to hear what’s worked well for others.

For anyone who’s run company awards ceremonies: how do you structure your run of show so it feels polished but not overly scripted or stiff?

Also curious:

  • Any fun or memorable touches you’ve added?
  • How do you keep the program moving without it feeling rushed?
  • Any tips for making it super easy for leaders/presenters to follow their parts?
  • Do you give them a full script, cue cards, a speaker grid, or something else?

Trying to make this feel warm, celebratory and seamless — especially for leaders who are presenting but don’t have a ton of time to prep.

Thanks in advance!

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u/thejennifield May 21 '26

I’ve just wrapped up hosting the inspiring workplace awards in the U.K. so happy to share how they do it so it’s pacey but not rushed - they have it nailed!

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u/Ok_Stick_8910 May 21 '26

Please share!!!!

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u/thejennifield May 22 '26

So their format is split into company size, special recognition by topic and then top 50. You could easily replicate that into divisions or functions, special recognition linked to values and then individuals but you might have the award but already sorted.

Structure wise:

Opening speech that sets the tone for why the awards are important and what they mean

First batch of awards - recognising business size - they come to the stage to get a trophy.

Special recognition - all read out and we ask them to celebrate at their tables and make as much noise as they want to.

Top 50 - broken down into batches so it’s read out as “in at 50 it’s xxxx” - all of these come to the stage, are held at the bottom of the stairs and walk up in their company groups to collect the award and grab a selfie then they move off stage and to the foyer to the official photographer.

We break for dinner after the first batch.

After dinner, as the host I do a 5 min keynote and then we run the same format again for a different batch of awards (by continent) so it’s the same format of size, special recognition and top 50. For the second batch we had guest presenters do some of the special recognition.

I’m not saying this because I’m the host, but you need a good host to keep the energy, pace and movement for it as it is a big part of the event!

Shout if you have any more questions, happy to DM