What HR Staff Can Learn From Miami’s Turnover Chain

Here at Woltman Trophies , we know that keeping your team motivated is one of the most important things that you can do at your job. You want people to keep working hard and know that their accomplishments are making a big difference.

There are a variety of ways to keep your HR staff motivated. Some department heads read books on leadership or check out an online guide, but we think that there’s an unlikely source of inspiration out there. We’re talking about college football. More specifically, we’re talking about the Miami Hurricanes’ “turnover” chain.

What’s a Turnover Chain?

If you watch a University of Miami football game, you might notice something when they shoot to the players on the sidelines. Occasionally, one of them will be wearing a huge gold necklace, complete with the school’s logo. With its sheer size and bright gold coloring, this chain is meant to be noticed.

It’s not just a stylish fashion statement. Nor can just any player take out this chain and put it on. It’s the famed “turnover chain,” which is given to any player that can force a turnover. This reward shows that a player is contributing to team’s performance in a big way.

This tradition started recently. Mike Rumph, the cornerbacks coach of the Miami Hurricanes, wanted to find some kind of chain that players could wear to show off after forcing a turnover. A Miami legend named Vince Wilfork had a better idea. He told a local jeweler to build a Cuban chain, with a massive University of Miami logo made of orange and green stones.

How Can This Inspire My Office?

So how does this apply to your office? In the same way that the turnover chain can inspire players to excel on their own and aid the team, we think that corporate awards can be used in the same way. We think that creating a trophy that can pass between members of your team can give you a performance boost.

You can encourage your employees to hit certain goals or accomplish specific tasks. If you reward one employee with a trophy that rotates around the office, you’re giving them a concrete sign that they’re an important part of the team. From there, another member might want to try and get that trophy for themselves. If they succeed, now that first employee is going to want to win back their title. Setting up a friendly rivalry among your employees can help boost the performance among the entire team. You’ll find that everyone is more motivated and that the competition for bragging rights can even increase morale.

The experts here at Woltman Trophies can help you by developing a custom trophy that your employees will want to show off. While we’re not in the business of building giant gold chains with the University of Miami logo on them, we have some other ideas on how to motivate your HR staff. We can develop custom crystal awards of different sizes and shapes, or we can develop a custom acrylic award that will stand out. Contact us at (314) 291-5750 to learn more today!

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