Your staff deserves all the thanks in the world, so make sure Employee Appreciation Day is meaningful for all! Use this annual celebration to recognize your team’s great performances and motivate them for a great year.
Employee Appreciation Day is not only a fun day at the office; it’s also an important component of a company’s retention strategy. Employee appreciation and recognition are key indicators of employee satisfaction. In fact, limited praise and lack of appreciation are top reasons individuals leave jobs.
You can show employee appreciation at your workplace by applying a
Thank You theme to Employee Appreciation Day. After all, a verbal or written thank you from a manager or supervisor remains one of the most desired forms of recognition. A meaningful and low-cost way to show employee appreciation is to have the President of your company make brief visits in each department. A small amount of time and small word of thanks from him/her can make a big difference in the motivation and performance of frontline employees.
Here are a few more ways to say “Thank You” on Employee Appreciation Day:
Say “Thanks a Latte” by bringing in your team’s favorite coffee drinks.
Write a personal
Thank You card to each employee and place it on their desks first thing in the morning on Employee Appreciation Day.
Let employees know you’re thankful for their time by letting them start their weekend an hour early.
Gracias! Merci! Danke! Say thank you in multiple languages and accompany it with international fare at lunch and snacks throughout Employee Appreciation Day.
Use the
“Thanks a Bunch” theme for Employee Appreciation Day and give employees spring flower bulbs because you’re looking forward to watching their contributions grow.
Quick Tips
Awaken the creative side of all employees on Employee Appreciation Day with tasty competition! Invite departments to use their imaginations in a Snack Sculpture Contest. Challenge teams to build the tallest tower using chips and cream cheese dip. Provide a time limit and watch the creative juices flow! Award the winning team members with their own bag of chips and choice of dip!
*This quick tip is featured in
Winning Ways to Have Fun at Work card deck.
Shared Experience
Searching for a new idea? Wondering what everybody else is doing? The best place to get ideas for your recognition program is from your peers. Tell us what works for you and your team, and you may be our next Share Your Experiences feature!
This month’s Shared Experience comes from Darla Carlson, Learning and Development Supervisor at Midwest Call Center in Minnesota. Darla shares a peer-recognition program that makes the whole company smile!
We have a SMILES recognition program where employees nominate their peers. SMILES stands for Supportive, Mentoring, Involved, Lively, Encouraging, and Spirited. The program provides the opportunity to nominate a co-worker who has gone above and beyond or made someone's day better. Six nominees are chosen each month to attend a pie reception along with their Supervisors and Managers where we are able to express our appreciation for their accomplishments. Their pictures are taken and submitted in the company newsletter, too.