10 Ideas to Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day
Employee Appreciation Day happens every year on the first Friday of March and is an opportunity for employers to celebrate the hard work and dedication of their employees. Employers can show their gratitude through various gestures, including messages of appreciation, team days out and individual rewards. Employee Appreciation Day is also a chance to recognise individual contributions publicly and emphasise the achievements of the team.
If you want to show appreciation for your employees this March but aren’t sure how to go about it, we’ve devised a list of 10 Employee Appreciation Day ideas to get you started.
Why strategic employee recognition is important
Recognition is essential for maintaining employee satisfaction and it can also have a hugely positive impact on your business goals. Celebrating your employee's efforts and successes is a great way to boost morale, and therefore productivity; people want to work in an environment where they feel valued.
If an employer makes the effort to commend their employees, this attitude will trickle down and develop a culture of support within the organisation, improving teamwork and internal relations. Employee recognition creates a positive working environment, which will reduce staff turnover and improve retention.
10 Ways to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day
This year, celebrate Employee Appreciation Day in a meaningful way with these 10 ideas. From spreading positivity, to team days and wellness activities, discover how to express gratitude and show your employees that you care. Make this day special by recognizing their hard work and creating a positive workplace culture.
1.Give shoutouts on team collaboration platforms
With the rise of hybrid and remote working, most organisations will have platforms in place for collaboration, whether it’s Slack, Teams, company intranets or something else. Take advantage of these collaborative platforms to recognise your team’s great work. You could shout out individuals in wider channels, or even set up a space dedicated entirely to celebrating your team.
2. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition
It’s not just managers and leaders who can show their appreciation. Ask your team to share who they’re grateful for and why and find a way to distribute this to the wider group. Employees could submit a form to generate responses that can be read in a meeting or write their messages on sticky notes that are then displayed within the office.
3.Launch an employee rewards & recognition programme
A rewards programme is a great way to implement a structured way of recognising and rewarding employees. This can incentivise performance and ensure fairness across rewards, as employees are given clear expectations. Our Rewards and Recognition programmes have the added benefit of being personalised to your employees, ensuring they have access to rewards that are meaningful to them. Get in touch to discover how we can help you show recognition.
4. Team activity day
A team day allows your employees to spend some time together outside of the office environment and gives them a break from their usual workload. If your colleagues are full of adventure, consider a paintballing day, or for a team of foodies take them for a dinner out. Personalising the experience to your team will let them know that you take notice of them and their interests, as well as provide your team with an experience that they’ll actually enjoy.
5. Donate to a charity of your team’s choice
Sometimes the best way to show your appreciation is by getting involved in the things that your employees value. Getting your team to nominate and vote on a cause or charity to receive a company donation is a great way to reward them in a way that is meaningful to them. It also fosters an attitude of kindness and giving within the organisation which generally will help to create a positive workplace culture.
6. Encourage wellness
Taking the time to unwind is hugely important to any employee’s well-being and encouraging wellness amongst your employees shows that you care about more than just the results they produce. Show your appreciation for the time and effort they put in by rewarding them with a relaxing experience. This could be a group meditation, yoga class or spa day; anything that will allow them to unwind.
7. Introduce volunteering days
A volunteering scheme is a great way to give back to your community and allow employees to get involved in things that matter to them. You could set aside a number of days that employees can book off solely for this purpose to support them in making time for the benefit of others. It will demonstrate commitment to your values to your team and the wider community.
8. Implement employee feedback
Whilst it's important to give your employees the feedback and praise that they deserve, it's equally important to ensure that they have the opportunity to provide feedback to the business. Implementing an anonymised employee feedback strategy will demonstrate that you value their opinions and allow you to gain insights into how you can support your employees and continue developing as an organisation. This could be done through a digital tool, online form, or old-school comment box in the office. But accepting feedback is not enough on its own, be sure to communicate to the wider team what feedback you have received, and how the business is working towards implementing that feedback.
9. Support work-life balance
One of the best ways to show your appreciation for your employee’s work is to understand that they have a life outside of it. Implementing a flexible working strategy or offering additional time off can ensure that you are supporting a healthy work-life balance and prevent burnout within the team.
10. Support personal development
Supporting employees’ personal development proves that you care about their individual journey, as well as benefiting the business by upskilling your workforce. Ensure your employees have the time to continue to learn and grow by setting aside dedicated personal development time. You could also make sure that employees are aware of budgets for training courses and conferences, and encourage them to attend any that they feel would benefit them.
How to write a great employee appreciation message
An employee appreciation message is a wonderful addition to Employee Appreciation Day, offering a chance for you to express individual thanks in a meaningful way. A message of appreciation should be genuine and personal. Open with an expression of gratitude for the efforts of the individual, highlighting specific traits, approaches or achievements that make them a particular asset to the team. Be specific about the impact of these contributions, whether that is driving results, leading others to success or cultivating a positive working environment. Ensure you are using personalised language and expressing an individual appreciation for their performance. Maintain a positive tone throughout; this is a moment for appreciation, so you should save any criticisms for a more appropriate setting. End your message with an expression of excitement for future successes and growth.
How to make Employee Appreciation Day fun
Employee Appreciation Day is an opportunity to celebrate, so it’s important that it is as enjoyable as possible. You could find out ahead of time what your team would like to come out of the day, as well as some of the ways that they would like to commemorate their own hard work. This will ensure that they feel valued and that your appreciation efforts resonate with your team. Most of all, it will make sure that the day is fun for all involved, providing everyone with a well-deserved celebration.
Learn how we can help you make every day Employee Appreciation Day
Employee Appreciation Day is one day of the year, but that doesn’t mean that the recognition has to stop there. With a proper strategy in place, every day can be an employee appreciation day. Whilst it might not be realistic to have team days out every week, most of these ideas can be adopted into the day-to-day working of the organisation. Shouting out good work, supporting development and implementing employee feedback are all approaches that would benefit your employee satisfaction long term. If you’re looking to develop how you recognise and reward great work, find out more about our rewards programme and give your staff the appreciation that they deserve.