Seven Ways To Show Appreciation To Your Employees
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March 1 is National Employee Appreciation Day, observed annually on the first Friday of March. This day, as its name might suggest, encourages employers to show how much they appreciate the people who work for them (although many would suggest that employers do so year round).
Showing your employees how much you appreciate them can be as simple as just telling them so every now and again. With a whole day carved out for employee appreciation, though, you might want to consider going well out of your way to show how much you care about the people that work for you. Here are some ideas on how to do so.
Throw a potluck. Who doesn’t love having tons of food options? Show your employees how much you care about them by putting together a potluck during their lunch break. Reserve the conference room for an hour or two and let your employees take a break from their busy days with food lovingly prepared by you and their fellow employees.
Introduce a continuing education initiative. If your employees enjoy the work they do for you, they may be interested in learning more about the field you work in. Take National Employee Appreciation Day as an opportunity to announce and establish a continuing education initiative in which your company helps your employees afford and/or make time for courses relevant to your field.
Host a lunch and learn. This idea combines the potluck idea with the continuing education idea. Supply the food for the event, and find someone who can speak about a topic relevant to the field in which you and your employees work and advise them on how they can continue learning about the subject matter at hand.
Head out of the office for a fun gathering. We’re not talking about just lunch at a nearby fancy restaurant. We’re talking about gathering all your employees for a trip to the local ice hockey rink, paintball field, rock climbing gym, or another fun group setting. Taking your employees out of the office to a recreational location can be an excellent way of showing appreciation.
Send individual thank you notes. Before National Employee Appreciation Day arrives, you can prepare customized thank-you notes to email to each of your employees day-of. If you want to take this idea a step further, printed or even handwritten notes can be especially meaningful in the era of extensive internet communication.
Give small gifts. You don’t need to go over the top with gifts, but something as small as a picture frame or pastry, among other affordable and small ideas, can be really meaningful to your employees. You can likely run out and get these presents the day of, too, so there’s no special planning or custom orders involved.
Think about a bonus. What better way is there to show that you value the contributions of your workers than by giving them more of one of the key things they’re working for? Offering National Employee Appreciation Day bonuses or a gift card to a coffee shop or favorite store is a sure way to show how much you care.
How do you plan to celebrate National Employee Appreciation Day? Let us know in the comments!