Friday is Employee Appreciation Day – which means there’s not much time to plan something for your team. If you weren’t aware of this monumental business celebration – or aren’t sure what it means to you, I encourage you to read on…
The Origin of Employee Appreciation Day
Employee Appreciation Day was derived – and first appeared on calendars sixteen years ago (in 1995). Bob Nelson, one of Recognition Professionals International’s founding board members, together with his publishing company (Workman Publishing), created Employee Appreciation Day as a way of focusing the attention of all employers, in all industries on employee recognition.
Celebrating the Day
It is important for companies to encourage their management teams to acknowledge and celebrate the day.
Why it’s Important
Your employees are one of your company’s greatest assets. What they say about you, your company, how they act in the workplace, and how satisfied they are in their roles all have a major impact on your brand, your image, your levels of service and most importantly – your customers’ satisfaction.
How to Celebrate and Show Your Appreciation
There are tons of ways to celebrate the day and let your employees know how much you appreciate them. Here are several ways to celebrate the day – I’ve included suggestions for every budget, large or small.
- Treat the staff by bringing in bagels, donuts and coffee for breakfast
- Order pizza for lunch (or better yet, take them out to lunch)
- Throw an Employee Appreciation Day celebration at the office with a potluck lunch (or splurge and have it catered)
- Have a massage therapist come into the office
- Hire a motivational, comedic speaker or a magician to come in and entertain them
- Hand write personal thank you cards to each employee (remember to be authentic and specific: what you’re thankful for)
- Include a gift card with a each thank you card or note
- Host a game day. Set some time aside to play games (or if you’re a little more reserved you can play board games)
- Create personalized awards for each employee. They can be sincere or silly!
- Offer a flexible schedule for the day (or if you’re feeling very generous add a day off to their PTO bank
If you don’t like any of those, be creative but don’t let the momentum fade at midnight on March 4th. It’s equally as important to celebrate achievements and show appreciation throughout the year and remember your employees are your business and your most important asset is (or very well should be) human capital.
I’d love to hear how you plan to celebrate the day…Leave a comment and share your ideas!
