Making Appreciation a Natural Part of Your Company's DNA
Kathleen Fariss, Boon Coach
What would change if you were intentionally investing in the growth and retention of your employees?
What would happen if we shifted from looking at employees as a line item on a budget or group on an organizational chart, to looking at them as a whole person, who shows up each and every day to do their best work for the company?
Employees are an organization's most valuable assets. Taking time to show appreciation can go far to improve morale, influence organizational culture, and increase productivity, among other things. It’s also possible to implement employee appreciation in unique ways that won’t break the bank.
In honor of Employee Appreciation Day (March 3rd), we’ve collected 29 tips for you to consider, some are virtual, and some are in-person:
Create a Strategy and a Plan First. First pause and schedule time to develop a strategy along with a rollout plan based on your employee base and the financial resources you have available to you. Without a written plan and some measurable goals, employee appreciation activities can be put on the back burner. If it is nobody's job, then the job doesn’t get done.
Partner with Local Businesses. Consider partnering with a local bakery or specialty restaurant to sponsor your Employee Appreciation Day as their way of giving back and have them come and serve yummy snacks or an afternoon pick-me-up. They can consider writing this off as marketing or community outreach. Everyone wins. Employees feel good about being appreciated and the company you partner with has the opportunity to introduce their products or snacks to your staff.
Socials Gatherings Make Staff Smile. Ice cream socials can be a big hit especially when you can partner with a vendor who brings all the toppings that make staff smile. This allows staff to engage in a social setting and allows you to show your appreciation for their good work. Too cold for that? Try a smores bar! Who doesn’t love chocolate?
Celebrate Birthdays. On your employee's birthday celebrate by having a cake or their favorite food item from a local company. If you have a large employee base, you can celebrate monthly on the first of the month in person or virtually, invite staff to wear a fun hat or if virtual, create a birthday background.
You can take a picture of the celebration and post it in your monthly newsletter, in a blog post, or on social media. If you are a supervisor, you can send a handwritten note in the mail or an electronic card. A handwritten note goes a long way.
What Would Make You Feel Appreciated? Send an annual employee engagement survey to staff that is targeted at celebrating what has worked well and inviting feedback for employee appreciation and health and well-being activities. Review and then implement based on the data you receive.
Onboarding Matters! Remember how you felt on your first day? On your employee’s first day, place a new employee welcome package on their desk including some company-branded merchandise and a handwritten note from their supervisor welcoming them to the company. If your team is virtual, mail them in advance of their first day. Who doesn’t like to receive a gift in the mail?
Decorate the Main Space Employees Visit. Decorate the break room with streamers, put some nice notes up around the space that you can make on your computer, and put out some of your staff's favorite drinks and snacks. Make sure to survey staff in advance of hosting any activities to find out what are their favorites. How would you feel if your favorite mocha latte or vegan dessert showed up on staff appreciation day? Let’s do the same for your staff.
Provide Access. Host coffee and conversion with the CEO or top leadership once a quarter and especially on the Employee Appreciation Day. You can invite your employees in advance to submit questions or share who they might like to chat with. You can consider having 30 minutes with the “coffee and conversation” and then break out into virtual rooms of 3 or 4 for deeper dive conversations and then back to the main room at the end to celebrate with your favorite hat or shirt or team jersey depending on your company's culture.
My Hat’s Off to YOU - Celebrate a Peer! Schedule an online employee appreciation session where employees first hear a kind message recorded or live from the CEO and then invite employees to share something they appreciate about another employee. They can share live or in the chat.
Messages of Appreciation Warm the Heart. Have a few of the leadership team members and the CEO record messages of appreciation for your employees and email the one video along with a message of appreciation to all staff.
Give the Gift of Time. If your company can, give your employees one floating day to take off as a thank you for all they do. If that breaks the bank because of the size of your organization, consider closing early one day or opening later. That won’t work either, offer to treat them to lunch the next time you are in person or jump on a virtual call to share your appreciation and bring a few peers along to celebrate with them. You could also consider sending them a gift card to their favorite place and sharing a meal virtually. Giving the gift of time is the only gift we can’t get back and it has the biggest impact.
Recognize You Are an Ambassador of Kindness. Instead of employee of the month, consider Ambassador of Kindness and award employees with their picture on a virtual space, a free lunch from the boss to their favorite place, a certificate stating they are an ambassador of kindness and invite them to carry forward their kindness to others inside your organization. Consider doing this on a monthly or quarterly basis and post on social media who won.
Schedule Intentional Time Together. Schedule a virtual get-together and in advance, email all the staff any supporting documents to fully participate in any activities you invite them to participate in. A few activities that can add fun are bringing your favorite book and telling the story about it, grabbing your favorite mug, and sharing why it's your favorite, or asking your employees to do a 10-minute scavenger hunt and award those with the most items found a $25 gift card to their favorite place.
Mail Something Unique and Special to Employees. Send packages or employee appreciation boxes to everyone’s home with a few items in it. Could be a small 5x7 package with a few items and a thank you note or card or if you have a larger budget, you can consider mailing a box with goodies and some company merchandise. Remember how you felt the last time you received something in the mail appreciating or thanking you? You can create that feeling for your employees.
Bring in Outside Voices. Host a virtual appreciation party inviting a few speakers to facilitate sessions on mindfulness, yoga, or balancing work and life in the new normal we have found ourselves in.
An Email Goes a Long Way. On the employee’s first day send an email welcoming them to the company from the CEO.
Promote Employee Health and Well-being Activities. Consistently promoting employee health and well-being activities by posting some tips in a monthly newsletter or blog that leadership and other experts outside of your organization contribute to or staff who have a passion for this topic.
Celebrate Milestones. Acknowledge and celebrate non-work achievements with a handwritten card or thoughtful email.
Handwritten Cards Are Still a Thing. Anytime you think about it, write a note and mail it. It does matter when you send it.
One Email Can Impact in More Ways Than One. Send an email to all the staff in your department or division and ask them to think of someone they appreciate and send them an email thanking them for all they do. You can create a positive wave inside your organization that outlasts Employee Appreciation Day.
Create a Virtual Wall of Appreciation. Create a virtual space for staff to post appreciation notes about other staff members. These postings can also be included in your monthly newsletter or blog and used on social media to highlight the good work of your staff.
Celebrate the Wins Along the Way. Track employees' wins throughout the year and take time to celebrate in fun ways like on a Thursday if everyone has the Friday off, the week before an extended break to keep them motivated, or other special occasions. Imagine if your annual report included some of these statistics.
Host a Health and Wellness Fair Onsite or Virtually. How fun would it be to show staff how much you support them by pausing and partnering with health and wellness leaders in your community such as massage places, yoga studios, health food specialty stores, and local family-owned businesses to empower staff to have work-life balance. You can also pivot this to online and mail health and wellness boxes in advance.
Chamber Members Love to Support Employees. Consider partnering with your local chamber of commerce and ask organizations to donate merchandise to your staff that they can use such as stress balls, lotion, hand sanitizer, backpacks, etc. Again, a win-win for all.
Encourage Your Staff to Intentionally Invest in Their Own Development. There are so many low or no-cost ways staff can invest in themselves. Encourage your staff to look for those opportunities and if your company pays for them to attend industry-specific events or continuing education, let them know you can be flexible with their schedules to attend. Document this in their people investment plan. You could offer them coaching to elevate their career as well as pay for lunch and learn topics that interest them.
Make Up Your Own Holiday or Celebration. You don’t have to follow the traditional calendar. Your team has ideas, and your employees will too. All you have to do is bring people together and ask for their ideas!
Pay It Forward. Intentionally investing in another person has many benefits. You can create a mentoring program where new staff or staff who want to move up in your organization have access to those who are currently in the role they might like to have. Then match away and support them by having the time to do it during normal working hours.
Your Voice Matters. If your employees are mainly in the office, designate a place for them to submit feedback on how to improve the snacks in the break room, the type of pencils you use, the day birthday celebrations happen, or a new idea they have. If your employees are mainly virtual, create an online space for staff to share their big or small ideas. If their idea is selected, celebrate that online by sharing it with all staff and depending on the idea, post the idea on social media.
Make it Unique to Each Employee. Not all employees choose to celebrate birthdays and holidays. You can pivot your employee appreciation plan to that are framed in a way that supports their individual preferences such as new year kick-off, fall fest, spring bash, end of the year get together, summer bbq, monthly coffee, and conversation, or any other way to hold space for employees and appreciate them for their work. Meet them where they are so each staff member feels seen and heard.
I Appreciate YOU!
How did you feel the last time someone said I appreciate you? Thank you for all you do.
We can get so caught up in the human doing of life that we forget what’s most important is the human being. Showing up for ourselves and others. It’s not about checklists or how many activities you plan, it’s the way you strategically map out and hold yourself accountable for showing your appreciation for those who work with you and for you.
We don’t have to wait until the annual Employee Appreciation Day rolls around, we can transform our culture into appreciating employees in an intentional way all year long. We can invest in the most valuable assets we have that don’t show up on a balance sheet. It’s our employees, from the person who answers our phones to the salesperson that brought in the largest account in history for your organization.
The learning is always in the pause. Pause and create your plan today!
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