Employee Appreciation Day

According to the National Day Calendar, the first Friday in March — March 6, 2020 — is Employee Appreciation Day. It’s a day when employers across all industries are encouraged to focus on recognizing their employees’ contributions.

Why is Employee Appreciation Day important?

In every company, the employees are one of the greatest assets. And as Mann and Dvorak report in their article “Employee Recognition: Low Cost, High Impact” for Gallup, recognizing your employees makes them feel motivated and valued — plus, it provides them with a sense of accomplishment. Moreover, it boosts engagement and productivity. Last, but certainly not least, it also increases loyalty to the company, which in turn leads to higher retention. 

Great ideas for Employee Appreciation Day

Exactly how you can celebrate your employees depends on several factors, including your team’s size and schedule, as well as your budget. 

If you don’t have any budget at all, don’t worry — there are some non-cash incentives that can communicate your appreciation. For example, you could call everyone together and thank them in person for all the good work they do. If everyone’s super busy, you can send out a group email with your thanks. You could also give your people a flexible work schedule for a day, allow them to work from home, or let them go home early. 

If you have a modest budget, why not treat your employees to their favorite coffee or tea drink while you say a few words about each person’s contributions to the team? Other ideas include buying lunch for the team or giving your employees gift cards.

If you have a larger budget, it’s nice to give your team members experiences — such as a sushi making class or a day at an amusement park. They’ll likely enjoy many Instagram-worthy moments they can share — and that’s fun for them while at the same time helping to build your employer brand. Depending on your team’s preferences, decide for yourself whether it’s best to give the individual employees separate experiences or to organize a group outing. 

Be genuine and thoughtful

Finally, as Grace Ferguson points out in her article “How to Celebrate Employees” for Chron, it’s not so much the scope of the celebration that counts — it’s the fact that you deliver it in a genuine and thoughtful manner. So dig deep and try to express exactly why you appreciate your team members — and you’ll stand the greatest chance of your thank you affecting them in a positive manner. 

Source:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-employee-appreciation-day-first-friday-in-march/

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236441/employee-recognition-low-cost-high-impact.aspx

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/celebrate-employees-32613.html

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