Nobody panic, the actual Employees Appreciation Day is not coming up. If you haven’t celebrated it yet, well, you missed it back in March. And if you want to add it perpetually to your calendar with adequate reminders, it’s the first Friday of March.
When deadlines, profit margins and strategic goals dominate, it’s surprisingly easy to overlook the heartbeat of any successful organization: its employees. I mean, if you aren’t tracking YOUR heartbeat for something specific, it’s pretty easy to just forget about it, right? Thank you for the autonomic systems of our bodies! It is sad and disappointing that “Employees Appreciation Day” has become just another item on the corporate checklist. The genuine need and desire for employees to feel appreciated goes far beyond a mere formality.
It’s definitely nice to have that one special day where employees are the stars of the show! However everyday should be a day to showcase the talents, accomplishments and contributions your employees make.
Employees Appreciation Day: Beyond a Token Gesture
Discussions about employee appreciation often end up circling back to the standard “pizza party” or some other brief recognition event. While these efforts are well-intentioned, they often fall short. Followed by a rapid return to business as usual in the days following. The enthusiasm fades and the camaraderie that started to develop slowly dissipates. As the days pass, everyday challenges regain the spotlight, and the once happy moment of acknowledgement loses its luster. Amidst the pressures of deadlines and duties, someone needs to address the deeper need for acknowledgment and recognition.
Cultivating an Everyday Culture of Appreciation
The heart of the matter lies in recognizing that Employees Appreciation Day could be an everyday occurrence. This involves acknowledging and celebrating small victories like the copier being restocked with paper all week! It could also look like acknowledging the unique strengths of each team member like how Stacy always sends meeting reminders. Another way is actively seeking out opportunities to express gratitude for things like sending meeting reminders! Making small gestures of appreciation will begin to cultivate an everyday culture of appreciation.
We’ve previously emphasized the importance of employee welcome kits and cultivating a strong organizational culture, and appreciation is no different. We believe fostering a robust culture is the cornerstone of a thriving, successful business. After all, employees are our strongest asset! A business cannot operate in isolation, as it takes contributions from every member of the team to maintain its functionality.
As managers, the responsibility is on us to set the tone. Our actions and words reverberate throughout the organization, influencing the way appreciation is perceived and practiced.
Creating Opportunities for Employee Appreciation
There are many ways that you can build opportunities for employee appreciation into your organization’s daily, weekly and monthly practices that are meaningful and do not take a lot of effort. Sure, you’ll get a few employees that may mock the ideas or be resistant until they are appreciated. Check out these ideas for opportunities and then come up with some that might reverberate well throughout your organization:
- Meeting Acknowledgements – at the end of meetings, take a moment to acknowledge people for their specific contributions. It can be as simple as: “Hey Kevin, I want to acknowledge you for speaking up about the problems we were having with that report. Now we have an opportunity to fix it and come back to the table with something better!”. Or it could sound like :“Thank you everyone for coming in with a great attitude and for putting your all into finding solutions. This is going to be great!”. Bonus points if you can acknowledge each individual for their contribution. More points if you get your staff to acknowledge each other.
- Gratitude Board – Put a gratitude board into your main meeting room, employee break room or hallway. Tell employees it’s for highlighting anything they are grateful for throughout the day or week. Keep it rather casual and tell them the messages will be cleared when you need more room. Save the postings to come back to quarterly or annually. Review with the whole team what you’ve all been grateful for during that time frame.
- High Achiever Cards – High Road co-founder, Cheryl Salazar, created for her team members to acknowledge each other. They loved it so much they began acknowledging employees in other departments! Customers also had opportunities to acknowledge staff with them. The point was to complete the card, give it to the person’s direct supervisor to then give to the employee. The employee was recognized during the weekly staff meeting and given a chance to talk about the situation for which they were recognized. Team mates enjoyed listening to the situations and cited that part of the staff meeting as a great learning experience. You can download this version for free to use with your team members: here.
The Ripple Effect: Boosting Morale and Productivity
When genuine appreciation becomes an integral part of the work environment, its impact extends far beyond surface-level pleasantries. Morale gets a significant boost, leading to a ripple effect of a more engaged and motivated workforce. Employees who feel valued take ownership of their roles, driving productivity to new heights.
Furthermore, a culture of appreciation fosters a sense of loyalty and belonging. Employees are more likely to stay committed to an organization that recognizes their efforts and invests in their personal and professional growth. This, in turn, reduces turnover rates and contributes to the establishment of a stalwart team with a shared vision.
Once you begin taking additional opportunities to acknowledge and appreciate your staff, you’ll begin to notice the ripple effect around the team. Be sure that your appreciation and acknowledgements are authentic and from the heart or there may be an opposite effect if your team feels you are being disingenuous. If your relationship with your team needs some improvement so that your acknowledgements do not fall on deaf ears, read our blog about leading with empathy.
Conclusion
Employees Appreciation Day is more than just a date on the calendar. By embracing a culture of appreciation, you can empower our employees to flourish, driving innovation, productivity, and loyalty. Just as a garden requires constant care and attention to flourish, so too does our workforce need ongoing appreciation to blossom into their full potential.
For more ways to show appreciation in the workplace, check out our blog on How to Show Love (Appreciation) in the Office. We published this one just in time for Valentine’s Day which is only a couple of weeks before Employee Appreciation Day. So maybe take that as a cue to show your employee’s some love.
