30 Amazing Ideas for Employee Appreciation Day - EmployeeConnect
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Employee Appreciation Day,employee appreciation gifts, employee appreciation day australia, staff appreciation ideas, appreciate

30 Amazing Ideas for Employee Appreciation Day

National Employee Appreciation Day: Friday, 3 March, 2023

Do you want to boost your employee retention and overall productivity? One of the best practices is employee appreciation for inspiring your team and making them feel valued. When you adopt such a company culture where the worker’s efforts are recognised, they get more satisfied with the job. It boosts employee morale and makes them participate wholeheartedly in training sessions and other office programs. So, if you’re looking for approaches to appreciate your workforce, this blog is for you.

Why it is important to make employees feel appreciated

According to research, 80% of employees would work harder if they felt appreciated. Appreciation programs encourage team building and make employees more engaged with their tasks. Showing gratitude is extremely important for reducing the turnover of employees. About 53% of the employees would stay longer if they felt appreciated by the boss. Moreover, employee recognition also strengthens the company culture and values.

30 Staff Appreciation Ideas to Keep your People Happy

Do you know that 72% of businesses agree that employee recognition impacts engagement positively? So, if you want to keep your staff happy and engaged, you need to opt for some appreciation ideas. These are the little things that make employees feel appreciated. This article provides you with 30 ideas to feel your team much appreciated.

1. Express your gratitude on social media

The best way to recognise employees in today’s digital world is to value their contributions publicly. Do you tell your employees that you appreciate them? Social media is the optimal choice to show your gratitude towards them. You can represent your team on your company’s page to motivate them.

2. Peer-to-peer recognition

As a leader, make it easy for coworkers to appreciate each other’s efforts. Your colleagues are more likely to know about your day-to-day input. Appreciation from teammates provides a sense of achievement. 41% of companies that use peer-to-peer recognition have a positive influence on customer satisfaction.

3. A Thank You can make a big difference

Employees perform effectively when they feel their boss is satisfied with their performance. As a leader or manager, make time to say thank you to your employees. It encourages them to work even better with dedication and a sense of acknowledgement. 85% of the employees become satisfied with a Thank you for their efforts.

4. Give Bonuses, perks, and ownership

Financial benefits are one of the best ways to express your appreciation towards your team. As a manager, you can value your employees by providing them with raises, incentives, and a sense of ownership. You can offer them stock options, share profits and other packages to keep them engaged.

5. Launch employee appreciation programs

Conducting employee recognition programmes allow managers to reward their staff on a broader level. It is a fascinating way to appreciate the unseen efforts of the team. In this way, the team feels that their managers don’t neglect them and that they are worthy.

6. Provide an extra day off to reduce burnout

Who else doesn’t like a day off? Apart from the usual holidays, you can grant an extra day off to make your staff stirred up for the upcoming projects. It benefits the overstressed employees who are tired of the rough routine. An unexpected holiday provides them with a chance to refresh themselves, so they can resume work with full devotion.

7. Provide subsidised vacation perks

Employees try to rejuvenate themselves on vacation days. You can offer them a subsidised vacation trip and pay for their residence, visa, or food. These benefits make them feel appreciated and become a source of their happiness.

8. Create an encouraging environment for staff

The employees feel admired when they feel that their voice is heard. As a boss, you must ensure a positive and psychologically safe environment for the staff. It makes them feel free to give their point of view. You should praise their participation and encourage them to promote a flexible company culture.

9. Reward the staff with personal gifts

You can celebrate your staff’s important days, wins, birthdays, anniversaries, milestones, and other accomplishments with precious gifts. For instance, you can offer gift cards, company swag, branded items, flowers and other personalised presents. It makes them emotionally connect with you and makes them feel much appreciated.

10. Organise one-to-one meetings with the team

The employees perform well when the boss is aware of their employee’s needs and preferences. A confidential discussion with the staff allows the manager to understand the challenges and day-to-day activities. So, these meetings give the managers a chance to praise the workers more effectively.

11. Utilise employee recognition tools

The employee appreciation software allows managers to streamline employee recognition on a public platform. It’s one of the best practices to praise the workers without any delay. These tools automate the activities, and you can appreciate the employees by giving credit where it is due.

12. Give your staff growth opportunities

Employees feel more motivated when they are given opportunities for growth. You can provide them with informative workshops, training programs, seminars and other sessions to improve their knowledge and skills.

Employee Recognition Software

13. Respect your employees’ ideas

Your staff may have tons of innovative ideas. Instead of overlooking their opinions, try to see the good side and implement the relevant plans in the company. In this way, the vocal employees feel that their voice is heard and their insights are respected by the boss.

14. Share positive feedback with the staff

You should pass along the customer’s positive remarks to the staff. It makes them feel that their work is being noticed and appreciated by the clients or customers. In this way, they work even harder for better results.

15. Arrange fun activities to reduce the workload

The main purpose of organising fun activities is to foster team bonding among the staff members. It helps them feel motivated and mitigates the workload. So, you can make your team happy by conducting picnics, hiking, international tour, lunch, contests and other amusing activities.

16. Provide your employee’s health benefits

When the company invests in health incentives, the employees feel more satisfied with their jobs. For this purpose, you can provide free hospitalisation, routine checkup, gym facility, a healthy mess and others.

17. Transport and parking spaces

Providing perks like free transport facilities and on-site parking spots benefit your employees. These facilities make it easy for them to go the extra mile. The more the staff is at ease, the better they perform for the company.

18. Appreciate staff by giving promotions

The companies provide promotions to praise the hard work and efforts of the employees. It can be one of the most effective ways to show employee appreciation. So, provide clear pathways to promote your staff to the next level to keep them motivated.

19. Gift a monthly subscription

You want to make your staff happy, right? Offer them monthly subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other platforms. You can also send them magazine subscriptions as per their interests and preferences. It makes them feel that you also take care of their entertainment.

20. Allot recognition titles

What’s so special about the employees who perform excellent jobs among the whole staff? You can stir competition among the employees by setting specific recognition titles. For example, you can set the “employee of the month” or “employee of the year” title to keep the employees stirred up. It’s the best way to praise the staff.

21. Provide employees with the latest technology

You can reward your team by supplying the latest equipment and technology. It makes the employee’s work much easier. They use updated resources to perform their tasks easily and efficiently. So, investing in up-to-date facilities keeps your staff at ease.

22. Upgrade the breakroom

Companies specially design a breakroom for the employees to take some rest away from work. Make the breakroom a relaxing place full of refreshments. Employees can utilise this place for eating a meal, reading a book, or listening to music. You can improvise a fascinating setup to appeal to the employees.

23. Reward the staff with learning opportunities

Employees do better at their job when they are given a learning environment. You can encourage e-learning programs, educational workshops and other learning seminars to improve team skills. You can reward your staff with free or discounted sessions to enhance their growth.

24. Encourage employee mentoring

Mentoring is one of the top practices to appreciate your staff. When you provide experienced employees with a sense of authority, they feel trusted and valued. So, encourage your staff by giving them some responsibilities to lead their juniors.

25. Bring in the food trucks

The everyday routine gets boring for the staff. You can make them energised by planning something special for them. For this purpose, you can call a local food truck that specialises in any desired meal to make their day different and exciting. For instance, you can call to arrange pizzas once a week for them.

26. Praise non-work achievements

Some employees have hidden talents, and they feel valued when their boss admires them. For instance, as a boss, you may have employees who are artists, singers, composers, painters etc. You can appreciate their skills in personally or publicly to praise them.

27. Involve employees in decision-making

When you make the employees a part of the decision-making process, they feel that their opinions have some worth and they feel appreciated. You can involve them during onboarding, special projects, presentations, meetings etc.

28. Take the staff out on dinner

Apart from formal company meetings, you can schedule a personal dinner with your staff. It allows you to strengthen your relationship with the employees.

29. Praise the small stuff

Everyone celebrates the big achievements, but praising the smaller efforts can make a difference. The employees feel happy when you value their tiny inputs and give them bonuses and perks in return.

30. Host a virtual appreciation ceremony

You can also host an online employee recognition ceremony to praise your staff. Especially when you are leading a remote team, this technique helps you to appreciate your far-off team members and keep them motivated.

Conclusion

In short, employee appreciation plays a significant role in enhancing the overall performance of the team. You can follow the above-discussed ideas to empower your staff. If you are looking for an HR platform to manage your workforce with complete flexibility, try EmployeeConnect. This is an all-in-one software that automates your employee data and makes it easy for you to do the evaluation. So what makes you wait? Get your first demo now!

Byron Conway
byron@employeeconnect.com

Content Coordinator at EmployeeConnect