Creative Ideas for Celebrating Employees Appreciation Day

Your team puts in its best effort to bring the desired outcome to the organization. They work hard because they want the organization to grow and succeed.

But, amid all this hard work, your team should know that you recognize and value their role. The efforts and time they give to the organization need to be appreciated. As workplace recognition goes a long way, it boosts team morale. And encourage them to do better every step of the way.

44% of employees switch jobs because they get inadequate recognition for their efforts.

Employee Appreciation Day is celebrated on the first Friday of March. But, you need not narrow down this day to a single day. Appreciate their efforts whenever you can and let them know they matter.

Below are 10 creative ideas where you can show some love to your team on employee appreciation day and beyond:

Creative Ideas for Employee Appreciation Day

Meditation and mindfulness session: Start meditation/mindfulness sessions once or twice a month at your workplace. This will give a much-needed energy boost to your team and help them to get off stress. You can start with a guided meditation session that you can find anywhere on youtube. But, if you chose to make it an important part, you can call a meditation practitioner at your workplace.

It will give your employees holistic mental peace. And will let them know that their well-being is important and taken care of by the organization.

Gift bags: Company-branded gift hampers is the best way to show appreciation to your employees. A few of the gift items to include are a water bottle, cup, T-shirt, gift cards, notebook, etc. You can go one step further by asking your team members what they want. And then choosing the gifts accordingly. This increases loyalty and feels appreciated. They can even enjoy these gifts with their friends and family.

For the remote workers, you can deliver the gift hamper to their respective locations. This will make them realize that they are important parts too and are not left out.

Career-related rewards: Nowadays, employees are well aware of the importance of upskilling. They prefer working at a workplace that cares for their learning and development.

It includes books, audiobooks, online courses, and many more that can help them to upskill. It will not only give them a helping hand to follow their passion but a competitive edge over others. You can even organize a virtual or in-office meeting with a guest speaker/life coach.

Handwritten letters: Handwritten letters are one of the best ways to express gratitude and love to your employees. What makes it special is that they are personalized and hence, cheers the team up. They remember these letters for a long time and this boosts their morale and performance. In return, they contribute well to the organization’s success.

Even if you are not good with words, a simple Thank You goes a long way.

The employees can pin these letters to their work desks or carry them with their office essentials. But, either way, they always remember these tiny gestures.

Workation: Workation stands for working on a vacation. You can take your team on a workation once or twice a year. This will not only be a learning experience for them but enhance their creativity as well. They can enjoy the environment outside while it improves their productivity and performance.

Workation will make your employees feel that they matter at the workplace. Also, the workation trips have something new to offer. Either in the form of learning or experiences. Hence, it will let them work on their role with new perspectives and differently.

Team lunch: Food brings everyone together. You can have a team lunch whenever you achieve a particular target or outcome. This will ensure your employees that their work is seen and appreciated. You can order their favorite food and include them virtually for remote workers.

Here, you can highlight every employee’s effort and get to know them personally. Ensure that you don’t bring up work-related topics here. You can add team-building activities as well. It will result in healthy competition among co-workers and strengthen relationships between them.

Half-day off: You can give your employees half-day off as a result of their hard work and dedication. It is one of the unique ways to show appreciation for your team’s efforts. This will let them rest and recharge and come back stronger to the workplace. Early release can help them to have me-time or spend a little more time with their friends or family.

You can schedule it before the weekend. Or if you want to take one step further, you can let them decide on their own according to schedule.

Shoutout on social media platforms: Everyone loves appreciation in front of a huge crowd. Your employees love it too. Hence, you can appreciate their efforts on your social media platforms. This will not only boost their morale, but they will feel good to be part of the organization.

For example, on employee appreciation day, you can post your employees’ pictures. Here, you can highlight their best quality at the workplace.

Besides this, you can even give it on collaborative platforms as well. Such as MS Teams, Slack, and many more. Especially when you have a remote team in your organization.

Pro-tip: For remote and hybrid teams, the Kudos feature can be a rescue here. You can give them a one-liner or donut emoji for their efforts and dedication.

In a Nutshell

The creative ideas for employee appreciation day are never-ending. You can start with the above-mentioned pointers. And see how it creates a difference in the workplace.

You should also note that this is not a one-time activity but an integral part of your company’s culture. Ensure that you make the most out of it and keep your employees happy.

Because happy employees = happy workplace!