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March 2, 2018

4 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

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Every year, on the first Friday of March, companies around the world celebrate Employee Appreciation Day. And while it’s certainly a great sentiment that there’s a day for showing your employee’s how important they are to your business, needless to say, appreciating your employees once a year won’t do the trick.

The truth is, the way you treat your employees is affecting the service people get when they visit your business. The happier your employees are, the happier your customers will be as well. Offering great customer service is one of the best ways to increase customer retention and offering high-quality customer service is not possible if your employees aren’t fully on board.

The satisfaction level of your employees also has a great impact on your retention rates. No matter what industry you are in, turnover rates are a huge problem and keeping your best employees is getting harder every year. High turnover rates also mean that you are losing a lot of money on having to find, education and onboard new staff members on a very rapid and regular basis.

Companies with solid strategies in place for recognizing team members and showing their employees love and appreciation tend to enjoy increased employee morale, stronger engagement and lower employee turnover.

Want to know what you need to do in order to show your staff that you truly appreciate them, and not just on the first Friday of March?

Here are four surefire tactics for showing your staff that they are truly valued and indispensable every day and not just on Employee Appreciation Day! 

Offer Your Staff Benefits They Really Want  

Casual Friday, free coffee, Employee of the Month programs – that’s all great. However, if you really want to make an impact, you need to start focusing on offering real benefits to your employees that are going to improve their lives in more significant ways.

Flexible hours and flexible vacation time mean a lot to young workers. Real benefits like proper health insurance are also at the top of many workers’ lists of the benefits that they covet most.

Many business owners believe that it’s all about money and are often surprised by the fact that their best employees end up leaving them, even if they have been receiving regular and significant raises every year. Studies have shown that money is not always the most important factor for employee appreciation and certainly not the only option you have if you want to decrease employee turnover.

If you are not sure what your staff wants most in terms of benefits, don’t be afraid to ask. Survey your employees to find out what benefits they would like to see the most and then do your best to meet their needs and wishes.

Employee Appreciation Day

Schedule a Fun Day of Team Building Activities 

As we already mentioned, the best managers are able to show employee appreciation throughout the year. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be doing anything special for Employee Appreciation Day and it certainly will not hurt to scheduling special team building events on that day and treat your employees.

You can go out for lunch that day and treat your staff to a nice meal, or even set something up after work if it’s more convenient. Go out for a nice dinner or some drinks and karaoke to have some fun with your staff and let loose a little bit.

Do something fun and rewarding for your team and help build camaraderie and friendships. While there always needs to be a line between being a boss and a friend to your staff, the importance of building relationships and friendships at your workplace can’t be stressed enough.

Gestures like this are actually great employee appreciation ideas. Taking the time and effort to organize team events every now and then for your staff shows that you are thinking about them and gives you a perfect way to build the relationship within the team and show your staff that you care about them and strive to make their time at your company a memorable and fun experience.

Be a Mentor to Your Employees 

Learning and mentorship programs are great for a few reasons. First of all, they improve staff knowledge but perhaps even more importantly, they can improve retention as well by developing your best employees into future managers who will one day become leaders within your company.

No matter what industry you work in, working entry-level for too long can be frustrating. Having a qualified mentor in the workplace helps your employees see the possibilities that your company has to offer and shows them that management cares about them and their development.

Pair up new employees with mentors and give them the chance to build relationships and pass down knowledge.

Employee Appreciation Day

Praise Your Staff Effectively and Regularly 

A simple “Thank you for the good work” can sometimes get lost in the constant rush. That’s why managers need to make time to give shoutouts to their employees regularly and constantly.

Studies have shown that employees who receive regular recognition from their bosses have a better time at work and are more engaged. This study also shows that when managers praise their staff effectively, the percentage of employees who give their coworkers regular praise and recognition rises organically as well.

If you want to have a successful company these days, you need to focus a lot more on building a positive culture in which your employees enjoy working. It’s not just about how much money they make, today’s generation of workers want a fulfilling work experience that’s full of positivity.

Showing your staff on a regular basis, not just on Employee Appreciation Day, that you care about them and value their work is of utmost importance for companies that want to build a thriving, engaging and productive culture. With employee appreciation ideas like these, you are more than ready to do it.