With National Employee Appreciation Day around the corner, we wanted to share The Mundo Team’s Do’s and Don’ts List as well as some of our favorite ideas for every budget. Most importantly is making this national holiday a starting point for a company culture that makes appreciation a daily habit. Start now, start with your team, start with your co-workers but start. Appreciation is contagious!
DO
- Make it Personal: appreciation gifts resonate when they are personalized. Employee appreciation is not a one size fits all initiative. Recognize individual contribution.
- Be Intentional: the goal is for employees to feel appreciated, if they don’t the initiative was a waste of resources.
- Ask Your Employees: send out a survey. Have employee’s complete questionnaire during onboarding, share with their supervisor. Update information as time goes on, resurvey.
- Budget and Ask for Resources: share your ideas and ask your leadership for support. Ask for a regular budget and manage your resources accordingly. Advocate for your appreciation culture.
- Peer Recognition: make it a team effort, create the space for team members to recognize each other. Listen to your team’s ideas, you don’t have to think of everything.
- Make it Your Responsibility: if you manage/lead a team of any size cultivating a team culture of appreciation is your responsibility.
DON’T
- Branded Swag: There is a time and a place for branded merch and employee appreciation initiatives are not it. Think onboarding, orientation, brand awareness events, job fairs, etc.
- Postpone: employee appreciation initiatives can take time and resources, don’t through something together last minute. Instead do the ground work from day one. Get to know your employees, their likes, personal and professional milestones, support style.
- Make it About Gifts: appreciation is so much more than gifts and money. Yes, we all love getting things but a healthy culture of appreciation includes positive affirmations, professional validation, open communication and celebrating ALL the wins.
- Do it Alone: listen to your team’s ideas, ask for help, and/or outsource to the many companies providing resources. Really, there are companies curating gift boxes and planning employee focused events.
- Have Personal Expectations: the goal is for employees to feel appreciated and to have a team culture that fosters an appreciative environment for all. Every initiative will not get you praise. Not every initiative will be loved by everyone, and that is okay. Make note, learn, review your employee information and get a better idea going for next time.
BUDGET: Money Is No Obstacle
- Time Off: Close for the day, make National Employee Appreciation Day a paid holiday. If not, add and announce a paid holiday to the calendar that employees have been requesting.
- Retreat: take your employees on a retreat with all expenses paid. Think wellness, health, development, etc..
- Workshop: pay for personal or professional development. Pay for them to attend a conference of their personal likes and interest.
- Cash Bonus: surprise them with money, no strings attached.
BUDGET: I Have a Budget to Work With
- Late on Monday: Let everyone have a late start on Monday. Why not, we all struggle with Monday’s.
- Team Activity: go bowling, escape room, an arcade or have a game day at the office. Get competitive, have fun and give prizes.
- Team Lunch: cater lunch, bring in some food trucks or take them out to get some fresh air.
- Gift Card: give them a gift card to their favorite shop, restaurant, activity, or spa.
- Gift Box: make personalized gift boxes. Or make a few different theme boxes and let them choose. Themes like health and wellness, shop local, coffee connoisseur, tech, office and stationary, etc..
BUDGET: No Money, No Problem
- Thank You: a personalized thank you message goes a long way. Make it heartfelt, not everyone is a great writer so look up some inspiration and get in the mood to express your feelings.
- Close Early: let everyone go home early on Friday, we would all love to start the weekend early. If can be an hour or two, it does not have to be anything crazy.
- Raffle: if you have a small budget get the biggest/best prize you can get and raffle it off or have a contest. Everyone gets to participate and the winner gets something they feel is worth it.
- Awards: have an awards meeting. Serious or funny but celebrate your employees in some way. Again, make it personal. Examples: performance awards, personality awards, “most likely to” awards, etc..
What did we miss? What is your favorite way to show appreciation? What are your plans for this year’s National Employee Appreciation Day, we would love to hear from you.