There are only so many people laboring day in and day out and performing their goodness to make your business grow, and they deserve a day to be thanked!
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well,” said Voltaire.
Any sign of gratitude is worth a mile in morale boosters and work of your employees. Therefore, we are going to help you make your teammates feel appreciated with some employee appreciation ideas!
The entire concept of employee appreciation is meant to recognize the efforts of all those in your working environment, celebrating the efforts put forth by all.
When you appreciate your employees, they will naturally be happier and more productive. Here are some good reasons why you should implement some tactics for employee appreciation!
Read More: 45+ Unique and Creative Employee Appreciation Gifts To Boost Morale
1. Shoutouts on Social Platforms
Public appreciation and compliments go a long way when it comes to work culture. You may use social networks and public profiles of your company to mention specific employees who excel in their work, and let’s face it, it’s one of the most inexpensive employee appreciation ideas.
Facebook, Instagram, or, even better, and more business-specific, such as LinkedIn, whichever platform your organisation uses to promote itself is ga reat tool for doing this and making workers feel seen.
Select one employee whom you would like to appreciate and write a post of appreciation for them so that the public can see it.
2. Deliver Personalized Notes of Appreciation
Personal touch does wonders. As we mentioned earlier, public love goes a long way, but a more personal and intimate approach will hit the mark even more effectively.
In your one-on-one conversation on emails, tell your employee that they do a great job and that you cherish them. They’ll never forget the day when they were given a personalized appreciation letter for a lifetime ahead! And it’s a no-cost employee appreciation idea!
Read More: How to Create a Career Development Plan for Employee Close to Retirement
3. Send Them a Personalized Gift
Now this might be a challenging one. Why? Because this gift of appreciation is so personal, you will have to send something different to every employee, something that you are sure they will like and cherish.
Of course, this is impossible to do in large companies, but in small teams, it will strengthen the connection.
4. Employees Swapping Gifts Among Themselves
This is a truly great chess move. It will cost you a lot less to buy a gift for every employee, so events like Secret Santa are one of the most innovative ways to foster a sense of community and bond with your employees.
5. Implement an Employee Discount and Awards Program
Many companies have begun offering gift cards and discount cards to their employees. Some programs ensure that after work, your team enjoys off-work hours in style. Offering them discounts in fashion stores, gyms, and holiday options is going to do wonders for productivity.
6. Day Off with Relaxing Spa Packages
Who does not love an unplanned day off, right? If you want to genuinely demonstrate to your staff that you value their comfort and well-being, consider surprising them with a day off and spa package specials.
It would be best if you could organize a spa day when all your employees can relax. However, if your employees are working from home or live far from one another, you can simply purchase packages near their locations or provide them with an allowance for spa relaxation.
We’re sure that your staff will love this!
7. Food for the Win!
The most obvious idea that everybody will love is simple – food. On a miserable day with bad weather, what could be a better mood lift than with some delicious food and drinks?
You can make the day shine brighter with some tasty donuts, sandwiches, pizzas, burgers, or a full-blown buffet! Another great thing about this is that people will have less to stress about when making dinner upon returning home. No need for cooking up a big meal after all the buffet!
8. Happy Hours
Lunches at the office or food outings are an excellent idea. But how about we take that aspect and mix it up with some partying? On a Friday, you could cut the work hours short and invite everybody for drinks in a local pub.
This is one of the great staff appreciation ideas where you should shut office work a little earlier than usual, give yourself and your teammates a break, and take your entire team for a round of drinks.
Happy hours are generally between 5 and 6 pm at most bars. Therefore, this is when you take your team there and treat them to as many drinks as you want!
9. Team Building Events
Team-building events are a common way companies encourage their workers to bond and create stronger ties. This can be an event you can discuss at the office, which would be a fun and totally out-of-the-ordinary thing to experience together.
From the crazy ideas, such as going paintballing, to more casual ones like a picnic, you will treat them to a day of pure entertainment and appreciation. Each person will go back home valued and fully entertained, returning the next day fully recharged and motivated!
The numbers also support this:
Flair company has conducted research that showed that team building increased engagement levels, resulting in a 41% reduction in absenteeism, a 24% decrease in turnover in high-turnover organizations, a 17% boost in productivity, and a 21% rise in profitability.
Successful teams begin with individuals who possess an understanding of their strengths and how these strengths benefit the team.
Read More: 22 Cheap Team Building Ideas to Improve Communication, Boost Morale, and More!
10. Your Own Personalized Hall of Fame!
All you have to do is vacate a room or a hallway wall in your office and fill it with pictures of your employees, weighed down with the appreciation you would like to convey to them. This could be taken seriously as an achievement, but who says that it cannot be a humorous thing, too?
11. Style and Fashion
One more clever chess move that you can use to win on two fronts simultaneously is giving your employees merchandise-focused gift bags. Fill those beautiful bags with functional office gift items such as water bottles, pen holders, notebooks, and more like them?
In addition to being considered a small gift to workers, this is also a clever way to advertise in public, especially with tote bags featuring the design or logo of your company.
This is one of those moves that a boss with a clever mind and a long-term entrepreneurial view can do to get the most with the least effort.
12. Meditation for Inner Peace
What is a better way to inform your team that you care for them than by helping them relax the entire day? Taking care of mental health is imperative in today’s fast and stressful working environment.
This is why taking care of employees’ health can benefit you in multiple ways. Hiring a meditation teacher for a session of guided meditation in the office will decrease stressful energy and make workers feel more relaxed.
The result of this is thankful employees and an office that will run smoothly than before.
13. Host a Game Day
Organize a game day where everyone can leave their files and computers behind and enjoy themselves all day. Board games, charades, or Jeopardy – your team chooses!
The most wonderful thing about game day is that it’s a budget-friendly party that you can easily organize in the office. Furthermore, it will definitely awaken the nostalgia and childishness in all of you!
14. It’s Virtual Reality Time
Providing your employees with the latest technology that enables them to work more efficiently is one of the best things you can do for your company. This especially applies if you’re the boss of an IT services firm.
When your employees are using technology on your behalf throughout the day, shouldn’t they be able to try out the latest and greatest technology? Make your employees’ lives easier, and they will give you back exponentially more than what you invested.
15. Culture
Culture is an interesting one, and even if it doesn’t seem that it would help the company, you would be surprised. Consider planning a fun outing with your employees to a museum or the gallery.
Every company needs creative solutions to expand and work efficiently. This can be achieved in more ways than focusing just on fixing problems. Bell Works company has researched this topic, and they came to an interesting conclusion:
“Examples of cultural events and activities that play a significant role in boosting employee engagement. Beyond providing entertainment, cultural events cultivate an engaging and stimulating workplace environment, enhancing employee retention and morale, and nurturing a sense of camaraderie and community among engaged employees.”
Art cultivates critical thinking and creative thought that can help workers expand their view of the work. In that process, they devise some creative solutions. Although this may seem far-fetched at first, it is one of those things that subtly influences people.
16. Adventure Days are Fun!
Having a 9-to-5 job can be quite boring, and everyone starts believing that they are just surviving from week to week. Overturn this view of life by organizing something that could seem crazy at first, but adrenaline is good to shake up people from time to time.
So, what is it that you can do to bring some thrill into the lives of your employees? Well, why not plan an adventurous holiday for them?
As long as none of your team members have any serious medical issues, consider taking them to an adventure park for a day. Or, for that matter, take them bungee jumping or rock climbing.
The reason this is considered one of the best motivating employees’ ideas is that it will not only make your employees feel special but also serve as a unique team-building exercise. Even more reason to do something crazy!
17. Give Your Team Members More Opportunities to Learn
Regarding cultivation and education, this can also be achieved more directly through learning. One of the best ways to show your team that you appreciate them is to invest in their development.
No, we do not mean generic mentorship programs here. Rather, if you have a small team, you can provide financial, emotional, or mental support to your teammates in pursuing their passions.
18. Volunteering
Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community in the city where employees live. Organizing volunteer work in animal shelters or food banks will make employees feel like their work matters more than just earning a paycheck and generating profit.
This will strengthen the staff engagement and give them the motivation to support one another, just as they did while volunteering.
19. Book club
Book club is also one of the activities that can be done without spending any money. By reading and discussing the books they have read from month to month, they will expand their communication skills, leading to a better understanding of the work to be done in the office.
20. Continuous Adventure and Appreciation
These ideas are not something that should be done once and then be over with.
The fun and work can be combined to create a bonding experience that yields better work results and appreciation, as well as fosters friendships that extend well beyond simple colleague coexistence.
Read More: 75+ Impactful Recognition and Appreciation Words for Employees
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