Friday March 5, 2021 is Employee Appreciation Day. This holiday gives businesses of all sizes the opportunity to celebrate their hard-working team members.
After a year as challenging and unprecedented as 2020, I don’t think employee appreciation should be designated for one specific holiday. Every day is a great day to celebrate employees! No matter where we may be working, here are a few of the ways I show my team appreciation on a regular basis.
Write out your gratitude.
I believe in the power of a handwritten note or, in the current COVID-19 landscape, sending a kind email. Sometimes it’s even better to do both! Thank you notes often become quite cherished among team members because of their messages.
What might you write about in your employee appreciation note? You may consider highlighting some of the areas where your team members went above and beyond in the last year. Think about some of the positive traits your team members have, such as being easygoing when adapting to new situations and systems or focusing when they are working to reach goals. Jot down a note or two about how these personality traits have helped benefit the business and your gratitude for their hard work and commitment.
If you’ve worked with a specific team member for a lengthy amount of time, upwards to a decade or more, you may even consider doing a “greatest hits reel” in your appreciation note. Share a few memories of moments where team members stepped up to the plate. Moments where they were able to grow in their roles and take on new responsibilities that you can’t help but be proud of them.
Offer to give everyone a break.
Look into potentially giving your team members some added time off — just because.
See what you can do to give everyone a few flexible hours that they can use for an early out or late start to their workday. This may not happen directly on Employee Appreciation Day. Rather, it might just be offering an hour or two for a team member to use in the future however they see fit.
Ask your team how they would like to be celebrated.
The next normal will be quite different in many ways for businesses. Necessary changes will be implemented that pave the way for more growth and opportunities moving ahead. Now more than ever, businesses value the feedback of team members to ensure changes and growth meet them where they are at.
Instead of guessing how a team member might like to be celebrated or packaging a celebration into a one size fits all format, ask team members for their input. How would they like to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day? Subsequently, what else can be done in the workplace moving forward that allows employees to feel appreciated and valued on a daily basis? Seek out their feedback and listen to what they have to say. Then, implement these initiatives to treat your team and emphasize a culture of care.