How to have an Employee Appreciation Day to remember
Forget Valentine’s Day, today is the day for showing some love with the people we spend the most time with – our colleagues!
Employee Appreciation Day (4 March 2022) is originally an American concept but is now becoming hugely popular now in the UK.
Of course, every day is a great day to say thanks to hard-working employees. But who doesn’t love a special date in the diary annually set aside just for celebrating our work mates?
We spend more time with our colleagues than we do our families and friends, so our work relationships are hugely important.
After the last 24-months of pandemic mayhem, major changes in the workplace including working from home, celebrating and acknowledging our colleagues is needed more than ever.
So, what’s the best way to celebrate it? Here, the UK’s top experts, Appreciate Business Services, home of Love2shop, share some fun, original and quirky ways to have the best day ever!
- Start the day with a companywide or team wide email ‘roll call’ of employees who have given their ‘A game’ in the last year
- The bacon butties are on the boss – host a ‘pat on the back’ breakfast for staff and yes, the boss is paying!
- Drop a surprise e-gift into staff’s inboxes or direct to their smart phone, that will make their day . How about a Love2shop contactless card they can spend immediately on what they really want?
- Announce a ‘pens down’ or ‘laptops closed’ happy hour on Friday, where you all stop and enjoy a cuppa, glass of fizz and some cake, while celebrating staff achievements
- Surprise ‘Super Star staff Gallery’ – do a company foyer or reception takeover and put on a photo exhibition of all the staff who have really shone this last year – imagine the smiles as they arrive at work
- Job swap – a bit like Secret Santa – pop all the senior leadership’s names into a hat and let staff pick one out. For the rest of the day, you’ve got a promotion!
- Competition time – everyone loves a surprise gift – host an hourly prize draw on Friday with lucky staff winning days off, late starts, the boss’s parking spot, free lunch in the canteen for a month, or just some handy gift cards!
- Send a goody bag, gourmet lunch box or gift card to WFH staff who may not be able to get in the office for the celebrations. They may not be able to join personally, but they can surely enjoy the eftpos gift card online shopping.
- Get personal… in a good way! Say thanks on Friday with a personalised day away from the office doing what they love outside of work – a yoga workshop, rock-climbing day in Wales, a spa day or simply a duvet day to recharge batteries
- Boardroom takeover – don’t panic; it’s just for fun. Allow staff to raid the boardroom and have an all-day celebration of their achievements while sitting on the CEO’s chair
Find out more about Appreciate Business Services here: https://www.appreciate.co.uk