Why Employee Appreciation Matters and How to Celebrate Your Employees
Let me get on my soapbox for one minute…
Before you tell me ~but Jenna, this doesn’t reallllllllllly matter~
I’ll stop you right there. Because yes, yes it does.
Employee appreciation matters. Recognition matters.
If you're not celebrating the people you work with, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to intentionally engage with your workforce.
ICYMI: Employee engagement, trust in organizations, and employee wellbeing has declined in the U.S. in 2022 (Gallup, April 2022). An easy remedy? Appreciate your people.
Effective communication can present itself in many forms and appreciation is one of the most simple, yet effective ways to cultivate a positive workplace culture.
And yet – I am consistently surprised at how many organizations miss the mark on celebrating their people.
Spoiler - you do not need to be in a leadership position to create a positive and healthy workplace environment. Be the change you want to see in your company!
*Politely walks off soapbox
And if you’re wondering HOW, you’ve come to the right place. Career Civility is here to help you communicate more effectively in the workplace and will always provide you with tactical and concrete tips and advice.
Let’s get started.
First and foremost - PLAN. Plan an Employee Celebration Program.
Plan to celebrate your employees. Plan for proper recognition. Plan for the financial investment this will require. If you’re a business owner, plan for employee recognition every year when you are doing your annual business plan. You’re already planning headcount and the number of people you need to hire right? Great, then make sure you’re also allocating a line item for the employee recognition/appreciation program.
If you’re an individual contributor, plan to invest a little time and effort into celebrating the people you work with on a daily basis (ideas below).
Second, build in a PROCESS.
As with all plans, you need a process to execute.
When someone starts at your organization, ask them when their birthday is and add it to your calendar
When in team meetings, 1:1s and emails, ask people “what are you looking forward to this month?”
Write it down
Send recognition
And lastly, EXECUTE
Start celebrating. Start recognizing.
Here are some ideas for the Employee Celebration Program in your own workplace:
Life events
Birthdays. Weddings. Buying a house. Buying a car. Graduations. Kids birthdays. Adoption. Becoming a parent. Retirement.
Accomplishments
Promotions. Big presentations. Side hustles. Hobbies outside of work. New clients/contracts. Hitting any kind of goal. Winning awards. Paying off debt.
Gratitude
At the end of the day we are all here to do a job. And the work can be hard. But gratitude can help highlight the hard work being done and give appropriate recognition.
Recognition can come in the forms of: hand written cards, gift cards, coffee, flowers, and simply a nice text/email/phone call.
Do not underestimate the power of a job well done. Communicate appreciation to your employees. All year round.
Civil Communication is the key ingredient to creating and fostering positive, inclusive and belonging organizations. Start celebrating your employees.
