March 3 is the twelfth annual celebration of Employee Appreciation Day. Even better, in 2017, Employee Appreciation Day falls on a Friday, which opens up so many opportunities for recognizing your hardest working staff members.
So take some time to let your people know you appreciate them because your company couldn’t run without them. What’s more, your team deserves it, don’t they?
If you’re out of ideas on how to celebrate this Employee Appreciation Day, here are some ways to do it right.
Foooood
If you’ve got a little extra cash to spend on Employee Appreciation Day, consider bringing in food. Breakfast, lunch–it doesn’t much matter. If you want to go all out, bring in a breakfast burrito bar/station. Grab tortillas, eggs, potatoes, cheese, and extra toppings. Don’t forget the coffee and creamer!
Get Your Employees Personalized Certificates of Appreciation
There’s no better way to celebrate your employees’ accomplishments than by giving them a little token that they can appreciate for months to come.
Happy Hour
In most states, restaurants hold happy hours from 3-6ish. (if your state doesn’t celebrate happy hours, we are sorry) Take your team out of the office, find a chill pub, and buy everyone’s first round. This gets them talking and puts them in good spirits for the weekend.
Communicate Your Appreciation
Everyone knows you’re busy running the show, so you might not have time to plan some kind of employee appreciation event. If that’s the case, then take some time to express how much you appreciate your employees’ hard work. Be specific.
Catch Some Zzs
If your work can swing it, announce that your team gets an hour to sleep in come Monday morning. Instead of the 8-sharp start, have people report by 9 am.
Send Them to the Movies
Get some movie tickets for a Friday matinee and then send your employees out to have some fun during the middle of the work day.
Tell Them to Get Out
Your team can spend the time together or they can each retire to their own homes, but you have zero chance of anyone complaining about being told to go home a few hours early.
Let Them Pick
Call a meeting in advance, set the budget, and then have your team pick whatever activity you guys will do on Employee Appreciation Day. Whether you hit a bar, do lunch, go bowling, or just stay at home, when the group decides your chances of a popular celebration skyrocket.
Most importantly, your employees want your appreciation to be genuine and specific. Simply letting them know they’re doing a good job doesn’t cut it. Be specific about what parts of the job they perform well and they’ll appreciate your taking the time to notice.