An organization will always require a human effort. Without the heart of a human, your company will lose the human touch that makes it amiable and accessible. It is, therefore, necessary to appreciate those who have made it possible to let you own a loyal customer base and who continue to work with you for your vision.
However, in such a tough economy, it becomes increasingly difficult to show appreciation monetarily. This shouldn’t always be the case. There are several other ways by which you can appreciate your employees and with the fast approach of Employee Appreciation Day of 2nd March, here are some ideas which can be employed fairly quickly and be effective in showing your appreciation for your favorite employees.
1. Work off-site:
Sometimes the office environment becomes a little too much to handle. The monotonously colored walls, the same cubicle and the lifeless workplace is not the place we wish to see every day. You can, however, this time try to take your employees or team out for a day to a place where they can work remotely. Using the wifi of the place, depending on your work nature, you can take them out to a cafe or a restaurant and take a separate room or a dedicated table where they can work comfortably and order stuff of their choice.
2. Social Appreciation:
In the digital age, it is always good to let the world know about the great work done by your employees. You can always single out your best employees on social media and share the appreciation for them. Since a huge population exists there, it would be like directly sharing the appreciation of an employee with people important to them where they can see it.
3. Customized Items:
Appreciation can also be shared by giving them personalized items. Every employee is known to be good at something, you can always mark it and have it printed on a customizable wristband, a customized mug, t-shirt or other accessories. It feels good when something personalized is given as a gift.
4. Lay Down Cool Names:
We love nicknames and share it with those who mean a lot to us. Giving nicknames to those who outperform in a certain task is a great way to boost employees morale. These names can be used in official email threads, name tags or as nameplates outside the cubicles. To lay down upon a name for those who go above and beyond the call of duty is a real honor. Personally, if an email is shared with me with the title ‘Mr. Shakespeare’, I’ll feel really special. I hope you’re reading this boss.
5. Be The Boss:
We have always heard employees say, “Yeah, I can be a better boss.” Well, you can give them a chance to prove their mettle once. For an outperforming employee this Employee Appreciation Day, you can let him be the boss for a day or two. Let him understand the responsibilities and run things around as he like. This is a great way to support growth and check the leadership skills of future managers.
6. Video Games Tournament:
This one is my personal favorite. It doesn’t take a lot to get a hold of a console system. So on a particular day, bring in all the employees, let them play against each other on gaming consoles or maybe even on their laptops. Let the winner own the title for a full year and boast to his peers about the title of the best gamer in the company.
Hence it is not a lot to ask for a day where employees are appreciated and to let them have fun. If you are working with a group of people for 8 hours a day for 5 days a week, it becomes your family and doing this for your family would take your organization a long way.
