Tips for Showing Employee Appreciation

Day in and day out, your dedicated employees put in the hard work needed to help your business reach the next level. Whether you own a small company or a major corporation, you know how important your staff is to the bottom line. They contribute to your brand’s greater good, along with processes that are vital for establishing a name for the company and promoting your goods and services.

Simply put, your hard-working staff deserves some serious praise for their efforts! Showing your employees your appreciation isn’t just a kind gesture—it’s a way to show that you truly acknowledge their hard work and encourage them to continue to do their best. In return, your employees will feel valued, which can make all the difference to your company’s morale. From giving them promotional products to going on a retreat, here are a few suggestions.

Surprise Them With Swag

There’s nothing like a little token to let your employees know you appreciate all they do. Put together a little swag bag filled with various items that they can actually use, like a gift card for a local coffee shop or a restaurant that everyone goes to for lunch. Other options include small potted succulents or pen holders for the office.

You can even add a few promotional items that they can use every single day. Try a writing pad emblazoned with the company’s logo, along with a customized pen, for example. Or, if your staff does a lot of client work outside the workplace, consider giving them updated branded uniforms with a stylish edge, like soft jersey T-shirts or flattering vests to keep them comfortable on cooler days.

Send Them on a Retreat

Don’t mistake a retreat for a team-building exercise. While the latter is important for building communication and various other workplace benefits, the retreat is a great way to show your employees that you recognize they deserve some time off. It’s an opportunity for them to relax, unwind, and decompress—and it’s an especially smart choice to schedule it at the end of a busy period, like your closing season or when you wrap up work with a particularly large-scale client and want to congratulate everyone on a job well done. To keep it professional, you may request that everyone wear some form of company-branded attire, like a personalized polo or jacket.

Announce the day in advance so that everyone has a chance to prepare. You might consider taking a charter bus to an attraction in the region or boarding a day cruise for some quality time on the water—and away from the office. You can even make it more of an educational experience that ties into work somehow. For example, your busy team of junior architects may love to visit the nearest historic village to learn more about old-world buildings and architecture.

Encourage Them to Bring Pets

"Bring Your Pet to Work Day" might already be an annual holiday, but it doesn’t mean that your staff can’t bring their fur babies to work on other days. To make this fun and to spread the love throughout the year instead of limiting it to just one or two days, create a calendar specifically for this purpose.

Assign specific days for employees to bring in their furry friends. Not only will they love spending the workday with their pet, but they can also share the love with everyone else in the office. Pets have a natural ability to make people smile and bring everyone together. This is a great way to help establish new bonds between employees, too!

Work in a Public Setting

On days when you don’t absolutely have to work inside the office, consider taking your workday elsewhere. A change of scenery can provide the spark of creativity that your employees need, especially if they’re accustomed to sitting at their desks in front of their computers for hours on end. Grab the laptops, bring along the custom notebooks and pens, and create a work plan that you all can tackle in a different environment.

There are many different places to consider, like quiet cafes with communal tables or even in a conference room at a coworking office building if your employees really just crave a change of scenery.

Create a Day of Surprise

What better way to brighten their day than to spring a few surprises on them? Start the day with fresh baked goods and juice for breakfast, then cater a lunch for the entire team from a restaurant that everyone enjoys. This is also a good opportunity to surprise them with something specific, like a paid subscription to a professional publication that everyone in the office would appreciate. Throw in a custom logo mug and toss their favorite candy inside.

Finally, remember that it’s the little things that make a big difference and boost company morale. As long as you take the time to let them know how much you appreciate them, your employees will feel valued and happy to be a part of the team.