It’s March 4th – Happy Employee Appreciation Day!
Many don’t even know this day exists and if they do, they allow it to pass as if it is one of those cute holidays like National Chocolate Cake Day, however ignoring this day could be bad for business. How could this one day, if not acknowledged properly be bad for business you ask? Well, let’s look into it.
Any CEO worth mentioning, when discussing the secrets to their organization’s success will always credit their talent. Somewhere in their well polished response, they will speak about the fact that the reason they’re a Fortune 500, multi-national, multi-billion dollar entity is because of their people. Their hard working people who come in early, leave late, make the tough sacrifices, present the revolutionary ideas and work their fingers to the bone are the reasons the company is where it is so it’s important to retain them.
Employee retention and high turnover and some of the biggest internal threats to any organization. There is nothing worse for an organization than losing one of it’s best and brightest so when Employee Appreciation Day rolls around, do yourself a favor – remember it and celebrate it! How you celebrate it is up to you, but make sure it’s something meaningful for your staff. Below are some ideas that just might help.
- Free Food
Did you realize that your staff probably pays around $50-100/week on lunch alone? Why do you think so many bring their lunch to work? To save money! Why not ease their burden by having lunch catered today (avoid lazy options like pizza or subs) or taking everyone out for an early dinner? If that doesn’t work, try Starbucks or Dunkin gift cards. I’m sure their ability to work so hard is often fueled by lots of strong coffee so this would be a welcomed surprise.
2. Cold hard cash
I know this may sound predictable but cash works! Purchase a bunch of ‘Thank you’ cards, slip some cash in them and call it a day. If you’re worried about leaving cash, use American Express gift cards.
3. Time off
Sometimes employees don’t care about free food or even an extra $100 in an envelope. What bugs many is not having enough time with their families so meet this need with some well deserved time off! Give them a 1/2 day today (provided they can spare it). If for some business related reason they cannot, allow them to transfer this benefit to a day of their choosing to be used as a Personal Day. Another option: allow them to come in a bit late so they can have breakfast with their families in the morning instead of rushing off.
There are many other options one may consider in order to show an employee they’re appreciated like flowers or other small tokens. A simple piece of advice: make it meaningful. Avoid things like company collateral that’s typically given out at job fairs or anything like that. Those won’t get you anywhere. Remember that this is your opportunity to show your people how much they mean to you. Make you gesture(s) count! You never know, these seemingly small acts may be the very things that help retain those valuable employees.