Employee Appreciation and Recognition

A culture of appreciation is essential for any successful workplace. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to be engaged, productive, and loyal. There are many ways to show appreciation for employees, from simple gestures to more elaborate team building exercises.

Grateful leaders go beyond simply saying “thank you.” They create an environment where employees feel celebrated and respected. This can be done by providing opportunities for growth and development, listening to employee feedback, and sharing successes.

Here are some ideas that may work well for your teams.

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Pizza. It’s a universally loved food that brings people together and puts a smile on everyone’s face. Whether it’s a casual get-together, a special celebration, or simply a night in at home, pizza symbolizes a fun meal usually shared among friends, family or colleagues. Therefore, when you need to show appreciation, pizza gifts are an excellent and easy way to say, “thank you” (our favorite phrase).

Has your team completed a challenging project? Did the sales team meet a milestone? Do you need to thank a team of interns for their diligent work? Whatever you need to celebrate, pizza is a safe but perfect gesture of gratitude.

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A lot of strategic planning and budgeting happens at the end of the year, with certain elements deployed in January and February. Everyone enjoys buying their new year calendars when everything is fresh for a new start. However, many important plans, like those for employee engagement & recognition, need to be consistently reviewed. Here are some questions to ask yourself as a mid-year check-in to see if the right activities are happening and objectives are being met:

Summer is a time for fun, relaxation, and enjoying the outdoors. It’s also a time when people are looking for ways to cool down and beat the heat. What better way to do that than with a delicious ice cream treat? What’s even better? An ice cream gift certificate! 

Ice cream is a popular summer treat for a reason. It’s sweet, refreshing, and there are endless flavors to choose from. It’s also a great way to show employees that you appreciate their hard work.

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At gThankYou, we are obviously strong advocates of employee recognition – we’ve built our business upon this principle! In building and maintaining a culture of gratitude, it’s important to recognize employees for their hard work, initiative and commitment. Recognition can positively impact many facets of the business and should be part of a leader’s responsibilities.

In The Importance of Employee Recognition: Statistics and Research by Quantum Workplace, the article states, “When employees are rewarded for their contributions, they feel ownership and pride and are willing to work just as hard on their next project. Recognition connects them to the organization, elevates performance, and increases the likelihood they’ll stay.”
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At gThankYou, we like to think of ourselves as “gratitude experts.” We are strong believers in year-round employee appreciation but encourage an extra dose of thankfulness during the holidays. Here are some resources as you focus on holiday appreciation ideas.

Holiday Appreciation Ideas & Resources

Thank You Notes

Although we often publish our guide to thank you notes around Thanksgiving, it’s not too late to write a letter of gratitude in December. We encourage leaders to take the time to write something personal to those who make an impact on the business. It’s well-received and appreciated — and is a smart business move in a world where retention is key. Read more here: Put the “Thanks” into Your Thanksgiving Letter or Write a Holiday Thank You Note to Remember. (more…)

Looking for a team bonding activity that gets people talking, laughing and learning together? Share stories that inspire teacher appreciation! Stories about the teachers we appreciate are a window into our own values and aspirations, and telling and listening to these stories with coworkers helps us connect and builds a culture of gratitude. A broad interpretation of “teacher” can include anyone whose knowledge and influence had a lasting impact. (more…)

 

2-4-6-8 – Who do we appreciate? Our hardworking employees!!

Just in time for the holidays, gThankYou has released our Big List of Employee Appreciation Gift Ideas! This book is perfect all year for inspiration for ways to support and recognize the people who make your business work. Best yet, it’s FREE to download and share with colleagues.

Still looking for the perfect holiday workplace gift? Check it out! Although here’s our suggestion!

The eBook is broken down into categories and lists so it’s easy to read, get inspired and apply. It’s the perfect go-to resource as you brainstorm and think through employee appreciation planning now and in the coming year. (more…)

Believe it or not, the holidays are just around the corner. Planning ahead is key to avoid scrambling and making the season more hectic than enjoyable. The good news is that we have the tools to help you succeed! Our new holiday appreciation planning checklist can be used year-round, offering ideas for ways to celebrate your employees.

This time of year, we highly recommend ordering your Turkey Gift Certificates and free Enclosure Cards NOW so you can cross it off your to-do list.

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On-the-spot recognition = instant results. When you recognize employees right away, the benefits start right away. It’s simple and pays off. Try it today!

According to Indeed.com, “When people are offered consistent, actionable feedback, they can gain better insight into their successes and opportunities for improvement. Positive feedback is especially important because it increases morale, encourages good work and helps provide a sense of purpose.”

A once-a-year party is great for tradition, but it doesn’t ultimately affect day-to-day performance. Shift your paradigm from celebrating at the end of the year or on an anniversary to how can we keep appreciation and a culture of celebration alive all year-round?

It’s time to make recognition an ongoing, everyday activity. Read on to find out why on-the-spot recognition is so effective — and easier than you think!
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We are here to remind you: Recognize employees for small wins regularly. Doing so results in a confident, productive workplace.

Praise for specific acts of excellence builds employee self-confidence and increases engagement.

Employee recognition is one of the most important responsibilities of leaders. It’s smart business, directly affecting productivity, retention and overall culture.

According to Quantum Workplace,

“Organizations with formal recognition programs have 31% (more…)

If you’re reading this blog post, it’s probably because you care about employee appreciation and you may be wondering how digital feedback platforms can help (and which ones could be a good fit for your company).

Why Employee Appreciation Matters

In a Workplace article on Gallup’s website examining the impact of employee recognition, writers Annamarie Mann and Nate Dvorak point out: (more…)

When It Comes to Employee Perks, Trendy Is Out.

What kind of employee perks are you offering?
A study from Oregon State University, cited in HR Dive, has found that at least one trendy workplace “extra” probably isn’t doing recruiters much good: Companies that tout in-office happy hours and other opportunities to drink alcohol can turn off certain job candidates.
And those candidates who are fine having drinks on the company tab don’t care enough for it to make a real difference in whether they take the job. So unless there’s good reason for drinking to be a significant part of your corporate culture, there’s little benefit to plugging alcohol among your employee perks. (more…)

As a leader you’re probably getting pulled in a million different directions and your time is in short supply.  But the time you spend really being present in a sincere, mindful and purposeful way when interacting with your employees and recognizing them for their efforts and contributions is time well-spent.
With a bit of effort you can break some bad habits and start embracing some new practices and ways of thinking that can help boost morale (and ultimately your bottom line). Read on for straightforward ways to maximize employee recognition time.
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What is the Difference?

In an article for Ladders, Paul White described the reasons why employers should stop recognizing employees and start appreciating them. White shared that too often he has encountered employee recognition programs that not only don’t seem to be working, but are in fact generating apathetic, sarcastic and cynical reactions from employees.  White believes this is because recognition is different from authentic appreciation.
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Employee Incentives Aren’t Just a Nice Extra Anymore

Do you take employee incentives seriously? Or do you just treat them as a “nice to have”? More and more research demonstrates that successful companies will do the former.
In a recent blog post, the employee recognition experts at Achievers summarize how the conventional wisdom on employee incentives has evolved over the last century-plus. When research first began on employee incentives, workers were typically paid for what they produced, rather than the time they spent on the job. In fact: “When the innovation of pay by the hour or day was introduced, it was controversial. A widespread fear existed that if you paid workers only according to the time they spent, that they would ‘take it easy’ and not try as hard.” (more…)

Almost every industry is facing staffing challenges, but perhaps the hospitality industry is the hardest hit. Knowing how to recognize and retain hospitality industry employees is critical to business survival.
It’s not unheard for restaurant employees to take a job at a competitor across the street for just .25 cents more an hour!
Both front of the house and back of the house staff would be less tempted to leave for such a small raise if they felt engaged, valued and appreciated.
In a blog post on Toast.com about turnover rates in the restaurant industry, these startling retention stats were shared: (more…)

How Do You Show Appreciation for Administrative Staff?

Google “administrative staff appreciation ideas” and you’ll get over a million results. But most of those million-plus ideas are pretty much the same: a mug or a tchotchke or candy, or maybe a cute, funny card.
If you’d like to do something different for an administrative staffer — something that will truly make them feel valued — we’ve got a great suggestion. Best of all, it’s inexpensive and it doesn’t take long. You can even do it today, to celebrate International Receptionists’ Day. (And if you missed National Administrative Professionals Day on April 25, this is your opportunity to make it up!)
Here you go — one of the best administrative staff appreciation ideas out there, and it’s just two simple steps.
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If you have children and work outside the home, then you know you owe teachers a debt of gratitude. These dedicated professionals choose to spend their time with dozens of kids every day — not just taking care of them, but also preparing them to become informed, thoughtful, and well-behaved members of their communities. As anyone who’s ever wrangled even a handful of kids at a time knows, that’s exhausting and too often underappreciated work. But do you know how to really thank a teacher?
Today is National Teacher Day, and this is also Teacher Appreciation Week. To mark these important occasions, here are some ideas about what makes hardworking educators feel valued — straight from teachers themselves.
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