Employee Appreciation and Recognition – Fostering a Culture of Gratitude and Engagement

Welcome to gThankYou’s comprehensive guide on employee appreciation and recognition. In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, it’s more important than ever to prioritize the well-being and happiness of your employees. Moreover, by creating a culture of gratitude and recognizing employees for their hard work and contributions, you can cultivate a positive work environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and engaged.

The Power of Employee Recognition

Understand the significant impact of employee recognition on productivity, performance, and employee retention. In addition, discover how recognition connects employees to the organization, elevates performance, and increases their sense of pride and ownership. Learn why recognition should be an essential part of every leader’s responsibilities.

Creative Ideas for Employee Appreciation

Explore a variety of practical and innovative ideas to appreciate your employees. From personalized thank you notes and messages to team bonding activities and appreciation events, discover creative ways to express your gratitude. Above all, find inspiration to go beyond traditional holiday gestures and celebrate your employees throughout the year.

Valuable Resources for Year-Round Appreciation

Access gThankYou’s collection of resources to enhance your employee appreciation efforts. Find guides on writing thank you notes, planning holiday appreciation, maximizing employee recognition time, and more. Discover valuable insights and practical tips to help you express gratitude and appreciation year-round. In short, these resources are designed to assist you in creating a culture of appreciation that promotes engagement and loyalty among your employees.

Employee appreciation and recognition are essential for building a positive workplace culture. Discover the power of recognizing employees, explore creative ideas for showing appreciation, and access valuable resources to express gratitude year-round. By fostering a culture of gratitude and engagement, you can create a work environment where employees thrive, leading to increased productivity, satisfaction, and loyalty. Embrace the culture of gratitude and start appreciating your employees today.



  • How to Really Thank a Teacher

    Thank a teacher today! It's National Teacher Day!

    Learn how to really thank a teacher – from teachers themselves!

    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.
    (more…)

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  • The Secret to a Better Holiday Turkey Gift Program

    Holiday Turkey Gift Program planning made easy

    Let gThankYou help simplify your holiday turkey gift program planning — we’re experts in employee gift-giving!

    Time.
    It’s one of the main reasons managers give for not thanking employees.
    I just don’t have the time.
    That’s a shame, because in the long run a robust employee appreciation program actually saves time. Employees who feel appreciated are more productive, and retention goes up.
    This is especially true at the holidays, when time is at a premium.
    Don’t let a time crunch keep your company from having a great holiday turkey gift program! Begin your planning now.
    gThankYou makes it easy to share the gift of a Thanksgiving Turkey with Gift Certificates for any brand, any preparation of whole turkey, redeemable nationally at major grocery stores. (more…)

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  • Savvy HR: Training Managers in Employee Appreciation

    Your workplace recognition program starts with training managers in employee appreciation

    Training managers in employee appreciation gives your company a competitive advantage. (Photo via Kevin Dooley, Flickr)

    Training managers in employee appreciation ensures the success of your workplace recognition efforts and protects your business. It also solves a common organizational problem: employees who don’t understand manager directives.
    “Simply put, almost two-thirds of all employees are 33 percent as productive as they can be because they don’t understand what they are now asked to do,” according to a survey of 50,000 employees.
    Understanding and appreciation are codependent.
    “Training and educating employees in company values and objectives in a way that makes sense to them — through their daily work — is a mission-critical goal for organizations today,” Derek Irvine writes for Training Industry. (more…)

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  • Employee Thank You Gifts for Generation Z

    Employee Thank You Gifts for Generation Z!

    Meet the high expectations of your interns and youngest employees with employee Thank You gifts they’ll appreciate. (Photo via Maryland GovPics, Flickr)

    Every generation in the workplace appreciates employee Thank You gifts, and Generation Z is no exception — in fact, showing appreciation is even more crucial to engaging these young people.
    Several characteristics are emerging in the generation born after 1995: they have high expectations, they’re practical and they’re in a position to influence the workplace for years.
    The oldest members of Generation Z are graduating college now, so this is the year “Generation Z starts flooding workplaces,” according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and it’s happening “at the same time that there is a tight labor force.”
    Like Millennials, the Generation Z cohort cares about the environment and wants to have a passion for work. (more…)

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  • Show Your Teacher Appreciation In the Workplace!

    Share your teacher appreciation this week!

    Show teacher appreciation in the workplace this week! (Image via NEA.org)

    Your organization doesn’t have to be a school to celebrate teacher appreciation in the workplace this week!
    This is the week to thank all teachers, from classroom teachers to your employee development leaders — anyone who spreads the joy of learning and sharing knowledge in your organization and community.
    Teacher Appreciation Week is underway and continues through Friday, and National Teacher Day is Tuesday, May 9. (more…)

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  • Employee Appreciation Day: How Companies Show It

    Celebrate employee appreciation day in your workplace!

    How will you make your Employee Appreciation Day celebration last all year? (Photo via ufv, Flickr)

    Employee Appreciation Day is always the first Friday of March. It’s the perfect time to pause, reflect and show gratitude to your staff.
    Now, what about the other 364 days of the year?
    Not every day’s a party, but a day shouldn’t go by when your team doesn’t feel appreciated in some way.
    A strong, effective program for employee appreciation includes an Employee Appreciation Day celebration and lasts all year. (more…)

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  • 3 Mini-Case Studies in Employee Appreciation

    Share your heartfelt thanks this Employee Appreciation Day!

    Celebrate genuine workplace gratitude and teamwork for Employee Appreciation Day on March 3. (Photo via AFGE, Flickr)

    Employee Appreciation Day is this Friday, March 3. To get ready, we combed the news for case studies in effective, original employee appreciation to inspire your efforts.
    What makes a good employee appreciation program?
    Hppy’s infographic Top 10 Best Workplace Incentives has three criteria for worthwhile employee appreciation.
    First, it reduces turnover. Watching coworkers quit in frustration is demoralizing. It feeds gossip and unhappiness among staff and slows down productivity. (more…)

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  • Time to Reinvent Employee Recognition

    Employee recognition wake up call from Gallup

    Gallup’s latest in-depth report is a “call to action” for a more engaged leadership providing ongoing, effective employee recognition. (Photo via COD Newsroom, Flickr)

    Grab your coffee, Gallup is serving business leaders a wake-up call.
    Employee recognition needs to be a top priority, according to Gallup’s massive State of the American Workplace.
    Experts at Gallup are calling the report a “call to action” for companies, starting with a complete overhaul of employee recognition and engagement strategy.
    The old ways of managing employees just aren’t working, and change isn’t optional. (more…)

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  • Happy New Year! Best Staff Appreciation Gifts

    Start the new year right with staff appreciation gifts everyone enjoys!

    Ring in the new year and celebrate the successes of last year with staff appreciation gifts! (Photo via glasgows, Flickr)

    The new year will be here before you know it! Staff appreciation gifts for the New Year are the perfect way to celebrate the successes of the prior year and get energized for what’s ahead.
    New Year’s is widely celebrated and non-religious, making it a good choice for a workplace celebration.
    “Focus on thanking employees for a successful year and encouraging the same enthusiasm and dedication to the company for the approaching New Year,” according to the SHRM article “HR Pros: Make Year-End Celebrations Inclusive.” (more…)

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  • 8 Staff Appreciation Gifts that Won’t Break Your Budget

    Share your staff appreciation gifts with a thoughtful thank you note!

    Share staff appreciation gifts that focus on gratitude and personal connection, not money.

    Staff appreciation gifts that send a meaningful message of thanks don’t need to break your budget!
    In fact, budget-friendly staff appreciation gifts are more effective than even expensive bonuses because the focus is on your gratitude and on a thoughtful gift that has personal significance.
    “Bringing unengaged and detached employees back to the pack doesn’t have to be a pricey undertaking,” according to the employee feedback experts at Quantum Workforce. (more…)

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  • Employee Appreciation Gifts for Distributed Workforces

    gThankYou

    Wherever they are on the map, thank your distributed and remote workers with employee appreciation gift certificates from gThankYou! (Photo via Marc Levin, Flickr)

    Employee appreciation gift certificates are an easy, meaningful way to let your distributed workers know how much you value their contributions.
    In the absence of daily face-to-face contact with senior managers, communicating appreciation is essential to successfully managing distributed workforces.
    “There’s no water-cooler, no stand-up meetings and no face-to-face brainstorming sessions over lunch. A company that relies on a distributed workforce lives and dies by communication,” BuySellAds founder Todd Garland wrote last week in his Forbes column, “How the Best Leaders Manage a Distributed Workforce.”
    gThankYou offers organizations employee appreciation gift certificates for practical gifts that are always appreciated – such as a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, a holiday Ham or groceries for an anytime “thank you” for all you do.

    Here at gThankYou we have years of experience helping organizations with distributed workforces coordinate gifts to celebrate employees. We know what a challenging process it can be, so we’ve come up with a system to make it as simple as possible while still meeting your company’s individual needs.

    Read on to find out why recognizing distributed workforces takes intention and a plan — and how gThankYou! Certificates of Gratitude make it easy for you to appreciate employees holiday time or anytime!

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  • Employee Appreciation Gifts for All Occasions

    Employee appreciation gift certificates are the perfect way to thank your staff — and gThankYou has one for every occasion!
    From on-the-spot recognition to workplace wellness incentives to milestone celebrations, and from New Year’s to 4th of July to Thanksgiving, we’ve got you covered. gThankYou offers nine types of grocery store Gift Certificates in a variety of values to meet your company’s specific needs and budget.
    U.S. employee engagement is slowly rising but remains dismally low, according to the latest Gallup report. Two-thirds of Americans remain unengaged in their jobs, and experts agree that employers need to do a better job of recognizing employees and rewarding excellence. (more…)

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  • Workplace Easter Celebration Is A Great Idea

    Workplace easter celebrations are easy with decorations celebrating spring!

    Deciding how to celebrate Easter with your employees? Consider the cultural, non-religious aspects of this springtime holiday that make it a fun occasion for everyone!
    A workplace Easter celebration is still a great idea, regardless of employees’ religious affiliations, because it marks the beginning of spring and the sense of renewal and gratitude that accompany the new season. (more…)

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  • Smart Ways to Recognize Frontline Employees

    Recognize Frontline Employees! They are your Brand face to customers.

    Do you routinely thank your customer service workers? Think about it – they are the face of your Brand to customers. File via Weblitz, Flickr

    It’s critical to recognize frontline employees—servers, cashiers, delivery people, customer service representatives—they are truly the face of your company!

    Ironically, frontline employees are often a company’s lowest paid staff and are treated as expendable, yet transactions between customers and frontline employees make or break your business’s image. They can affect your future relationships with customers.

    In fact, Dennis Snow, president of Snow & Associates, Inc., writes that “The frontline equals (more…)

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  • Build An Employee Thank You Program

    gThankYou! knows a thing or two about employee thank you programs!Why start an employee thank you program? According to MIT’s human resources article, “Best Practices for Designing and Maintaining a Program,” it’s:

    “ … to recognize and reward work and behaviors that support/further the mission, goals, values and initiatives of the [organization].”

    And, as research shows, workplace morale, (more…)

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  • Employee Recognition: Surprise Your Staff!

    Exercise spontaneous gratitude with employee recognition!

    Photo via Jodi Green, Flickr

    Employee recognition boosts workplace engagement, productivity and—ultimately—your bottom line. But if you want employee recognition to be memorable, surprise your staff!

    Joris Luijke,  Squarespace’s “VP of People,” wants employees’ Squarespace experience to build lasting, positive memories.

    In his article, “HR folks – Try this surprising way to make people remember your hard work,” he names two key elements to this goal: (more…)

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How gThankYou Certificates Work

Step 1

Order Certificates

Choose the gThankYou Certificates you want and order them online or by telephone.

Step 2

Ship directly to your business

Your order is delivered by UPS. Nearly all orders ship the day received. Overnight shipping is available.

Step 3

Distribute to your employees

Personalize your gThankYou Certificates with Giver name or logo (both optional) and give them to employees.

Step 4

Redeem at any grocery store

Recipients redeem Certificates at major U.S. grocery stores and select the items they want.