Show Them How Much You Care: National Employee Appreciation Day March 5, 2021
Where would any business be without employees? That’s an easy one to answer: nowhere.
Business simply doesn’t exist without employees who are talented, loyal, conscientious, enthusiastic and supportive of a business’s goals and mission. I always think of my employees as my first and most important clients.
Because employees are so integral to the success of any business, I’m somewhat mystified by the fact that there is only one official Employee Appreciation Day per year! I make every effort to show my appreciation to my employees on a regular basis. And I know that many other business owners do too.
Even if you missed the actual date this year, show your appreciation at any time during the month and make it count. Better yet, if you can, why not show your appreciation in a variety of ways throughout the entire month or throughout the year?
Our employees are even more valuable as everyone continues to navigate the ups and downs and ins and outs presented by COVID-19. The challenges many employees face by having to work from home when conditions are likely less than ideal deserves recognition and sincere appreciation.
So, here’s the next question: How are you showing your appreciation to your employees? Do you know if your employees are feeling appreciated? How often are people reaching out to check in? Are there regularly scheduled team “zoom” meetings that acknowledge achievements? Are you keeping everyone informed of what’s going on when most are not in the office? Are you sending regular “care packages” to employees? If not, maybe you should be.
While the consensus is that things are opening up, how are your employees feeling? And when things do open up, are they going to stay with you? There are no guarantees, but employees who feel valued and appreciated when the going gets tough tend to stick around.
Here are a few ideas for showering your employees with appreciation. At least once a month you might want to send out a fun food gift. Who doesn’t love food! Another month a tech item to help my team out in their home office. And now, I am finding fun masks to send, since it looks like we will be publicly masked well into the future. Also, monthly or bi-monthly recognition meetings seem to spark enthusiasm.
If you would like more ideas or help to execute any ideas, please don’t hesitate to call.