6 Inventive Ways to Celebrate Your Employees
here are 6 ways you can recognize Your Employees’ contributions to your company.
People like to know that they are working for a company that appreciates them and their work. No one likes being just another cog in the machine, and even small gestures like notes of appreciation, or a “great job on that project!” comment in the hallway as they walk by, can have a big impact on your employees.
Even if your company only has 20 or 30 employees and can’t afford the “Big Show” of a corporate awards ceremony, you can still host an end-of-the-year celebration where you recognize top performers in key areas. Get your employees in on the action and allow them to nominate their co-workers. Peer recognition is just as important as managerial recognition.
Create an employee Hall of Fame.
A great employee is a great employee year in and year out. Celebrate the fact that your team does a fantastic job time and time again with an employee Hall of Fame in the company entry-way or cafeteria. Your staff deserve to be recognized both privately and publicly for the good work that they do.
Provide lunch (and an extra long lunch break) one Friday a month.
It’s might not seem like much, but catering an extra long lunch break even once a month is a nice way to show your employees you care. You don’t have to go crazy on the catering either—sandwiches and fruit plates, Chinese takeout, or even family style pasta platters are great, and cost effective, options. You never know what great ideas will come out during a company-wide lunch meeting either! Getting everyone in the same room at the same time is sometime tricky, but free food is good place to start!
Plan an after-work event like bowling, mini-golf, or dinner.
After-work events that have nothing to do with work are a fun way to get your employees together in a more relaxed and stress-free environment, especially after wrapping up a big project. If your company is large enough you could even host a corporate field day where employees can bring their families as well. It definitely helps productivity when your employees can also be casual friends with each other!
During brainstorming sessions give actual pennies for thoughts that can then be traded in later for small prizes like coffee on the boss.
The hardest part of a brainstorming session is getting employees to speak up and share their ideas. Encourage them to lay it all on the table, no matter what the idea is, by actually giving them a penny for their thoughts! It might help make some people more comfortable in a group discussion, plus every idea will count for something whether or not it’s actually put in place.
Nominate members of your team for a corporate award.
If your company hosts an annual corporate award ceremony nominate someone on you team that really deserves to be recognized by the whole company. Sometimes the “behind the scenes” employees are the ones that make the most difference and they deserve to be applauded for their contribution to your company’s success!
Have your staff vote for the top manager, employee, and rookie (new hire) of the year.
Even if your company only has 20 or 30 employees and can’t afford the “Big Show” of a corporate awards ceremony, you can still host an end-of-the-year celebration where you recognize top performers in key areas. Get your employees in on the action and allow them to nominate their co-workers. Peer recognition is just as important as managerial recognition.
These are just a few ways that companies and managers can strive to recognize their employees. Whether it’s a big or little gesture, most people just want to know that their hard work is being noticed and appreciated!