Employee Appreciation Day is observed on the first Friday of March each year. It is an attempt to dedicate an entire day to appreciating employees and celebrating their achievements.
In 2024, Employee Appreciation Day is on Friday, the 1st of March
The concept of Employee Appreciation Day was created by Bob Nelson, one of the founding board members of Recognition Professionals International.
Nelson, worked in collaboration with his publishing company, Workman Publishing, to ensure that the holiday appeared prominently on workplace calendars from 1995 onwards.
Since then a large number of organizations worldwide are leveraging this occasion to appreciate their employees.
Most organizations understand that employees are their greatest assets and appreciating them strengthens their sense of belonging and engagement with the organization.
Studies have shown that when employees are assured that their company cares for their well-being, their engagement level increases by 38% and they are 18% more likely to go an extra mile for ensuring business success.
Hence, celebrating Employee Appreciation Day provides a great opportunity for managers, business leaders, and HR in organizations to reinforce the importance of appreciating their employees.
Regular employee recognition ideas might not work too well for this occasion.
So, we have put together a few creative and innovative ideas for ways to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day. Here goes:
1. Launch a New HR Program/ Policy
2. Hold a Virtual Employee Recognition Ceremony
3. Organize Virtual Team Events and Contests
4. Organize Candid Talks by Senior Management
5. Celebrate it Offline
Organizations can leverage this occasion to launch a new HR program such as employee recognition or benefits.
It sends out a positive message to the workforce that they are valued and their efforts and achievements are appreciated.
The announcement can be made by the senior leadership through a virtual town hall or digital communication platforms.
The organization could conduct virtual employee recognition ceremonies on Employee Appreciation Day to further accentuate the importance of employee recognition.
In these ceremonies, the organization could recognize employees for their performance and the values displayed, in different categories.
Furthermore, they could leverage digital platforms for these ceremonies.
In addition, gift vouchers or other virtual gifts to all employees on this occasion.
Team events, games, and contests from online karaoke competitions to interesting quizzes provide a fun and exciting way of celebrating the unique and diverse talents of employees.
They offer an easy and convenient means to involve both on-site and remote working employees in something exciting and interactive.
These events and contests can help employees showcase their creativity and talent, hitherto unknown to their co-workers.
Hence, these can help in knowing and appreciating employees as people, and not just as co-workers.
Getting top management and high performers in the organization to talk about their corporate journeys, challenges and stories on digital platforms or offline might be a good idea.
The younger members of the workforce are inspired by such success stories and develop role models for themselves in the organization.
Apart from the above methods of celebrating the day virtually, organizations may also consider on-site celebration ideas, if possible.
These may include workplace decoration, lunches, outings, parties with unusual themes and dress codes, rewarding random acts of kindness at the workplace, or simply cheering the entire workforce by the management.
It acts as a golden opportunity to set the tone of organizational culture and also serves as an annual reminder to reinforce that culture.
Also read: 10 Best Creative and Low-Cost Ways to Reward Employees
Organizations should put effort into celebrating Employee Appreciation Day to ensure a memorable and inspiring experience for their employees.
It can go a long way in building a culture of appreciation within the organization and enhance the motivation and engagement of the workforce.
Lead author: Sagar Chaudhuri, the Co-Founder and CEO of HiFives. He is an HR Tech Evangelist with over 25 years of experience in the corporate world and entrepreneurship. In the past, Sagar has worked with companies such as Genpact, Infosys, and ICICI Bank, in leadership roles. He has an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. Connect on LinkedIn
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