Show your appreciation for their hard work and contributions. And, don't forget to say please often as well. Social niceties do belong at work. A more gracious, polite, civilized workplace is appreciated by all. Learn your co-workers' interests.
- Activities To Show Appreciation Day
- Fun Activities To Show Appreciation
- Activities For Kids To Show Appreciation
- Activities To Show Appreciation Letter
Employees are essential to business success. It takes a team to get a business off the ground, and business owners with the most talented employees tend to have the most success. Finding and attracting the right talent takes more than good luck. One of the best ways to attract top talent is to treat your employees well. Treat your people like people and reward them when appropriate.
There's no better time of year to brush up on your employee appreciation best practices than right now. Employee Appreciation Day is right around the corner, on March 1, 2019. So we spoke with business leaders about how they creatively reward employees and show their appreciation.
1. Use a corporate gamification system.
'Each staff member could claim tasks of their choosing and would receive the point values associated with the tasks upon completion. These points could be redeemed by staff members at a corporate rewards portal for anything ranging from an extra vacation and work-from-home days to company-paid continuing education. It's one thing to appreciate employees in the way that makes sense to you, but the gamification platform we used allowed people to be appreciated in a way that was most meaningful to each individual.' – Josh Braaten, CEO and co-founder of Brandish Insights
2. Let employees give and receive 'props.'
'At Badger Maps, we like to show appreciation on a regular basis and recognize employees for their work. The way we do this is that we all set aside some time at the end of the day every Friday to give props at our 'TGIF meeting.' Anyone on the team can give 'props' to anyone else on the team, which fosters an atmosphere of appreciation, respect and teamwork. It's a time to recognize co-workers for their accomplishments and contributions that week in front of the group and show them respect for working hard and having done something great.' – Steven Benson, founder and CEO of Badger Maps
3. Feed them.
'Bring in donuts or have a pizza party at lunch on the company dime. People ... like to be fed. This type of reward will not only bring your office together [and] ... strengthen their interpersonal relationships, but it will also give them all the feeling of being appreciated.' – Tyler Butler, founder and CEO of 11Eleven Consulting
4. Express your gratitude on social media.
'We recognize our employees on their birthdays and service anniversaries on our social channels. Each post will include a photo and something that highlights that employee's contribution to the organization or an interesting fact that their co-workers and others may not know about them.' – Michelle Cardin, marketing director of Shawmut Communications Group
Activities To Show Appreciation Day
5. Connect rewards to your company.
'Once a month, each team (marketing, support, product, etc.) presents what we accomplished during the month, and then we all vote on which team had the greatest impact toward our yearly goals. The winning team gets their choice of an experience with a local Homebase merchant or a donation to a nonprofit organization that's using Homebase. The first time my team won, we visited a mini-golf course nearby – that's using Homebase for scheduling – followed by a dinner at a taco shop that also uses Homebase. The team that won last month decided to have Homebase make a donation in their name to the Houston Food Bank, which also uses Homebase to manage their team. It's a great way to show appreciation for Homebase employees while also building a closer connection to the customers we serve.' – Ravi Dehar, head of growth at Homebase
6. Delegate a team award.
'With the goal of pushing recognition down from higher-ranking staff members, newly announced program Cash Me at My Best spotlights team members who go above and beyond during [our] busy season. Employees being recognized receive an email with a description of why they are being recognized as well as a 'WEC Cash' deposit, which can be redeemed for a gift card at any point during the busy season. These 'deposits' are then shared at the firm's weekly staff meeting to make the recognition public and promote positive team morale throughout the duration of the busy season.' – Sarah Taylor, talent acquisition and development manager at Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer
7. Offer fitness opportunities.
'Since our onsite fitness center opened in January of 2018, many team members made major strides in living healthier. One team member lost over 140 pounds in less than a year, allowing him to buy new clothes at regular department stores. He serves as an inspiration to many other team members attempting to improve their health and wellness.' – Jason Trice, president and CEO of Jasco
8. Give employees extra time off.
'I think the most valuable way to recognize an employee today is through time – that is, time off, time to do something else besides work. It could be family, a hobby, a charity or a short vacation. I don't think it needs to be routine or regular and has the most value when it's unexpected.' – Mark S. Valenti, president and CEO ofThe Sextant Group
9. Encourage their feedback.
'We distribute a quarterly pulse survey [that] allows them to give us [anonymous] feedback about the company at a macro level. We ask a set of 15 questions around teamwork, leadership, career growth, etc. each quarter to measure movement on any dimension. Then we give them three open text boxes to answer the questions: What are we doing well? What do we need to improve? What else is on your mind? We get our results each month with an average participation rate of about 75 percent and have more than 225 lines of data from the responses to those three open-ended questions. This allows all employees to feel heard and want to contribute to making our company win.' – Mai Ton, vice president of human resources at White Ops
10. Host events for the entire company.
'Company events are usually quite popular when we do team-building activities. All employees want to feel part of the team and believe strongly in the company. If we can create a positive, fun and flexible workplace, most employees appreciate the independence of knowing they are trusted to get the work done and feel part of a team.' – Patric Palm, CEO ofFavro
Additional reporting by Sammi Caramela and Brittney Morgan. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
Teacher Appreciation Week is a week-long celebration in the month of May, which is designated to honoring and celebrating the hard work and dedication of our teachers. During this week, schools across America show their love and appreciation to their teachers by having students and parents participate in activities to give thanks and acknowledge their teachers.
Fun Activities To Show Appreciation
In celebration of this week, I have gathered a few fun ideas and activities to show teachers how special you think they are. You will find ideas for administrators, teachers, and students.
Ideas for Administrators
One of the most effective ways that administration can show how much they appreciate their teaching staff is to plan something special for their teachers.
Afternoon Lunch
A simple way to show your appreciation is to prepare a luncheon in the faculty lounge for all the teachers in the school. Order a pizza or if your school has extra money splurge on some take-out.
Pull-Out the Red Carpet
If you really want to make a big deal out of your teaching staff and get your students in an uproar, try creating a red carpet experience. Get a piece of red carpet and velvet ropes and have each teacher walk down the carpet as they arrive at school.
End of Day Celebration
Plan a surprise end of the day celebration. Designate the last hour of the day as 'free time' for the students. Then organize for parents to come in and help out with the class while the teacher goes to the lounge for a much-needed break. Have the teachers' lounge filled with coffee and snacks, your efforts will be much appreciated.
Ideas for Teachers
A great way to teach your students about the value of showing appreciation for hard work is to have a class discussion about why teachers are so special. Follow up this discussion with a few fun activities.
Read a Book
Often students don't really grasp the importance of all their teachers do. To help them understand the time and effort it takes to be a teacher try reading a few books about teachers. Some of my favorites are: 'Thank you Mr. Falker' by Patricia Polacco, 'Miss Nelson is Missing' by Harry Allard and 'What If There Were No Teachers?' By Caron Chandler Loveless.
Compare Teachers
Have students compare their favorite teacher with a teacher from one of the books you read. Have them use a graphic organizer like a Venn diagram to help them organize their ideas.
Write a Letter
Have students write a letter to their favorite teacher telling them what makes them so special. First brainstorm ideas together as a class, then have students write their letters on special paper, and when completed, allow them to give it to the teacher they wrote about.
Ideas for Students
All teachers love to receive recognition for their hard work, but they appreciate it the most when it comes from their students. Here are some suggestions on how fellow teachers and parents can help students can give thanks to their teacher.
Give Thanks Out Loud
One of the most important ways students can express their gratitude to their teachers is to say it out loud. A unique way of doing this is to give thanks over the loudspeaker. If this is not possible then students can also ask the teacher if they can have a few minutes in the beginning or the end of class to show their appreciation.
Activities For Kids To Show Appreciation
Door Decorations
Activities To Show Appreciation Letter
Before or after school, decorate the teacher's classroom door with all the things they love, or what you love about the teacher. If your teacher loves animals, decorate the door in an animal theme. You can add a personal touch such as a letter to the teacher, a 'World's Best' teacher certificate or even a painting or drawing.
Make a Gift
There's nothing like a handmade gift that really shows a teacher how much you appreciate them. Create something that the teacher can cherish such as, a hall or bathroom pass, magnet, bookmark or anything they can use in their classroom, the ideas are endless.
