Yesterday, a client mentioned in passing how much she enjoys working with one of our new employees. I grabbed a pen to get down the exact words: “She’s fantastic.”
I scurried away like a kid with a free ice cream sundae. With this scrumptious treat, I’d get to show an employee some appreciation in a very specific way. And that might be one of my favorite parts of managing a business full of committed, talented overachievers.
Every year, Employee Appreciation Day on March 4 prompts calls for year-round gratitude, which obviously would be great.
But we all know we should treat mothers nicely outside of Mother’s Day. And how about some Christmas-giving spirit in April?
Just because we should do better is no reason to ignore the special days set aside for our good efforts.
Let’s use Employee Appreciation Day to think about how to better show employees love.
What’s so great about appreciation?
Here amid the Great Resignation, surveys show some provocative numbers: In a Gallup survey of Millennials and Gen Z, 79% said an increase in recognition rewards would make them more loyal to their employer. In another from the Society of Human Resource Management, 79% of employees say recognition makes them work harder and 78% say recognition makes them more productive. There are many similar studies, and you probably have read many of them.
Still, these stats don’t drive me to be appreciative. Manipulative only rhymes with appreciative.
To me, appreciation is important simply because that’s the kind of person I want to be. I want to be a person who notices what’s wonderful about the people around me, who feels the enlarging, energizing emotion of gratitude – and shows it. I suspect you feel the same.
If you haven’t tried appreciation, I think you’ll find the feeling ranks close to chocolate syrup on that free sundae.
In the spirit of Employee Appreciation Day, here are some ideas for how to make saying “thanks” a year-round job of joy.
1. Systemize good habits
Who has the capacity to appreciate people all the time? Who has the time for anything?
Like so many important resolutions (I’m looking at you, gym shoes), it helps to create systems to form habits. When a client says something positive about someone or their work, everyone on our staff knows to email it to me. These verbatims become part of our weekly all-staff meeting and we make it a light game, challenging the team to guess which client said it. When the often-obvious answer is revealed, the employee is roundly praised.
Everyone wants to be part of a company that’s hearing good things from clients, and we learn from each other. We’ve expanded this practice to include a discussion of which of our core values the employee was exhibiting at the time.
2. Be specific and be remembered
It’s nice to say, “I appreciate what you do.” But it’s infinitely more powerful to cite specifics.
Consider the new employee who was complimented by the client. “A client told me today she thinks you’re fantastic. Those were her words. You’ve quickly built a strong relationship with her and are really delivering value. I’m impressed. I want you to know I appreciate what you’re doing.” That kind of appreciation isn’t easily dismissed or forgotten.
3. Decide: public or private?
Public praise isn’t always the best tool in the toolbox.
The new employee might not have given a lot of weight to a public shoutout in a noisy Zoom meeting. I wanted her to really hear what she was doing right so she could repeat it. I scheduled a special Zoom meeting with her and delivered my appreciation in a more serious way. I then asked how she had achieved her success, which gave her a chance to think about how to build on it. I learned a thing or two as well.
4. Use food
Food signals caring.
During the pandemic, we’ve sent various kinds of food to employees’ homes, ranging from charcuterie boards to a sampling of Black-owned restaurants. We marked our first year of remote work with a dozen doughnuts delivered to each person’s home. Sometimes, we just buy lunch out of the blue for those who venture into the office.
If providing food, I like to make it a full “appreciation experience” by delivering a few brief appreciative comments before digging in. Occasionally, we’ve rewarded employees by giving them “carte blanche” for a nice dinner with their significant other to celebrate the end of a challenging work project that interfered with family time. After all, it never hurts to appreciate life partners, too!
5. Remember, people like stuff
In my life, I’m trying to get rid of stuff, so I sometimes forget how much most people enjoy getting even small tokens of appreciation.
Water bottles, T-shirts, journals … it’s just fun when sincere appreciation comes with something tangible. There should be a law that onboarding must include at least a branded coffee mug, although our welcome package is stuffed with much more “stuff.”
6. Words matter (and not just to us writers)
The moment I feel a tingle of gratitude, I jot a quick email to show my appreciation.
It’s often a single sentence or two, so essentially it takes no time at all. If you really want to show you mean it, use of piece of paper. Sometimes it can be as grand as a sticky note. Try it, and you may find your sticky note sticks around for weeks on the frame of the employee’s computer screen.
7. Design your own award
If you’re fortunate, you may sometimes get to appreciate an employee who has done something truly special.
They deserve your company’s version of a red carpet-worthy award. Last year, we wanted to show our appreciation to an employee who had done an incredible job serving our largest client who was in crisis early in the pandemic. The months-long stress was unprecedented, and she did a fantastic job under combat conditions. We created the WordsFresh Key Award to honor outstanding leadership and awarded it to her in front of the whole staff. The award is a customized acrylic trophy featuring a typewriter key customized with the first letter of her name. We will give this award only for very special contributions and not on any timetable. We have a plaque at the office to record future “keys” awarded. We’re hoping for a whole alphabet!
Should you mark Employee Appreciation Day? Yes, you should. It may even help drive retention, engagement and productivity in ways best understood by those organizations who measure such things.
But wouldn’t that just be the cherry on top?
Yesterday, a client mentioned in passing how much she enjoys working with one of our new employees. I grabbed a pen to get down the exact words: “She’s fantastic.”
I scurried away like a kid with a free ice cream sundae. With this scrumptious treat, I’d get to show an employee some appreciation in a very specific way. And that might be one of my favorite parts of managing a business full of committed, talented overachievers.
Every year, Employee Appreciation Day on March 4 prompts calls for year-round gratitude, which obviously would be great.
But we all know we should treat mothers nicely outside of Mother’s Day. And how about some Christmas-giving spirit in April?
Just because we should do better is no reason to ignore the special days set aside for our good efforts.
Let’s use Employee Appreciation Day to think about how to better show employees love.
What’s so great about appreciation?
Here amid the Great Resignation, surveys show some provocative numbers: In a Gallup survey of Millennials and Gen Z, 79% said an increase in recognition rewards would make them more loyal to their employer. In another from the Society of Human Resource Management, 79% of employees say recognition makes them work harder and 78% say recognition makes them more productive. There are many similar studies, and you probably have read many of them.
Still, these stats don’t drive me to be appreciative. Manipulative only rhymes with appreciative.
To me, appreciation is important simply because that’s the kind of person I want to be. I want to be a person who notices what’s wonderful about the people around me, who feels the enlarging, energizing emotion of gratitude – and shows it. I suspect you feel the same.
If you haven’t tried appreciation, I think you’ll find the feeling ranks close to chocolate syrup on that free sundae.
In the spirit of Employee Appreciation Day, here are some ideas for how to make saying “thanks” a year-round job of joy.
1. Systemize good habits
Who has the capacity to appreciate people all the time? Who has the time for anything?
Like so many important resolutions (I’m looking at you, gym shoes), it helps to create systems to form habits. When a client says something positive about someone or their work, everyone on our staff knows to email it to me. These verbatims become part of our weekly all-staff meeting and we make it a light game, challenging the team to guess which client said it. When the often-obvious answer is revealed, the employee is roundly praised.
Everyone wants to be part of a company that’s hearing good things from clients, and we learn from each other. We’ve expanded this practice to include a discussion of which of our core values the employee was exhibiting at the time.
2. Be specific and be remembered
It’s nice to say, “I appreciate what you do.” But it’s infinitely more powerful to cite specifics.
Consider the new employee who was complimented by the client. “A client told me today she thinks you’re fantastic. Those were her words. You’ve quickly built a strong relationship with her and are really delivering value. I’m impressed. I want you to know I appreciate what you’re doing.” That kind of appreciation isn’t easily dismissed or forgotten.
3. Decide: public or private?
Public praise isn’t always the best tool in the toolbox.
The new employee might not have given a lot of weight to a public shoutout in a noisy Zoom meeting. I wanted her to really hear what she was doing right so she could repeat it. I scheduled a special Zoom meeting with her and delivered my appreciation in a more serious way. I then asked how she had achieved her success, which gave her a chance to think about how to build on it. I learned a thing or two as well.
4. Use food
Food signals caring.
During the pandemic, we’ve sent various kinds of food to employees’ homes, ranging from charcuterie boards to a sampling of Black-owned restaurants. We marked our first year of remote work with a dozen doughnuts delivered to each person’s home. Sometimes, we just buy lunch out of the blue for those who venture into the office.
If providing food, I like to make it a full “appreciation experience” by delivering a few brief appreciative comments before digging in. Occasionally, we’ve rewarded employees by giving them “carte blanche” for a nice dinner with their significant other to celebrate the end of a challenging work project that interfered with family time. After all, it never hurts to appreciate life partners, too!
5. Remember, people like stuff
In my life, I’m trying to get rid of stuff, so I sometimes forget how much most people enjoy getting even small tokens of appreciation.
Water bottles, T-shirts, journals … it’s just fun when sincere appreciation comes with something tangible. There should be a law that onboarding must include at least a branded coffee mug, although our welcome package is stuffed with much more “stuff.”
6. Words matter (and not just to us writers)
The moment I feel a tingle of gratitude, I jot a quick email to show my appreciation.
It’s often a single sentence or two, so essentially it takes no time at all. If you really want to show you mean it, use of piece of paper. Sometimes it can be as grand as a sticky note. Try it, and you may find your sticky note sticks around for weeks on the frame of the employee’s computer screen.
7. Design your own award
If you’re fortunate, you may sometimes get to appreciate an employee who has done something truly special.
They deserve your company’s version of a red carpet-worthy award. Last year, we wanted to show our appreciation to an employee who had done an incredible job serving our largest client who was in crisis early in the pandemic. The months-long stress was unprecedented, and she did a fantastic job under combat conditions. We created the WordsFresh Key Award to honor outstanding leadership and awarded it to her in front of the whole staff. The award is a customized acrylic trophy featuring a typewriter key customized with the first letter of her name. We will give this award only for very special contributions and not on any timetable. We have a plaque at the office to record future “keys” awarded. We’re hoping for a whole alphabet!
Should you mark Employee Appreciation Day? Yes, you should. It may even help drive retention, engagement and productivity in ways best understood by those organizations who measure such things.
But wouldn’t that just be the cherry on top?
