The first Friday in March is designated to commemorate the national Employee Appreciation Day. This holiday that is not officially recognized on the calendar of work seeks to highlight the value of employees at work. Employee Appreciation Day provides an excellent occasion for employers to acknowledge the contribution of employees to the growth of their business.
The Concept Behind the Idea behind Employee Appreciation Day
Employee Appreciation Day the idea of Bob Nelson, a founding member of Recognition Professionals International. This first employee contributions was introduced at the beginning of 1995 in order to remind managers and employers that positive relations between employers and employees are essential for an organization’s long-term viability. Making time to appreciate and acknowledge employees is an excellent method to encourage them to not just show their best, but also surpass expectations.
Four Payoffs To Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day, Which Will Have A Significant Impact on Profit Margins
A healthy and stable employer-employee relation is always a winning. A small amount of recognition from the manager could make a significant difference to employees and positively affect their performance. Why is it important?
Increase engagement and increase productivity
Unhappy employees can have a major negative impact on efficiency. For instance, studies have revealed that an organization could be impacted by a 37 percent greater percentage of absenteeism, and an additional 18 percent lower productivity levels.
Recognizing and appreciating the contributions of employees is a positive sign of how much employers value their contributions. This is the most important factor in unlocking the potential for the increase in productivity. Results from an Glassdoor study showed an 81% percentage of the employees interviewed believe they will feel more motivated and do their best when they are rewarded by their bosses.
Recognition of employees at work sets off an incredibly powerful chain reaction increased engagement leads to higher motivation and improved performance. Additionally, acknowledging an action that was performed by an employee is more likely to be replicated to follow in the near future.
Keep loyal employees
Alongside improved productivity, showing the employees they’re appreciated as a part of the company can go in a significant way of retaining their loyalty. The benefits and salary may make people want to join a company however, appreciation is a great motivator to remain.
Results from the OC Tanner research study show that 79% of employees leave their jobs due to a lack of appreciation. Another intriguing statistic shows that the second most significant factor that reduces employee engagement is feeling unappreciated. The majority of people search for recognition from their supervisors.
Too often the decrease in productivity can lead to employees quitting the company. Then, you’re looking for an employee to replace them. However, once the job was filled can take some time for the new employee to get up to the speed of. In the process, companies have to lose their internal expertise (when they lose their experienced employees) and experience unsettling interruptions in their daily activities.
Managers must not forget that replacing any employee at a cost. The research conducted by Gallup indicates that estimates that are conservative of the cost of replacing employees can differ from one and a half to a quarter of the annual earnings of an employee.
Reduce the expense of the disengagement of employees
It’s not just the expense replacement of employees, which could lower profit margins. The costs of disengagement from employees can be a snare, too. Another Gallup report indicates that employees who are unhappy have an increase of 15% in profitability.
Create a culture of trust within your company
The company’s culture is often the main reason for attracting the best talent to an organization. Corporate culture is an intangible, which assures employees that the company is committed to its employees. Employee satisfaction, engagement and retention are a few of the most important factors related to the company’s culture.
The advantages of a positive corporate culture are that it gives hiring managers an advantage to pick the most skilled from the pool of talent and creating a strong feeling of community at work as well as reaffirming the employees’ dedication to work.
7 Ideas to Honor Employee Appreciation Day
The kind or type of Employee Appreciation day celebration you choose will be based in the amount of money spent by the business the organization it is in, as well as the budget. For instance, some businesses might offer gifts to employees individually, and others might gather everyone around a table for lunch.
Here are some fantastic ideas for celebrating Employee Appreciation Day in 2023.
Ask your employees what they’d like to commemorate the occasion.
Ask employees for their input on what makes them feel valued. A survey or suggestion box can be a useful method of gauging expectations from employees. By doing this, managers will be aware that their ideas for appreciation will be appreciated, and employees will be happy to be acknowledged.
Have fun with your group.
Have a break to play bingo, bowling and karaoke or any other type of activity that is enjoyable for your employees. This way employees will be able to relax and build relationships with their coworkers.
Distribute self-care kits that are personalized
Who doesn’t enjoy a relaxing time in Spas these days? Spa getaways, wellness retreats, gift certificates, yoga classes, and pamper gift packages are fantastic present ideas that are focused on health and wellbeing.
Personalized “Thank You” notes
Giving thanks with personal “thank thank you” notes is a wonderful method to make every employee feel appreciated and valued. Thank them for the contribution they bring to the business.
Offer lunch to employees.
Everyone is in love with a tasty lunch, be it pizza or pasta, burgers as well as burrito bowls.
Make sure they go home before the deadline.
There’s one thing that money can’t buy and that’s time. It is best to close your shop before the day, and let your employees go home to spend more time with their family and friends.
Start a wellness program for employees
The programs are focused on employees’ wellbeing and health. The programs can cover meditation, stress management as well as resilience training. physical fitness and mental wellbeing programs.
In the summary
The benefits of giving employees recognition and appreciation during Employee Appreciation Day are enhanced by fostering employees’ satisfaction, wellbeing as well as a sense that there is a importance and confidence. Motivating employees can translate into tangible and beneficial benefits for business.
The idea of recognizing employees shouldn’t be confined to one day during the year, but should be a an integral part of any smart strategy for managing.