Employee Appreciation Activities
Many employers look for ways to let their employees know that their hard work is noticed and recognized. Some plan employee appreciation days or activities to publicly recognize their top employees. If you are seeking ideas to let your star performers know that their efforts have not gone unnoticed, you can choose from many different types of employee appreciation activities.
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Free Activities
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Some organizations don't have the budget to pay for planned employee appreciation activities, so they offer other types of acknowledgments, perks and bonuses to their hardworking team members. In fact, by simply publicly acknowledging that you appreciate an employee's efforts, you can build morale without spending a dime, according to writer Dan Tynan on the HRWorld website. Some examples of these types of free activities include highlighting a different employee's hard work each month in the company newsletter or the company CEO writing handwritten notes thanking top performers for their contributions. If you want to actually give your employees some sort of prize or honor, consider giving them an extra day of paid time off or a special parking spot as a reward for accomplishments.
Moderately-Priced Activities
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If your company has a small budget to use for employee appreciation activities, make the most of it by planning activities that make the work week more fun. For example, managers can bring in gourmet coffee on Friday mornings or pay for a department breakfast or lunch once a month. The actual food products or restaurants do not have to be expensive -- the main point is to let your employees know that their efforts have been noticed. Group lunches can also build camaraderie within your department. According to the University of Washington's Department of Human Resources, other moderately-priced employee appreciation activities may include giving the employee of the month a beautiful bouquet of flowers or a framed poster or card expressing the company's appreciation.
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Expensive Activities
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Some organizations have the money and time to plan for large-scale, expensive employee appreciation activities. These types of activities may be a part of an overall contest or time-based program that inspires employees to kick up their efforts a few notches. For example, a company may have a sales contest with the winning employee receiving an expensive prize. Some of these types of employee appreciation activities may include team-building outings, such as weekend retreats or vacations. Other companies plan elaborate Friday afternoon happy hours that provide catered appetizers and full-service bars.
Rewards or Banquet Events
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Many companies plan annual or semiannual reward events or banquet dinners for employees and their families. These types of events may be casual picnics or barbecues held at a local park or recreational area, or they may be formal, black-tie dinners held at a fancy hotel ballroom. You can choose to reward top performers with trophies or gift certificates at these employee appreciation activities, or you can simply let it be a day or evening of fun that lets your employees know that the company cares about them.
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References
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