25 Staff Appreciation and Recognition Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank

Employee Appreciation Day is not the only day we should spend appreciating all the hard work our employees put in every day. We have found 25 ideas that can be easily implemented in any workplace to boost employee appreciation and recognition.

Arrange a team to show the fruits of their labor to upper management
Ask peers to nominate and vote for employees of the month
Start a staff appreciation program
Plan a surprise achievement celebration for an employee or a team of employees
Pass on the praise
Publish a “kudos” column in your employee newsletter
Call an employee to your office to thank them
Set up a suggestion program
Express interest in your employees’ professional development
Post and follow a large Celebration Calendar in your office
Hone your communication skills
Establish relationships between staff and upper management
Ask staff members to nominate and vote on employee awards
Send thank you notes to employees who work long hours
Allow employees to select their next assignments
Designate successful teams and employees as office consultants
Include an employee in a “special meeting” they wouldn’t otherwise attend
Recognize your employees’ personal accomplishments
Give employees an extra long lunch break on occasion
Get creative in your praise
Make it personal
Ask for employees’ ideas on retreats, meetings, and other “fun time”
Make it formal: write a letter
Establish a Rock Solid Award to recognize employees who consistently do their job well
Support your employees by providing space for their fliers

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Employees are the heart of any business. Disgruntled or apathetic employees can suck the energy out of the sales transaction they perform. On the other hand, engaged employees pass on their enthusiasm to customers. In fact, customers are more likely to become engaged if they are served by passionate employees. In other words, Engaged Employees are a boost to any business’ bottom line. Yet most office environments inspire apathy, not excitement. As psychologist Tom Muha recently wrote in an article forThe Capital, recent polls show that “only 29% of employees in a typical company are actively engaged in their job.” Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to boost employee engagement. Affordable staff appreciation activities can boost engagement, partially through relationship building.

Read the full article here.