Creative Employee Appreciation Tricks That Won't Break the Bank
Dan Rose, Content Creator at SkillPath
This Friday, March 1st is “National Employee Appreciation Day” and while an all-expenses paid trip to the Caribbean is always nice, not many department budgets can handle that. Bonus checks for exceeding goals are good too, but research and countless interviews reveal that money not at the top of the list for motivating employees. In fact, for the younger generation, money generally is far down the list. So how do you show employee appreciation without spending much money?
This year, it’s time to dig down deeper and find things that employees will appreciate that are low-cost or even free. And trust us, free is valued more by the employee over almost anything if it is personal and sincere.
Here are some ideas for employee appreciation that show you value all their effort and hard work:
Preferred parking for a week or month
15-minute chair massages … done by a professional masseuse and not you, obviously, because that would be bad
Car wash by the boss
Lunch with the boss
Sponsor team sports
Clean office surroundings
Rotating “trophy” for achieving goals
Training
Birthday cakes
“CEO for the Day” where an employee gets to proclaim a jeans day, potluck lunch, or make a speech at a team meeting
Send birthday and/or thank-you cards to employees at their home address
Discount club memberships
Their favorite music download (or even on vinyl if they are really old school)
Sponsor a “Nerd Day” when they dress up like their favorite movie or Comic-Con character … as long as they’re appropriately covered, of course. So, no Princess Leia brass bikini or Tarzan outfits
If an employee has a favorite charity, make a small donation in their name
Create an Employee Wall of Fame some place everyone would see it
Book club membership
More of what somebody loves doing
Company-wide pop culture bracket contests, similar to March Madness, where employees pick winners of Grammy’s, Emmy’s, Oscars, etc. with an appropriate gift card for winner (free music downloads for Grammy’s, movie theater coupons for Oscars ….)
Plants for the office
Paint their office the color of their choice
Less of what somebody hates doing
Send a letter of praise to the employee’s spouse/family/significant other
Telecommuting option
Free toiletries
Free lunch, snacks or soda
Spontaneous afternoons off during a slow time
Press releases on accomplishments or promotions
Company store
Discount on home computer equipment
Afternoon trip to the movies for the entire department
Company picnic
T-shirts to celebrate product releases
Executives serve snacks during busy times
Provide fun sticky notes
New desk chairs
Company product or service for free
Time with top executives to air ideas
Designate an employee of the month
Employees pick artwork for their office
Give out scratch lottery tickets
But most of all … just say, “Thank You” and mean it!
Creativity and thoughtfulness are keys when you really want to let an employee know you appreciate their work. You don’t need to spend a lot of extra money.
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Dan Rose
Content Creator at SkillPath
Dan Rose is a content creator at SkillPath who uses his experience from a 30-year writing career to focus on timely events that impact today’s business world.