Employee Appreciation Week 2024: Celebrate your Employees!

In 2024, Employee Appreciation Day landed on March 1st! National Day Calendar lists it on the first Friday in March each year. Here, an appreciation week means an employer-chosen schedule of activities. We hope you all had the chance to take time to celebrate your hardworking employees. 

Why Celebrate Employee Appreciation? 

What is the point in sending an appreciation message? It is a chance to acknowledge someone's contribution. CIPD's evidence review recommends rewards that fit individual jobs and teams, link clearly and consistently to performance, and are seen as fair. 

3 Reasons Why Employee Recognition is Beneficial 

Why should we celebrate employees? The answer is that everyone wants to feel noticed and appreciated for their hard work, employees included! A thank-you need not require a purchased gift, though activities and gifts can have costs. Below, we have 3 additional reasons why employee recognition is needed for your company. 

‍1 - Employee Retention

Recognition is one part of supporting employees, not a guarantee they will stay. Talent retention is important for a good company environment. 

‍2 - Strong Company Culture 

We all want to work for a company that has good vibes and high energy! Focus on fair recognition suited to each team, rather than only celebrating the most visible work. 

‍3 - Increase in Inspiration: 

When employees are acknowledged, point out good work worth building on, without assuming praise alone will inspire everyone or make them more productive. 

10 Ways to Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

Celebrations can be hard to plan, but we got you! Here are 10 ideas for you to celebrate your employees on Employee Appreciation Day: 

Ask which formats employees value, check access and food or gift preferences, and keep participation optional. For Slack posts, videos, awards and calls, ask about public or private thanks and get agreement before recording or sharing. Arrange calls at an agreed time, or offer a written message.

‍1 - Kudos Channel in Slack: 

Dedicate a channel in your team Slack for acknowledging employees and their work throughout the year!

‍2 - Personalized Appreciation Video

Have you ever seen those cute Happy Birthday videos with personalized messages from their loved ones? Why not make one for your team members? As cheesy as the video may be, it is an awesome way to send a customized appreciation message to your employees. 

‍3 - Throw a Small Company Party!

What better way to celebrate than good food and happy vibes? Throw a small company lunch party for your employees!

‍4 - Awards Ceremony

Offer awards to employees who welcome them! Dedicate specific awards like work ethic or best creativity to your employees.

‍5 - Employee Happy Hour

Celebrate with an optional after-work get-together. Offer nonalcoholic drinks, a working-hours alternative and a remote or asynchronous way to join in. 

6 - Company Swag Box

From gift cards to company merch, giving a small gift to your employees is a great way to show a token of appreciation. 

7 - Handwritten note or eCard

A handwritten note can go a long way when showing appreciation, write one for your employees to show gratitude!

8 - Virtual Happy Hour

Host an optional virtual happy hour with nonalcoholic drinks during working hours. Offer an asynchronous message thread for anyone who cannot join live.

9 - Personal Calls

Personally reaching out to your employees over the phone is an easy and thoughtful way to say thank you. 

10 - Employee Care Package

 Themed care packages are always fun and allow a lot of room to be creative. You can include things like snacks, mugs, company merch, and more!

Tips for Sending an Appreciation Message

For many of us, writing an appreciation message is not always easy. Here are 3 tips to help guide you in writing your message!

1 - Be professional 

Keep in mind that your message is still workplace-related, so keep it professional! Use humour only if it suits the recipient and workplace context.

2 - Personalize the message!

No one wants a cookie-cutter thank-you message - it is obvious and not always effective! Make sure to use specific examples and customize the message to the person. 

3 - Add detail

To make your message more meaningful, reflect on the examples you used and explain how it has made an impact on you.

Illustrative example: “Thank you for spotting the missing checklist step before our handoff. That helped me prepare the next team’s instructions.” Replace the action and impact with details you have actually observed.

10 Sample Employee Appreciation Messages

These unattributed samples are starting points: personalize them with observed contributions and use performance or impact claims only when true.

1. Your work is used as an example to the whole company of top-quality work. Thank you.
2. You’ve set the example of how talent combined with great work pays off. Thank you for showing everyone that with dedication, nothing is impossible.
3. Your creative and innovative thinking has put you on a level of your own. Keep moving forward; we love your work.
4. Your exceptional performance sets a high standard for everyone on the team. Thank you for consistently delivering outstanding results.
5. Your outstanding performance consistently surpasses expectations. Your dedication and hard work are truly commendable.
6. Thank you for consistently raising the bar.
7. Your consistent track record of exceeding targets and achieving goals is impressive.
8. Your proactive approach and problem-solving skills have had a significant impact on our projects. Thank you for your exceptional performance.
9. Your exceptional performance not only drives results but also inspires others to strive for excellence. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to success.
10. I really appreciate how you inspire everyone else to do better. Keep that spark – we all need it.

A workplace is only as good as the employees make it; show your employees how much they mean to you by celebrating them on Employee Appreciation Day! You never know, a short appreciation message can brighten up anyone's day and make them more motivated! 🎉