According to the calendar of upcoming fun days of which to be aware, October 5th is considered the official “Do Something Nice Day.” This fun day gives you as an HR professional or business owner a great opportunity to celebrate both your in-person and remote employees, creating either a staff appreciation or employee appreciation day.
Here are a few ideas to get you headed in the right direction towards ensuring your employees know you most certainly do appreciate them and want to do something nice just for them:
1. Thank You Notes Are Not Dead
Since we now live in a digital age where a great deal of communication takes place via email or text message, thank you notes that are handwritten can be especially impactful. In fact, according to Harvard Health Publishing research, handwriting thank you notes can be extremely powerful.
To try this idea, simply take a minute to fill out a nice blank note card or a “thinking of you” card with a genuine message of appreciation. Then, either mail the note to them via snail mail or leave the note on your employee’s desk for them to find. You will be surprised how much this simple gesture will mean to your employee. This is especially true if you take the time to write a personalized message to them relaying your appreciation or something you admire about them in terms of their quality of work.
2. Show Them Off
All employees want to feel valued and appreciated. After all, although they do their job to earn a living, it’s human nature to want others to think we are exceeding what we do. Therefore, a good way to celebrate the upcoming “Do Something Nice Day” is to show your employees off to others. You can do this by recognizing them on either LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, or doing some sort of office-based appreciation for your valuable employees.
3. Send Them Swag
We all love some good swag and your employees are no different. Therefore, yet another way to ensure they feel valued is to give them their own personalized swag bags filled with company-branded gifts and treats. The idea is to create a sense of community for the employees ensuring they know they are a valued part of your organization. If you have some employees who are working remotely, you can mail them their swag bag to make sure they too know they are a vital part of the team.
4. Give Them a Day Off
We are all “working for the weekend” in reality, so giving employees some much-deserved time off can be a great way to celebrate this fun day. You can either make the day off associated with them reaching a certain goal, perhaps reaching a sales quota, or you can simply give them either an entire or half day off just because you value them.
5. Share a Treat
Bringing in drinks, food, or desserts is a great way to show your employees you appreciate them. If your employees are working remotely, you can have something yummy delivered right to their doorstep. Either way, the act of thinking of them and then following up and providing either a snack or complete meal for your employees will communicate their value to your company.
6. Team Building
Another way to celebrate employees is to devise some sort of team-building activity you can all do together. This can take you out of the office as a group to share some experience or can create a remote team-building activity if you have employees spread around the country or simply working remotely.
Activities could include escape rooms you could all do together, rock climbing, horseback riding, and more. Of course, remote options will vary, but there are even some virtual escape rooms you can do as a group remotely to promote team building.
7. Gift Cards
We all love to get gifts. Therefore, a great way to ensure that your employees know they are valued as part of the national “Do Something Nice Day” is to give them gift cards. This can include gift cards to favorite stores, restaurants, or for services like car washes and more.
If you are aware of what your employees like, this gives you a great opportunity for personalization. Meaning that even though all your employees might enjoy a gift card to a restaurant in general, purchasing one from their favorite restaurant will be even more impactful.
Bottom Line: Be Thoughtful And Sincere
Your employees are your company’s most valuable assets. Without them, you would be woefully unable to meet the demand of your business or maintain a professional level of service. Therefore, it’s important to be aware that your employees need to feel appreciated, valued, and worthwhile. Put another way, don’t just focus on the bottom line, but invest in the people who are responsible for the bottom line.
Thankfully, “Do Something Nice Day” on October 5th, provides the ideal opportunity to reinvest in your employees and make sure they know they are valued and appreciated and will never feel taken for granted. In addition to trying any of the above suggestions, it’s important to keep in mind that your intention must be sincere.
In other words, it does you no good to give your employees something one day of the year if they feel unvalued or even taken advantage of or unappreciated every other day of the year. This day of appreciation and focus is a great way to celebrate your employees, but it should be far from the only way you ensure they feel valued. It should be an extension of the positive environment you have already created.
