Ways organisations can celebrate employees

Appreciation is a fundamental human need. The truth is, everyone has a need to be respected and valued for their contribution.
Whether you are an individual or member of a group, when praise for your contribution is expressed, it gives a feeling of achievement for a valiant effort and/or work well done.
Whether there is a monetary compensation for that contribution or not is beside the point.
In the workplace it is no different. There is plenty of persuasive evidence to suggest that staff who receive recognition for their work are more likely to be satisfied, happy, and ultimately productive in the workplace — creating a win-win situation.

When appreciation is expressed through recognition of good work, employees feel affirmed and valued for their work contribution.
As a result of appreciation, they tend to respond positively towards the organisation they work for.
Their satisfaction is often reflected in rising productivity levels and in their motivation to maintain or improve their good work.
Thus, praise and recognition are absolutely vital to an outstanding workplace and enthusiastic workforce.
After all, nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, and recognition is a great source of enthusiasm.
Happy Employees = Happy Customers = Better Bottom Line

There are bottom line benefits that have been achieved through employee recognition efforts.
Correlation has long been established between employee and customer satisfaction, leading to strong employee and customer loyalty to companies.
This loyalty somehow directly flows to increased profitability. Thus, celebrating employees is not just for large organisations, it is for ALL organisations.
It is for private, public and not-for-profit organizations alike. There is no reason why your staff should go unrecognised — even something as simple as sending out cards can boost morale.
As Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says, “always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.”
You have every reason to honor and celebrate your employees because without them you do not have a company.
Let’s face it, while a simple “thank you for a job well done” is easy enough, and is always appreciated, a creative employee recognition programme that goes beyond the traditional bonus pay is the essential to incentivizing and motivating employees.

Although money is important, it’s only a motivator when employees feel underpaid. Just like you have put programmes in place to satisfy and retain your customers, you do need to find creative ways to keep you employee satisfaction levels high to ensure when they walk out your door at knock-off time, they will be returning the following work day.
Why not remind your employees how great you are as a company?
You may be having a very effective and innovative rewards programme.
You may have carried out employee surveys to determine exactly what motivates your workforce and that has already shaped your employee recognition and retention strategies you have put in place.

I suggest, by no means, that you take away or rubbish all your hard work in this regard.
But be that as it may, you may want to ensure that at the time when your employees are taking stock of their achievements for the year, and listing their new year resolutions with determination to change careers and/or work environments in the coming year, you “appeal” to their conscience to consider that you have not just been good, but great, to them, and that you plan to make their loyalty to you worth their while.
You want to remind them that as they consider greener pastures in the New Year, it is much greener inside your company than anywhere else they may contemplate going, especially if they plan to join your competitor.

There is no opportune moment than the end of the year for managers to reward the efforts of their staff.
With the holidays and season of giving upon us, the opportunities are even bigger!
It is a perfect time to reflect on the business year and successful milestones that have been hit, while appreciating your coworkers, partners, and staff.
So what can you possibly do to help staff feel valued and celebrated as the year draws to a close? Here are some ideas on how to celebrate employees:
1.    Reflect on performance of individuals and give feedback — even if it’s not formal perfomance review cycle yet. Using examples from the entire year of how they performed to satisfaction and beyond, express your views on how you think they need to build on their strengths and overcome weaknesses.
2.    Target relevant platforms to show company pride and celebrate company success — including on Social Media. Post ‘throwbacks’ of team events, milestones achieved or perhaps a video capturing memorable events of the year.

Do attribute your company success to employees, and profile them as successful employees so they, in turn, take pride in being associated with your company.
3.    While you celebrate your successes, review and communicate company strategic goals and up-coming programmes.
Ensure that your goals are owned by your employees, and will not only be attainable, but will challenge them to do great.
Letting your employees in on big company initiatives will give them something to look forward to in the New Year and even make them want to come back so they can partake in those initiatives.
4.    Enjoy a moment outside the office. It’s always a welcome change to meet colleagues away from work and have something fun to do. This doesn’t have to be a big party that leaves a dent in your balance sheet.

Treat employees to an annual luncheon, do a bowling game, or going out for cocktails is a great way to de-stress.
It also makes employees feel appreciated and excited about the future with the company.
It is not always possible for businesses to spend big, so smaller touches can prove just as effective.
Whatever you decide, make sure everyone knows that their commitment has not been overlooked over the past 12 months.
Always find out what motivates your workforce, and make sure your rewards and recognition programme is synchronised with that.