Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 3. As we think about celebrating our favorite day of the year (and help companies say “thank you” to their hard-working employees), we asked managers and team leads to share some of the ways they show appreciation. Here are just a few of the many inspiring ways they recognize their hard-working employees, not just on Employee Appreciation Day, but every day!

“We love to treat our teams – whether it’s buying them a working lunch, keeping our conference rooms fully stocked with the best snacks, or surprising folks with the newest craft beer in the break room fridge.”
– Tess W., Office Manager

“For new teammates, we raise a banner, roll out the red carpet and go all out making them feel excited about joining a great team!”
– Jason J., Facility Administrator

“We gave them fleece vest when the temperature dropped because we were outside more. We have given them lunch, breakfast, gift cards, socks, and donuts a lot! They love food!”
– Kashundra H., Program Coordinator

“We love celebrating our team! We set goals and provide food in the break room when we meet them, we find out what holidays/events/celebrations are important to our team so we can share and learn/celebrate with them. We send personalized cards to their homes – it’s nice to get a cute note sometimes instead of a bill!”
– Jen W., Executive Team Leader – HR

“We do fun things like National Have Fun at Work Day scheduling different activities or a scavenger hunt for employees to participate in. We host staff appreciation days throughout the year when we are able. We have service awards that we can nominate staff for in certain areas such as relationship building and excellent customer service. We also celebrate years of service at our all staff meeting.”
– Amber S., Executive Director

“We have a peer-nominated “Staff of the Month”. This is intentionally implemented as peer-nominated so they can take time to reflect on how they value each other. Being voted as the Staff of the Month means more to them coming from each other as a group than it does from a single supervisor. This is why I choose someone weekly and leave the bigger award to be determined by them directly.”
– CJ D., DTA Supervisor

“I send postcards, gift cards, and handwritten notes by snail mail to surprise them with a little love and appreciation.”
– April R., Director of Off Premise

“Our employees love jeans day! We also give them surprise paid leave. I try to take my employees out for coffee once a month and send thank you notes when I see something that stands out.”
– Jen J., Assistant Director of Admissions

“I remind them that people have better days because of the work they do! I listen to my team, encourage them and am just very thankful for their continuous efforts. I am constantly teaching my team to be better leaders so they can develop skills to further their own careers and be successful.”
– Miranda W., Training Supervisor

“Always tell them. It seems simple, but people need to hear they’re appreciated. Then prove it through action; hand-written cards, gifts, a lunch, a random “good job” email.  Be present, and listen; validate and address their concerns. By far the most important aspect of employee appreciation is to show love, respect, and understanding.”
– Blake M., Business Development Resource

“We have a “kudos” bin where other staff members can add notes of ways co-workers have gone above and beyond, or notes of praise from our clients. These notes used to get read aloud at our staff meetings but since we can’t have in-person meetings right now these “kudos” are sent out in our monthly staff emails. I also try to make sure I thank everyone as often as I can and let them know I am so grateful that we are all a team!”
– Jen M., Office Manager

“The most important thing has been saying thank you and being thankful. If I don’t see a team member after their shift, I text them a little thank you note. For the holiday season this year we wore fun Christmas hats and shirts for December and I ordered fun Christmas masks for everyone to wear.”
– Michelle E., General Manager

“We do monthly birthday parties for employees born that month. We have recently started an employee of the quarter award. The winner will receive a gift card and plaque, and we will cater in lunch for the whole facility.”
– Nancy K., Administrative Manager

“I am all about making work fun. My entire team works their tails off every day and sometimes it can be lonely for them since we are all in different cities. Whether it’s sending out funny memes or quizzes to the team, or sending each of them little personalized gifts from time to time, I just want them to know I appreciate them and everything they do to contribute to our team.”
– Josh K., Account Manager

“We send shout outs via email to encourage each other and every Wednesday I send out a “Wisdom Wednesday” email with an encouraging quote! :)”
– Megan J., Administrative Assistant

“We have a wonderful “Sunshine Committee”. Despite COVID, they’ve still arranged for some very nice gestures, like “Sprinkles” for two expectant fathers, done a National Soup Day Celebration and popcorn for Inauguration Day.”
– Natalie B., Office Administrator

“We tell them often that they are doing a good job, and give them small gifts of appreciate during this hard time. We feed them regularly to make their day easier so they don’t have to leave the office.”
– Bridget G., Clerkship Coordinator

“We surprised our staff with a “Week of Thanks” back in November, where we gave them a gift each day for 1 week.”
– Vanessa G., Office Manager

“We supply Birthday lunch and dessert to celebrate as well as work anniversary cards & gifts. Sometimes we have a pizza party just at random! We also have a praise jar where we can leave a note recognizing something special that a fellow team member has done. We all enjoy lifting each other up!”
– Lisa A., Office Manager

“We. Love. Food. OMG. I can’t feed these people enough. We miss the big parties we used to throw, but we’ve been doing socially-distanced lunch buffets so that we can at least share a meal. We also do regular birthday parties, of course socially distanced, and we’re always quick to celebrate wins in the moment, even if it’s just an (air) high-five during our weekly huddles. Being able to celebrate success together, especially now, is absolutely vital.”
– Jessica W., Assistant Property Manager

“I try to know something personal about each team member so that I can communicate with them on that level. My aim is to be pleasant and welcoming when they come in the front door — I’m the first person they encounter and I want their day to start off with a warm greeting and big smile!”
– Amy L., Director of Hospitality

“Company-wide-lunch! Happy hours, movie nights, picnics, team outings, and service projects.”
– Suzy P., Executive Coordinator

“We like to bring in donuts on Fridays, and lunch for the whole team once in a while. We also celebrate birthdays once a month with cake for everyone and a signed card and gift card for the birthday employees. We also recognize Career Appreciation Days with themed gifts and a little shout-out during our Monday morning meetings.”
– Jennifer V., Administrative Assistant

“We have a cookout once a month grilling food for everyone. We are hosting a contest to get to know colleagues better, by putting up baby pictures and interesting facts about 2 people every month. Everyone has to guess who the person is. The winning guess gets a prize.”
– Mary B., Sr. Planner

“During the month of March (National Nutrition Month) we do a step challenge, a water drinking challenge, and a lunch packing challenge. The winners receive prizes geared toward health and wellness!”
– Kaytee N., Office Manager

“I am always thinking about employee engagement and ways to make our people happy. I host on-boarding on Mondays and cater lunch for the office almost weekly. I set up “Wellness Wednesday” baskets in the conference room and warehouse, and ship out zip-lock bags of Wellness Wednesday snacks to our employees over at commercial job sites around the city. I also provide fresh fruit weekly for our office staff as well as having a free vending machine stocked and managed bi-weekly for our team.”
– Casey F., Human Resources

“We cater lunch almost every day for them. We bring in lots of snacks and treats. We’re trying to decorate a little for the holidays, and have a “heroes work here” banner on its way.”
– Samantha W., Lean Coordinator

“We tried to bring some “normalcy” and fun to the routine by doing tax deadline day celebrations, pumpkin carving and gingerbread building contests, roving snack/ice cream cart through the office, and an occasional surprise Popsicle run.”
– Myra R., Manager

“Throughout the year I provide the staff with lunches and snacks. We also do pot lucks and craft days to encourage team building and development.”
– Felicia T., Sales & Rehab Manager

“Employees feel appreciated when they are THANKED! It is something so simple – acknowledgement and appreciation for a job well done!”
– Stephanie M., Program Coordinator

“We provide lunch where possible, that is always a team favorite, as well as “spot awards” of gift cards when a client provides great specific feedback about one of our team members. This year we also ordered team jackets and a bonus holiday gift card for all of our site workers.”
– Maggie B., Marketing Manager

“We do 12 Days of Christmas in December to get teachers things for their classrooms, and to show them appreciation for all their hard work and dedication. Our Parent Committee sponsors treats for our staff on a regular basis, and we use a lot of positive affirmations to tell our staff how much we appreciate them and how important our daily work is in the lives of young children.”
– Amanda M., Center Director

“We surprised every team member with a specialty pizza and two liter to take home to their family, to wish them a happy Valentines Day and also just because! We were awarded 2021 Dealer of Year, so we did a cake celebration in honor of every employee that helped make the award possible. Whether it is a big or small recognition, our leadership enjoys creating memorable moments that lead to long term and loyally engaged employees!”
– Amy S., Marketing Coordinator

“We have a fun comment card/recognition board called “Caught in the Act” where we post the wonderful things guests say about the team.”
– Felicia L., Sr. Director of Public Operations

“Our team is VERY food motivated just like the patients we treat! 🙂 They love little gestures of donuts in the morning or a pizza party on a rough day. We also encourage them to stay connected as a group with book clubs and special out of work functions, which all also revolve around food!”
– Leigh Ann M., Practice Manager

“We had branded masks made to keep them safe. We have a social and wellness committee to do things like desk drops for Valentines Day. We are bringing in a coffee company for Employee Appreciation Day.”
– Andrea B., Executive Assistant

“We do a staff appreciation lunch, we do wellness activities, try to give them healthy snacks once a month, encourage their physical well being with reimbursement for healthy living activities, try to take care of their mental health and well being with education and webinars to help our staff manage stress, demonstrate resilience, learn coping strategies, meditation, and gratitude practices.”
– Elizabeth D., Director of Clinical Services

Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 5. If you need food for your team event, our team is here to make it happen!