We all want our work environment to not just survive but thrive in the modern, competitive market. Our staff members need to be fully engaged and committed to a shared vision of company success. There’s no better way to inspire and get everyone on the same page than to regularly appreciate and recognise your workers, especially if you’re a manager or business owner.

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But whether you’re a manager, team leader, or a CEO, it can be tough to come up with fresh employee of the month ideas and other ways to appreciate your employees’ great work. You have a lot on your plate, and the big-picture problems beckon. We’re here to lighten your load with seven employee recognition ideas that will ensure that your team’s morale stays high year-round.

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1) Start an Employee of the Month Program

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It might be a bright idea to begin an employee of the month program. Why?

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An employee of the month program has two significant benefits for your office:

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• It recognises rockstar employees for the excellent jobs they do, giving them the motivation to continue performing above and beyond. This increases employee engagement and can improve employee morale.

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• It inspires a little healthy competition in the office. If done carefully, an employee of the month program will help your employees focus on personal achievement and growth — not inter-departmental or inter-team comparisons. With individual achievement at the centre and team wins as the major goal, you’ll have a friendly, energetic environment. This kind of workplace fosters teamwork, innovation, and collaboration.

A healthy employee of the month program will maximise employee recognition and appreciation, especially for those high achievers, perfectionists, and type A personalities. High-achieving employees flourish with extra recognition, so an employee of the month program that you hold every 30 days is a great way to give them what they need.

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Employee of the Month Ideas

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Generally, a good employee recognition program should include a recognition award, like a plaque, sign, or another prize. To sweeten the deal, you can offer a gift to each employee that wins the employee of the month recognition competition, like a personalised eGift card from Prezzee.

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But what if you have employees across several departments and want to ensure everyone gets a chance to participate? In that case, consider starting an employee of the month program for each distinct department. 

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For example, the sales team could have an employee of the month competition where the employee with the most sales at the end of each month wins. In contrast, your customer service department could have a contest where the team member with the most positive customer interactions wins the title. 

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It’s essential to make sure your employee of the month program is inclusive rather than exclusive. That way, every employee will feel like they have a chance to win, not just employees in one section or another of your business.

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2) Shout-out Rockstar Employees on Social Media & in the Office

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Rockstar employees appreciate a little additional attention and recognition; extra effort deserves an equal amount of praise. One way to do that is to give those rockstar employees a shout-out on social media and in the office.

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By giving your best employees a shout-out or a unique social media post, you show them that you recognise their specific contributions to your business and appreciate everything they've done.

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In-office praise works well, but public recognition takes on a new form when the company is remote or hybrid. Your work-from-home winning employees benefit from social media posts, perhaps most of all. Post this digital shout-out during a lunch break and send along a more tangible recognition award as well. You could also dedicate a slide to this announcement in your next company-wide meeting. Whether your employees are attending the meeting in the office or from home, this is a way to publicly show your appreciation. Writing an explanation of why this person has won the award and showing it to the entire company gives this special employee a chance to be recognised in front of their peers. 

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In addition, publicly recognising excellent employees will help you mentally track which workers you should consider giving promotions to. The best promotions are usually those that are already in your company fold. If you regularly recognise the best employees on your roster, you’ll have no trouble identifying who’s ideal for an open position as soon as a new job appears.

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3) Sign Up the Office for Team-Building Activities

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Team-building exercises such as scavenger hunts, escape rooms, and trivia nights are fantastic for boosting team morale and showing employee appreciation.

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For example, say that you had a particularly profitable quarter with your business. To reward your employees, you take everyone out to dinner somewhere with a trivia night competition and a prize of $100.

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Such team-building exercises bolster company culture and allow workers to socialise and mingle outside of workplace contexts. Furthermore, the right team-building exercises can help your workers do better work when they return to the office.

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In any case, team-building exercises like games, adventures, or tours can be a fun way to show your workforce how much management appreciates them and to facilitate better team management in the long term.

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Note: Think about timing. For example, don’t ask everyone to come in on their day off. Plan this event during regular working hours for maximum impact. 

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4) Improve the Employee Kitchen 

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Your employees will spend quite a lot of time in the kitchen or lunch area. It’s a no-brainer to show appreciation for them by improving this space as much as possible.

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For example, you can add a new coffee machine, a pool table or offer other workplace perks, like comfortable chairs and free snacks.

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In one sense, improving your employees’ kitchen allows you to funnel any surplus profits your company made back into the company, which workers always appreciate. In another sense, improving the kitchen shows your employees that you want to enhance their experiences specifically, not only pay for improvements to general corporate offices.

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5) Offer New Company Perks and Company Swag

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From time to time, introduce new company perks or give your employees company swag bags. Fill these bags with fun office supplies (like a desktop mini golf set), personalised nameplates, and cool T-shirts or notebooks with your company’s logo printed on them.

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New company perks are always appreciated since they make each day a bit nicer and more interesting for your employees. Meanwhile, swag bags allow you to personally approach employees to recognise them and say something nice about them before handing over a gift. It shows your employees that you are as committed to their development and success as you are to the success of your entire company.

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Examples of Gifts and Perks for Employee Recognition

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For example, you can assign new parking spots for employees or reserve the best parking spot for high-performing employees (consider making this a potential prize for an employee of the month program, too). Or you can introduce things like gym memberships, learning and development opportunities, or a daycare centre in the office.

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If you want to save a little money but still show your employees that you appreciate them, company bags filled to the brim with goodies and gifts could be just the ticket. Some fun recognition gifts for employees include:

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• eGift cards to an employee’s favourite retail brand. Prezzee Business offers gift cards to over 400 brands, so you know everyone can get one they like. Plus, they can always swap one gift card for another with the Prezzee Smart eGift Card.

• Snacks and lollies for an employee to munch on throughout the day

• A framed team photo

• Company key rings

• The sky’s the limit when it comes to giving your employees new workplace perks. Get a little creative — your employees will remember when you give them these things, improving loyalty and dedication.

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6) Highlight Work Anniversaries

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An employee of the month program can be great. Still, not every employee has the chance to win those competitions every month, especially if they have to juggle lots of projects simultaneously.

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That's why it's essential to have other ways to recognise your employees who are plodding away in the background. One good example is a work anniversary highlight or shout-out.

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Say that you have an employee who hasn’t won an employee of the month award, but they have been working faithfully at your company for 15 years without pause. That’s also deserving of recognition! So it’s only fair to host a special party or get together to recognise and appreciate that employee.

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Celebrating milestone work anniversaries like the 5, 10 and 15-year anniversaries for experienced employees incentivise your workers to stick around. Plus, they allow you to recognise those employees whose positions or talents may not suit the traditional employee of the month program. Once more: inclusivity is much better than exclusivity, especially regarding employee appreciation. For example, whilst your IT department might not have the same metrics for success as your sales team, they are still employees very much worth recognising.

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7) Have Staff Appreciation and Employee Recognition Days

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Go above and beyond with this principle and have regular employee appreciation days. This can improve company culture and worker satisfaction overall.

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For example, say that one department, in particular, did a fantastic job over the last quarter securing clients or answering customer complaints. A staff appreciation day for that department allows you to celebrate that entire department without singling out any specific individual.

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That could be the best strategy, especially if the department worked as a team and their success wasn’t due to an individual employee.

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Similarly, you can and should host quarterly or yearly (at the least) company-wide appreciation days. These are opportunities for your entire workforce to get together and have fun. Consider renting a restaurant for an evening or treating your employees to an in-office, after-hours cocktail party with beverages mixed by you or a hired bartender. For remote employees, send everyone a Restaurant and Dining gift card so you can all dine in style wherever you are. 

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Employee appreciation days show you acknowledge the constant effort exerted by your employees. Combine those days with some of the other strategies above, like giving your employees customised gifts or introducing new office perks to really “wow” your workers!

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Wrap Up

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Appreciating and recognising your employees will work wonders for workplace productivity, worker retention, and company morale. The more you acknowledge and directly appreciate your employees, the more committed they’ll be to your company, even when the going gets tough.

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That’s why so many companies use Prezzee eGift cards: personalised, customisable gift cards that you can design with your company logo and give to your employees. We offer gift cards for over 400 retailers, but each can be swapped out for a different retailer if your employee has a favourite brand.

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Why wait? Sign up for Prezzee Business and send out eGift cards to show your employees how much you appreciate them today!

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Sources:

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How to Manage an Employee-of-the-Month Program

The Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture | HBR.org

Why Team Building Is The Most Important Investment You'll Make | Forbes

Office Rivals? Keeping Workplace Competition Friendly | Business News Daily

Why a Daycare Is Needed in a Business Office

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