Any company would want to get their employees engaged and motivated at work. The simplest way to improve these is to have regular celebrations for and with the employees in order to get them engaged at the workplace.
It is rather meaningful when management takes notice of the simple events that happened in their employees’ life; regardless if it is work related or personal events. Every employee needs to know that they are appreciated by their superiors and the more effectively you are able to do that, the better results you will achieve from the people on your team.
It does not take a big raise or expensive gifts to make your employees happy and motivated. However, to be recognised for their hard work or to be rewarded in a personal achievement goes a long way.
In this article, we listed the different events to celebrate at the workplace in order to increase employee motivation and we have divided it into 3 different celebrations:
Bronze Celebrations: Minor events that do not require months of planning or the whole day to celebrate, with minimum cost to spend.
Silver Celebrations: Once again, does not require months of planning, perhaps a week or so, with minimum cost to spend.
Gold Celebrations: This is normally a major celebration that could take a month worth of planning as you will be celebrating it on a larger scale, as compared to the others.
All these celebrations do not require months of planning, but the effort taken are always appreciated by your employees.
Let’s take a look at some of the events we have in mind.
The Bronze Celebration
Employees’ Birthday
The easiest and most simple celebration to increase employee motivation is by celebrating your employee’s birthday.
While some prefer to keep their birth of date a secret because it is not a big a deal to them, when you make an effort to get a cake on their special day (or make it a small surprise!) it means a lot to them because your employee would realise they play an important part of the company.
Photo: slgckgc, Flickr
Personal Achievement
Remember that your employees have a personal life after work as well. Some may have spouse and children and some may be doing a part-time degree after work. So why not share the love by celebrating every small personal achievement they come upon.
It could be a new addition to their family, graduating from their degree or even passing the helicopter license that they have been going for classes every week.
The Silver Celebration
Employees Anniversaries
Many of us tend to start counting the numbers of years we have been working at the company after a while. However long it may be, it will always seem forever to employees if they do not feel appreciated in the company. Remember, these are the people who have been there for you and they are the people who helped you grow the company.
Celebrating an employee’s work anniversary or their milestone is one of those events that is the simplest and most easily overlooked. While there is no need to throw a party or disrupt the entire workday, a few resourceful gestures will go a long way.
By celebrating the anniversary of their hiring, you can inform each employee the significance of their presence in the company and that another year of their time definitely deserves a celebration!
Read our article, Ways to Celebrate Employees Anniversaries, to get some ideas.
Project Achievement
Another silver celebration that would increase employee motivation is by celebrating employees’ project achievement. Good employees thrive at work when they know their contributions have meaning. Letting your employees know the ways in which their work matters to you, the company or even to their fellow colleagues, helps keep your employees engaged and excited about their work.
It is especially meaningful when the appreciation comes from their supervisors or upper management. It does not take a big raise or expensive gifts to make your employees happy.
So it is time to give credit when it is due. When your employee makes a project go smoothly, inform the whole team at a meeting or in a group “all staff” email so that they get recognised for their effort and hard work. Here are other great ways to say thank you to your employees.
The Gold Celebration
Employee Appreciation Day
A gold celebration that is worth making a big deal about is celebrating Employee Appreciation Day. Even though is celebrated on the first Friday in March, there is no harm in planning earlier or even marking it on your calendar.
More companies and organisations are using Employee Appreciation Day to thank their employees as it increases employee job satisfaction. The holiday is also to remind employers to recognise and reward their employees’ effort and to offer tips for building a stronger corporate culture through employee appreciation.
Photo: Brad.K, Flickr
Employment Milestone
Another celebration to increase employee motivation is employment milestone. While this is similar to employee anniversaries, it is quite different. Instead of celebrating every year, employment milestone is celebrated with every five years they have been with the company; 5 years, 10 years, 15 years and such.
Grab a cake and even add a shopping or movie voucher for your special employee!
Company’s Anniversary
Finally, the last celebration to consider is celebrating the company’s anniversary, from when your company first started off.
For any entrepreneur, every year is an important celebration as it marks a huge success at how much the company has evolved; in the size of employees, the office space and especially finance wise. It is also a time to reflect on the errors and mistakes made that make the company where it is at the present moment.
In Summary
A quick recap on the types of celebrations to increase employee motivation:
- Employees’ Birthday
- Personal Achievement
- Employees Anniversaries
- Project Achievement
- Employee Appreciation Day
- Employment Milestone
- Company’s Anniversary
There are ways you can show the individuals on your team how valuable they are and celebrating both minor and major achievements are definitely a way to encourage employee motivation.
All the best in celebrating each event with your employees!
