Instead of Employee Appreciation Day, Model Off These 4 Companies

The first Friday of March is designated as Employee Appreciation Day which began by Dr. Bob Nelson - a motivational speaker and author on employee motivation, performance, and recognizing the sacrifice they make for their employers.

Today, many companies recognize their employees through various means;

• Announce weekly or monthly shout out awards
• Provide company-wide breakfasts and lunches
• Give them the day off or let them leave the office early
• Allow them to dress casually
• Invite everyone to an after-work happy hour

Employee Appreciation Day is a well-intentioned concept. After all, who wouldn’t want a few extra work perks?

The day’s fallacy lies in the fact that companies don’t take opportunities more often throughout the year to show their thanks. One day is nice, but creating a workplace that values the employee experience as much as the candidate experience will create an environment where the staff knows every day how much they’re valued, and positions the employer as a place that anyone would want to work.

Employee Experience Masters

Some of the strongest companies in the world make sure their work environment cultivates happiness.

In an earlier blog post we covered the 4 Simple Ways to Show Your Employees Gratitude. But here are a few companies whose programs are truly enriching the lives of their employees. They require a bit more thought, space, and budget, but have proven effective by attracting new hires and retaining strong employees.

1. Salesforce

The sales CRM giant, focuses attention on employee philanthropy and designated rooms for mindfulness and reflection for culture to thrive and to provide breaks from the workload. They also allow their employees to use 56 hours of paid time dedicated to volunteer work within their communities. And anyone who’s worked over 18 months in a position without a promotion, Salesforce will help them find new challenges within a department to prove their abilities.

2. Wegmans

This supermarket titan, should be dubbed the Internal Mobility Superhero. In 2017, they filled half of their open roles with their internal talent. While the hiring and promotions required $50 million toward employee development and over $5 million in academic scholarships, the project gave their employees a strong sense of value.

3. Workday

Human Resources and Finance software companies really know how to put the ‘human’ into how they treat their workers. Workday made the list of Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For not just through their unlimited paid time off policy, but also with their onsite car washes, bike repair shops, and manicurists. Who doesn’t want a clean shiny car and polished hands when they leave work?

4. Build-A-Bear Workshop

Celebrate your birthday by taking the day off! That’s right, at Build-A-Bear you don’t have to work on your birthday, it’s a holiday to celebrate you! Build-A-Bear also provides other comforts of home with everyday being “Bring Your Dog to Work Day”. Bring your pooch and he can get a grooming at the office while you enjoy a monthly massage.

If you make your employees feel like royalty, morale and engagement increases, product innovation improves, and soon you’ll see it affecting your bottom line – company revenue and growth!

Show your employees that you care today and the other 364 days out of the year!