Appreciate Your Employees
By Joan Burns, Event Planner Extraordinaire

Your employees are one of the company’s most important assets. They affect the bottom line in so many ways.  It is important to maintain great employee morale and that starts with letting them know they are appreciated by the management. Most companies have employee incentives to reward a job done well even using cash as one of those incentives.  There is always the “Employee of the Month” and the special parking space in the lot.  There are awards, plaques and pins. But what about the Appreciation Event.

There is the time honored tradition of the Company Picnic planned by most companies. The purpose is to recognize the employee’s efforts, to show appreciation to those who contribute to the company’s success and to continue to build loyalty between the company and its team members.  However, staking a site at the local park, grilling hot dogs and throwing a Frisbee around is not the incentive to today’s hi-tech, fast paced hard working company associates.

Why not plan an experience that builds camaraderie, teamwork and excitement?  Consider Beach Olympics with teams vying for a coveted trophy. Or what about a group visit to the local spa instead of the park?  If the thought of seeing your employees in spa robes is frightening, consider a Western BBQ served by Ranch hands from a covered cook’s wagon around a camp fire. To keep a hi-tech employee interested try out the newest thing in Scavenger Hunts, a GPS Scavenger Hunt where finding the treasures is guided by electronics!

If the Employee Appreciation Event must take place at the workplace, roll out the red carpet and bring in the paparazzi.  Make them all feel like the celebrities they are!  And the food, serve something extraordinary in the employee cafeteria -  something like a Tapas Bar, or petit fours for desert.

Don’t forget the Team Building events.  Find a ropes course or have a “Survivor” Day.  What if everyone had to work with no electronics and work on tasks in a team?  If you have the fortune to work near a lake or ocean, try planning a sailing regatta with team competition.  Or have a Sand Castle building Day.

Using Team Building Events as a way to show Employee Appreciation builds rapport between departments, strengthens communication, increases motivation and they are fun!  The possibilities are endless and the rewards to you and your employees are great!

We recently interviewed Joan on our online radio show, Champagne Sundays. To listen to her interview (an excerpt from the show), please double click on the play button below.