Employee Appreciation Day 2012 will be here before you know it! This year, Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 2, 2012. How does your organization plan on celebrating? Need a few ideas? We’ve listed some of our top resources below, and stay tuned to the Recognition at Work blog! We’ll have more posts for Employee Appreciation Day coming soon!

Employee Appreciation Day Ideas  on the Recognition at Work blog
We’ve created an entire category on this blog dedicated to Employee Appreciation Day. Browse ideas from our previous celebrations here at Baudville and pick up tips that will help you plan a memorable day.

Special Event Ideas in the Recognition Resource Center 
Our new Recognition Resource Center is your first stop for ideas for special events, like Employee Appreciation Day. Browse articles, videos, and eBooks that will give you great ideas for this year. 

Special Event Videos in the Recognition Resource Center 
We’ve created several videos filled with Employee Appreciation Day ideas in the past two years. But don’t forget about the Customer Service Week, National Nurses Week, and other event videos you’ll find on this page. They also have great employee appreciation ideas you can use for Employee Appreciation Day!

Employee Appreciation Day Gifts
I suggest that you include a small gift in your Employee Appreciation Day 2012 celebration. At Baudville, we always have a surprise during the day. Last year, we each got a Star Performer Twist Top Tumbler  as part of our Hollywood themed day. Employees still use their tumblers every day! A gift serves as a lasting reminder that helps your appreciation stick long after Employee Appreciation Day comes to an end. 

Send a Free ePraise
Want to acknowledge Employee Appreciation Day but don’t have a budget? Send a unique ePraise card to each of your employees. Take the time to write a personal note about the many characteristics and contributions you appreciate about the individual. ePraise is a great example that when it comes to appreciation, you don’t have to have a big cost to have a big impact!


What are your favorite Employee Appreciation Day ideas? Share them here!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Why Recognize?  You’ve heard lots of numbers and statistics for years – so let’s keep it simple.  Happy employees work harder for the company, period.  So today for Employee Appreciation Day the management team at Baudville is kicking things up a notch – Hollywood style!!

That’s right, the Oscars may be over, but every employee arrived at work today to find a Twist Top Tumbler and a personalized movie ticket entitling them to a little time to chill in our very own Theatre (it’s always the name of one of our conference rooms, but especially appropriate today). The final act is a customized award delivered by their manager and a delicious lunch for all.  This day won’t break the bank but it will break through the sometimes mundane day to day and give employees a chance to have a fun shared experience – one that is sure to deliver great reviews and be a big hit! 

You don’t have to wait until next year to tell your employees you appreciate them. A little creativity and a personal note go a long way!

Thank you for joining me for today's Recognition TV webisode!  You can watch the complete recorded webisode with all my Employee Appreciation Day ideas on Baudville.com or on Baudville’s Facebook page. Several of my tips, ideas, and best practices are below, but I recommend you watch the entire video (it’s only about 15 minutes!) to catch everything.

Last year, Baudville celebrated Employee Appreciation Day by hosting our very own Winter Olympic games. We even had an official torch bearer, multiple teams, and intense competitions. Our event was so popular with employees, that some called it the “best Employee Appreciation Day ever”! You can see the pictures from the event on our Facebook page.

Lessons from Baudville’s Winter Olympics Employee Appreciation Day

#1 Plan as a Team. I don’t plan the employee events at Baudville alone. I have a team of employees from across the company help me with the brainstorming, preparation, and execution. Create your own team to plan Employee Appreciation Day 2011, and begin by brainstorming as many ideas for the day as possible.

Pink team competes in the chair luge.

 #2 Connect to your Culture. An Employee Appreciation Day event or activity should fit your culture. The Winter Olympics worked well for us because it was consistent with our work hard-play hard culture. To create an Employee Appreciation Day celebration that fits your culture, ask yourself, how do my employees want to be appreciated? It could be as a simple as a team lunch or a handwritten thank you note from a manager.

#3 Get Everyone Involved. Baudville’s Winter Olympics gave everyone an opportunity to participate. Teams were comprised of individuals from all different departments, and the teams rotated through the competitions. Plus, the different games provided opportunities for every team member to contribute.

 
Green team celebrates a victory!

#4 Memorable Memento. Incorporating a memento or gift into your Employee Appreciation Day celebration will make the event more memorable for your employees. We gave employees a travel mug with a custom removable insert and encouraged teammates sign each others’ mugs. For help selecting an Employee Appreciation Day gift, use our Gift Finder Tool.

#5 Use a Theme (and stick to it!). Employee Appreciation Day is all about making your employees feel appreciated, and using a theme can make that happen. Our Winter Olympics theme was reinforced in emails, posters, and our TV dashboard throughout the building. Browse our collection of more than 100 recognition themes to find one that works for your Employee Appreciation Day celebration, then use it!

 
You Are Truly Appreciated Recognition Theme

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Cindy is the Human Resources Manager at Baudville and has over 14 years HR experience. In addition to her HR Generalist duties, she’s the center of positive mojo for the company and heads up many of our recognition initiatives, events and awards. In other words, she’s got it going on! Follow Cindy on Twitter @CindyGilmanPHR for HR updates from the place for daily recognition!

Employee Appreciation Day is coming up Friday, March 4. In our experience, using an Employee Appreciation Day theme is a surefire way to put on a fun and memorable day for your employees. The last few Employee Appreciation Days at Baudville have had drastically different themes.

In 2008, we gave every employee small gift boxes of cashews. Our theme was “we’re nuts about you!”

In 2009, we enacted our own Employee Stimulus Package. The package included breakfast and a casual day for every employee!

In 2010, we hosted our very own Winter Olympic games. You can see all the pictures and videos on our Facebook page.

For an Employee Appreciation Day theme to be effective, it should express appreciation and coordinate with any events, activities or gifts you have planned. Here a few ideas for 2011:

Employee Appreciation Day Theme Ideas

Tropical Escape – Break out of the winter blues with a tropical Employee Appreciation Day theme. The Baudville Making a Difference Starfish theme can help tie everything together. Place an image of a starfish on all your emails and newsletters about Employee Appreciation Day. Host a luau and serve fresh fruit, smoothies, and pulled pork sandwiches. Have a limbo contest and vote on the craziest Hawaiian shirt!

Hollywood or Bust – Employee Appreciation Day is on the heels of the Oscars this year, so continue the glamour at your organization. Roll out the red carpet for employees and express your appreciation with a gift from our new Star Performer theme. Serve popcorn and give each employee their own personalized star tile.

Community Involvement – If your organization is active in the community, Together We Can Make a Difference is the Employee Appreciation Day theme for you. Center all your activities on community involvement. You can host a blood drive or collect can goods for a food pantry. If you can get out of the office, spend the day volunteering for a local charity. At the end of the day, give each employee a Character Pin to recognize their contributions both in and out of the office.

Customized Olympic Games – Our Olympic games were such a hit with employees, some even called it the best Employee Appreciation Day ever! You can use this Employee Appreciation Day theme, too, with the help of our World’s Greatest Team theme. Create your own competitions and ward every employee with a button for their participation. Some of our games included ID card toss, rubber band shooting, and office chair luge.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.