Yep. It’s a week away.
We deem the first Friday in the magnificent month of March each year as Employee Appreciation Day.
Those with a cynical point of view believe organizational leaders only do something “cool” for employees on this day to serve their own needs.
That’s why people have asked whether organizations should still celebrate Employee Appreciation Day?
(more…)
It has been over 25-years ago since Dr. Bob Nelson originated Employee Appreciation Day on the first Friday in March.
There was a two-fold purpose for originating this day.
So, even with that brief history of the founding of Employee Appreciation Day, has it really changed things in the workplace? Is Employee Appreciation Day different from any other day of the work week?
(more…)
When you get involved in a specific discipline and area of practice like employee recognition, you end up grappling with how to define things that fit your frame of reference.
At the same time you hope you can engage others is seeing things as you do and accepting the definitions you develop.
Such was the case with defining recognition when I first began speaking and training on the topic in the mid-nineties.
A leading industrial company in Canada invited me to meet with them because they had just reviewed their employee engagement survey results. As is often the case, the responses to the questions addressing employee recognition were not so good.
In the first consultative meeting together I asked the leaders responsible for employee recognition what they were doing regarding recognizing employees. Following hearing about their existing programs and their total rewards strategy, I asked them if what they were doing was real recognition.
That’s when one of them sincerely asked me, what is “real recognition”?
(more…)
Yep. It’s that time again,
Some organizations will go all out. They’ll have their senior leaders serve up a pancake and sausage breakfast or other preferred food items. Perhaps the cafeteria has free items to offer employees that day which are paid for by the company. Others will encourage managers and supervisors to be vigilant in taking time out for coffee, doughnuts, and treats. Or perhaps everyone chips in to a potluck to share or brings a side dish for a company/department barbecue.
The first Friday of March is upon us. This Friday is considered one of those nationally declared calendar event days called National Employee Appreciation Day. It is not a day off work but one to remember the importance of appreciating employees and recognizing them for what they do.
What will you do in your organization for National Employee Appreciation Day?
(more…)
Employee Appreciation Day is an unofficial holiday (not a day off of work, mind you!) that is observed on the first Friday in March in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is a day for company leaders and managers to thank employees for their hard work and effort throughout the year. It was never intended to be the only day you recognize your staff. How can Employee Appreciation Day be a reminder for you to better appreciate the people you work with? Find out how in Top 10 Ways to Leverage Employee Appreciation Day. (more…)
There’s something special about the person who seems to exude recognition from their pores.
These are the people that seem to appreciate others so effortlessly and you always feel good to be around them.
They are often charismatic. No doubt they are “people” people. They tend to be more extroverted – but don’t worry if you’re not. Very observant individuals and they seem able to perceive how people are feeling.
Having heard hundreds of employees speak of how a certain manager or employee is great at recognizing them, it’s good to generalize on the common qualities they share.
So what is it that great recognizers do that other people ignore?
Follow these 5 practices for yourself so you can become a great recognizer where you work. (more…)
When I write, you don’t necessarily know which generation I belong to.
Oh, there may be the odd word or two I use that might give away which generation I’m from. But for the most part I write the same way I speak.
And as each of you read what I write about authentic recognition, I hope you will respect and value what I contribute from my expertise on the topic of employee recognition and not by which generation I’m from.
What has this got to do with generational differences and employee recognition, you ask?
Some of you know me, I know. But most of you do not.
You are blind to my age and generational category.
Yet you read what I write because you believe that I have something in my content that might help you in your work.
You respect me for what I write and this correlates with you respecting me as a person.
You do not value or recognize me for my age. You do not categorize me into a generation and say I must treat you differently. You hopefully engage with me as a human being who has worth independent of anything I write, say or do. Then if I do contribute something that merits recognition you will acknowledge me the same way you would your neighbour at work or at home.
You will recognize me as a person and not a generation.
(more…)