Managers can impress their employees on Employee Appreciation Day, March 3, 2023. With some effort, the boss can ensure their employees know they are appreciated.
According to data from Zippia, 29% of employees haven’t received recognition for good work in over a year. Meanwhile, 80% of employees would work harder if they felt better appreciated.
There are many ways to show employees appreciation. Some easy examples are providing a catered lunch, pizza, bagels or donuts, or extra paid time off. These ideas require the manager within the company’s budget.
An inexpensive idea for managers that want to create a memorable Employee Appreciation Day is to embrace the power of gratitude and write each direct report a handwritten thank-you note or email.
A thank-you note addressed to a specific person, instead of a generic company email, will help the employee feel seen and valued.
How to Write Your Employee A Thank-You Note
First, determine how much time you will need to write good thank-you notes.
Experienced thank-you note writers can plan for around 10 minutes for each handwritten note and 5 five minutes for an individual thank-you email. However, managers new to expressing gratitude with the written word should plan for more time, at least for the first couple of notes.
Then, add a meeting to your calendar to set aside dedicated time to write the thank you messages. If you are writing handwritten notes, plan ahead to have notecards ready to use.
Next, decide what to thank the person for, such as hard work or meeting goals. You can also mention their recent accomplishments, contributions, or genuine compliments.
In your note, be as specific as possible. You want the employee to feel like the message was written only for them and not read like a generic template.
Here is some example wording:
[Name],
Thank you for your hard work on [project name]. The client is pleased with the improvements you made to the monthly reports. I also appreciate your willingness to help others. The entire team benefits from your expertise.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Example #2
You are a joy to have on my team. Thank you for your consistent, upbeat, positive attitude. I am confident that customers have a great experience when you assist them. You’ve helped us build long-term relationships, which is greatly appreciated.
Don’t give up if you feel stuck on the wording. You can review more examples of employee appreciation messages for more wording ideas.
If you are writing thank you emails, write them in advance, save them as a draft, and then send them early on Employee Appreciation Day.
Handwritten note cards can be passed out to employees or placed on their desks.
If you have an underperforming employee, saying thank you to them may be challenging. Do the best you can to come up with a short message for them, focusing on one thing, even if it’s minor, that they are good at doing. The positive reinforcement could give them a confidence boost.
Team Thank You Messages
Individual thank-you notes may not be feasible for some managers. A quick alternative is to write a team thank-you email. Remember that each person may not feel as appreciated as they would with individual recognition.
However, it’s still an okay way to express your gratitude and is better than not acknowledging Employee Appreciation Day.
Since you will be thanking the entire team, your message may feel generic. However, you can include any recent achievements that apply to the team. Or you can thank them all for their excellent work.
You can also use your email to announce any events planned for the day, such as a company-provided lunch. Here are a couple of example messages.
Thank you, team, for all of your recent hard work. The current project is going smoothly, and the client is happy. I want to wish you all a Happy Employee Appreciation Day. I appreciate all of you and how well you work together as a team.
I am proud to have each of you on my team. Thank you for your dedication and diligent work. As you know, we exceeded the quarterly sales goal. Please enjoy pizza in the break room this afternoon for Employee Appreciation Day.
Celebrating Employee Appreciation Day
Showing employees recognition and appreciation should be a regular occurrence at the workplace and can lead to increased productivity.
Managers can go above and beyond on Employee Appreciation Day by starting a new tradition of writing their employees thank you messages. Recognizing accomplishments and good work can create a culture of gratitude at the workplace.