Employee Appreciation Day:
Celebrate Your Team’s Success
Recognize your team, foster workplace gratitude, and build a great workplace for all
Employee Appreciation Day, celebrated each year on the first Friday in March, is an opportunity for your organization to recognize and celebrate your team members and their contributions to your success.
In the modern workplace, meaningful employee appreciation is not a nice-to-have — it’s a must. Your celebration of Employee Appreciation Day can show your team that you value both their hard work and them as individuals.
Why recognizing employees matters
Research by Great Place To Work® underscores the profound impact of a robust recognition culture. When we asked over 700,000 employees what motivated them to do great work, recognition was the top answer.
According to our research and analysis, employee recognition drives …
Employee morale and job satisfaction
Employees who respond positively to survey questions about recognition speak positively about their employers, using phrases like “incredibly lucky” and “uplifting environment.”
Innovation
People who feel recognized at work are 2.2 times more likely to drive innovation and bring new ideas forward.
Employee retention
A sense of purpose is a strong driver of employee retention. Recognition validates and reinforces that sense of purpose.Start by listening to your employees. Understanding what matters most to your people will help you create recognition moments that truly motivate them to give their best to their team and the business.
Employee data, captured through our Trust Index Survey, can tell you directly how your employees feel when it comes to their appreciation and recognition. You can also access benchmark comparisons to see how your workplace stacks up against the typical U.S. workplace.
Explore our customer exclusive Employee Appreciation Action Guide to turn your employee insights into impactful recognition strategies.
Best practices for employee recognition
Recognizing your employees in meaningful and impactful ways requires intention and consistency. Here’s how to ensure your efforts go beyond Employee Appreciation Day and promote a culture of gratitude throughout the year.
01
Be specific in your praise
Generic “great job” messages are easy to forget. Instead, focus on specific contributions or behaviors. For example:
- “Your creative ideas during the brainstorming session were pivotal in shaping our promotional strategy for this quarter.”
- “The extra effort you put into onboarding new clients has made a noticeable difference in customer satisfaction.”
Specificity feels more personal and reinforces the behaviors and values you want employees to exhibit.
Image courtesy of American Express — a Certified company02
Recognize both individual and team achievements
While individual recognition is important, acknowledging team successes can strengthen collaboration and unity.
- Individual recognition. Celebrate employees for their unique contributions, whether it’s hitting sales targets or leading a successful project.
- Team recognition. Highlight team wins, like successfully launching a new product or completing a challenging initiative together.
Balancing individual and group recognition ensures no one feels overlooked and highlights the role teamwork plays in achieving great things.
03
Make appreciation a year-round practice
Don’t limit employee recognition to one day or event. Regular, ongoing appreciation helps sustain employee engagement and motivation.
- Set a monthly or quarterly schedule for recognizing milestones and achievements
- Build recognition into team meetings, newsletters, or daily stand-ups
- Use employee surveys to gather feedback and identify additional opportunities to celebrate your people
“Our recognition score increased 8 points from 2023 to 2024 [by using insights from the Trust index Survey]”
Brains
(Customer since 2018)
Read more about Brain's partnership with Great Place To Work
Ideas for celebrating Employee Appreciation Day
Making Employee Appreciation Day meaningful doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Whether your team is onsite, remote, or hybrid, there are creative and impactful ways to show employees how much they mean to you.
01
Budget friendly but meaningful gestures
You may not have the budget to go all-out for Employee Appreciation Day — and that’s OK. Sometimes the simplest actions can have the biggest impact, especially when they show that you see and value team members as individuals.
- Handwritten thank-you notes. Write personalized messages to your employees, highlighting their specific contributions.
- Shoutouts. Recognize employees and teams during all-hands meetings or over other internal channels like Slack and Teams.
02
In-office celebrations
You can turn your workplace into a hub of appreciation with small but memorable touches.
- Catered lunch or snacks. Show your gratitude with a special team lunch, food truck, or other surprise treats throughout the day.
- Decorated spaces. Create a festive atmosphere with decorations, banners, team member photos, or a “Wall of Gratitude” where team members can leave notes of appreciation for each other.
- Fun team activities. This could be a scavenger hunt, a wellness day with yoga classes and massage therapists, or a group cooking class. Use your imagination (and consult your employee survey results for other ideas)!
03
Remote team appreciation
Without intentionality, remote employees can feel disconnected from the company and their colleagues. Employee Appreciation Day gives you a chance to foster greater camaraderie among virtual team members.
- Virtual thank-you party. Host a video call to celebrate group and individual achievements, and to give out prizes.
- Personalized gifts. Send thoughtful items like company swag, gift cards, or care packages to employees at home.
Image courtesy of IHG Hotels & Resorts — a Certified company04
Encourage peer-to-peer recognition
Recognition from leadership is important, but it’s only part of the recipe. Peer-to-peer appreciation brings employees and teams closer together.
- Set up a peer nomination system for employees to highlight each other’s efforts. Celebrate peer-nominated employees during team gatherings and in company newsletters.
- Create a “Kudos Board” (physical or digital) where team members can leave notes of appreciation for one another.
05
Personalize recognition to the individual
Tailor your recognition to what each employee values most. Some may prefer public acknowledgment, while others might appreciate a private note or personalized reward. Take the time to understand what kind of recognition each team member likes so that your gestures resonate with them.
Why partner with Great Place To Work?
- Understand employee preferences: Learn how your employees like to be appreciated and ensure your efforts have the desired impact.
- Measure impact: Use our tools to capture feedback and measure the effectiveness of your appreciation activities.
- Certification benefits: Leverage your Certification badge to celebrate and recognize your employees. Get Certified before March 7 to make the most of Employee Appreciation Day!
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