How Do You Celebrate Your Team?

December is a time for reflection.

You are at the end of the work year and celebrating all you have accomplished.

Celebrating your team is one way to build culture and avoid employee burnout.

Staff who feel recognized at work are likelier to have feelings of belonging at work.

Here are five ways you can celebrate your team.

 1. Recognize their work in public.

2. Provide some holiday swag that they can use.

3. Offer extra time off that doesn’t impact their PTO.

4. Invite folks to a company-sponsored holiday party.

5. Send a handwritten note of gratitude to members of your team.

Public Recognition: For this to be effective, it has to be authentic and specific to the employee. If you are going to offer praise on social media, don’t say, “good job.” Instead, say that you want to recognize them for doing this and achieving a “specific result.” If they agree, you can also share a snippet on social media or your company Slack Channel.

Holiday Swag: Who doesn’t like getting a gift with a personalized gratitude note from their manager? This could be in the form of a cup, sweater, or gift card. The important thing is that it is tailored to that employee. Generic greetings are not effective. If an employee went above and beyond, this is your time to recognize them.

Extra Time Off: This one is a gem. If you can, offer your team extra time to practice self-care or do something outside work. You can offer a floating day so they can plan around it. The key is for you to be flexible and allow employees to recharge.

Holiday Parties: This can be a good way to bring people together. For this to be effective, this has to be inclusive. Make the celebrations optional, offer non-alcoholic beverages, and seek input from your team.  Don’t make it a last-minute thing or “forced fun.” That will backfire.

Handwritten Notes (not emails or texts): This is a simple and powerful way to recognize an employee. Share how grateful you are to have them on your team and why they make such a big difference. Taking the extra time to send hand-written notes conveys a message of genuine concern.

Doing any mix of these will set you up for success. Never underestimate the power of employee recognition when it’s well executed. People who feel cared for are more likely to stick around.

I would love to hear from you. How are you celebrating your team during the holiday season?

I have developed a 5 step strategy for employee burnout that will help you start 2023 on the right note. I want to work with your company. Click here to book a 15-minute call to see how I can help.

 Always wishing you the best,

 Dr. Beckford.