The 7 Resolutions of Appreciation

JAN
2014
The 7 Resolutions of Appreciation
by carina wytiaz




While you’re thinking about your personal resolutions, why not consider how you could transform your company with more appreciative actions in the New Year? Thinking beyond a team gym date, you could start to make a difference in the happiness and productivity of your employees with these 7 resolutions of appreciation.

1. Say “Thank You” for Last Year
The end of the year is a great time to review the efforts of your employees and write a card noting their dedicated work. Everyone should be recognized for the contributions they made all year.

2. Pledge to Start Small Immediately
If you haven’t started the small acknowledgements for your employees, it’s time to think about how you can take those actions starting now. It can start with thank you notes, or late holiday gifts with a card, but starting small is the first step to thinking big.

3. Plan a Quarterly Appreciation Event
Get the time on the calendar now for regular recognition events. These events don’t need to be a huge time or resource sink, but taking your team out to lunch, bowling, or drinks after work on a regular basis will pay dividends in more invested and appreciated employees.

4. Encourage an Informal Gratitude Culture, Starting with Management
Meet with your managers to encourage them to start expressing their gratitude for the hard work of their employees in more informal ways. Ideas that would work for any team: saving space at the end of emails praising employees for innovative ideas or taking a gratitude minute in a meeting to encourage members to share their thanks for others on the team.

5. Set Your Calendar for Life Events
January is the perfect time of year to get everyone’s birthdays or other life events (think upcoming nuptials or new bundles of joy) onto the calendar. Set a reminder two days before the event to get a card signed by all team members or to organize a small gift collection. While everyone should feel appreciated for their efforts, no matter the calendar, making a special note of life events is an important step.

6. Start an Employee of the Month
If you haven’t already instituted an employee of the month program, it may be time to start. If your company is quite large, each department could have their own employee of the month. Otherwise, set a reminder to ask managers to submit their stand out employees for company-wide recognition. It often feels like certain departments are unduly represented in employee of the month programs, so try to select people from different areas of the company as much as possible.

7. Time to Consider Formal Appreciation Programs
If your company doesn’t have a formal appreciation program, maybe it’s time to think about putting one in place this year. We’re always happy to discuss what a great appreciation program could do to help your company meet its goals.

I hope these 7 resolutions of appreciation will help start off your company’s new year with a resounding cheer for gratitude!




Carina Wytiaz is a professional writer and Internet marketer, with experience drawn from her time at FranklinCovey, Borders, ah-ha.com, Marchex.com, OrangeSoda.com, and several traditional marketing and advertising agencies. She loves helping employees feel more included and valued through exuberant appreciation experiences, and helping companies realize the incredible potential of their human capital.
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