Posted on March 5, 2025

As National Employee Appreciation Day approaches (this Friday, March 7th), I started thinking about how the season of gratitude (and giving) seems to be so far away. While many employers plan for this day of recognition, it is just one day. What happens to appreciation efforts during the rest of the year? I'll let that question sit right there.

According to McKinsey & Company (April 2024) employee disengagement costs companies approximately $90 million annually. One of the top drivers of disengaged employees is the lack of support at work. Efforts to increase employee engagement do not have to be complicated and do not have involve branded or elaborate multi-layered programs.

I’ve adapted one of my favorite songs ("If You Love Me", a song by American R&B group Brownstone) to provide some simple, no-cost tips on how you can show gratitude to employees throughout the year:

1. Say It – Robert Fulghum's book, All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten, reminds us that the world would be a better place if adults followed the same basic rules as we tell children to follow. ‘Thank You’ demonstrates kindness, and kindness in the workplace is highly valued.

2. (Really) Do It – Often employees don't know why they are being thanked. In saying thank you, it is important to include details about an employee’s actions taken, efforts made, and the impact of their actions and/or efforts.

3. Show It – Thank employees in front of others; especially in front of organization leadership when there are opportunities to do so. Acknowledge employee actions, efforts and impact at a team or department meeting. Doing this gives employees multiple moments to shine throughout the year.

4. Prove It – Saying ‘Thank You’ shouldn’t occur just on National Employee Appreciation Day, or during the holiday season or during a performance evaluation discussion.  Genuinely and frequently expressing gratitude can eventually become an impactful habit that yields sustainable results.

Adopting one or more of these simple steps will help companies demonstrate how much they support their employees and increase their engagement.  In addition, doing so just might make the world a better place...and don't we all want that?

©AW Squared Advisors, LLC, 2024