10 Outside-the-Box Ideas for Holiday Employee Appreciation

Posted on November 9, 2016

As the year wraps up and you analyze your 2016 results, you may want to take advantage of the holiday season to show your employees how much you appreciate everything they have done. But if you’ve been in business for more than a couple of years, your tried and true employee appreciation ideas might be getting a little stale.

The team at TERRA Staffing Group has compiled a list of outside-the-box ways to show your employees that you appreciate them. Look over this list of innovate ideas and see if there are any options that might be a good fit for your organization:

Explore other holidays. Focus this time of year is frequently on Christmas, but other cultures have celebrations that most of us know little about. Give employees the opportunity to talk about their traditions (including Christmas). Post them on a company bulletin board, include them in your internal newsletter or share them on social media.

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas. Do something a little different for each day, starting with the first working day after Christmas day. You could begin by sharing Harry & David pears on the first day and continue the theme throughout.

Get out of the office. Rather than spending money on tchotkes, why not put those funds toward a charitable function? Vote on which one you will support, but choose one where you can take a workday to make a hands-on contribution, like Habitat for Humanity.

Launch a wellness program. Show your employees that you care about their well-being. Make your gifts fitness oriented and continue an ongoing theme throughout the year. It will increase productivity and reduce stress.

Run their errands. People are in a time crunch this time of year. Why not relieve some of their stress by contracting an errand running service to handle tasks like shopping, picking up dry cleaning or visiting the post office? There are a variety of reputable businesses in the Portland and Seattle areas that provide this service.

Offer help at home. Another service that your employees might enjoy is an in-home service. Consider cleaning or landscaping services. Maybe a meal prepared by a personal chef would be up their alley.

Chair massage. Hire a massage therapist to provide chair massages in the office. Draw names or have a contest to give away one or more full massages in the future.

Employee recognition. Choose an employee each month and profile them for your social media accounts. This gives them the chance to brag about their accomplishments and lets clients see a more human side of your organization.

Dedicated parking. If parking is at a premium at your location, choose an employee to park in a prime spot or if they pay for parking, pick up the tab for a month.

Hall pass. Give each employee a pass that they can use sometime throughout the year to leave an hour or two early or come in late. They will need to notify you to ensure it won’t interfere with business, but what better treat if you want to sleep an extra hour or get a jump on traffic in the evening.

Download our eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Employee Engagement

Company culture and values are growing priorities for employees and job-seekers, and employee engagement is more important than ever. Read our eBook, “The Ultimate Guide to Employee Engagement” for insights on making your organization a more meaningful place to work.

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Of course, the best way to reward employees it to make sure that the role they are in is the perfect fit. The recruiting team at TERRA Staffing Group can help with that. To learn more about keeping your team motivated or to add a few new faces, contact TERRA Staffing Group.

Categories: Employee Engagement Ideas