Lowering employee turnover rates is an ongoing goal for most businesses. Between searching for new candidates, onboarding, and training them, replacing lost employees gets expensive.
A little appreciation can go a long way in lowering employee turnover rates. Forbes found that hourly employees list lack of recognition as one of their top complaints, and Gallup research shows recognizing employees is a low-cost strategy that can yield big rewards for your business.
Unsure how to acknowledge your shift workers’ hard work? Take a look at our list of employee appreciation ideas below.
33 employee appreciation ideas
Here are 33 staff appreciation ideas to consider for your hourly employees.
1. Treat your employees to a long lunch
If an employee has done a great job, why not increase their lunch break for a day? For example, give them an extra 15 minutes for lunch.
Make clear to your employees that this extra time is paid so they don’t have to worry about getting a smaller paycheck. Having a longer lunch while still getting paid will show you appreciate their hard work.
2. Celebrate birthdays
While no one loves working on their birthday, you can make it better by celebrating. In addition to verbally acknowledging their birthday, buying cupcakes or a cake to celebrate is a great way to boost everyone’s mood.
If your business has multiple locations, you can rely on managers to track birthdays and buy sweet, savory, or healthy treats for their staff.
3. Stock up the break room with snacks
Shift work is hard, and it can build up an appetite — and employees don’t always want to spend their money on vending machine snacks.
You can solve this problem and boost morale by providing snacks in the breakroom. Be sure to include healthy options to cater to the needs of different employees.
4. Provide a special parking spot
An inexpensive employee appreciation idea is a special parking spot in front of your business so employees don’t have to walk far from their car to the building (this will be especially coveted during cold months). Not worrying about parking is a great way to boost anyone’s day.
The spot could be for the employee of the month or rotate between team members throughout the month for great performance.
5. Make the breakroom fun
Most breakrooms are pretty basic. There are tables and chairs for staff to rest and maybe some kitchen appliances for meals.
One workplace recognition idea is adding things to make the breakroom fun, like a TV or board games. Employees can blow off steam and rest at the same time.
You could even host game tournaments to build a stronger company culture by fostering bonds between employees.
6. Create relaxation kits
Help employees make the most of their free time by offering kits focused on relaxation or fun they can have at home. Examples could be a spa at home, a movie night, or a date night kit.
The kits can include various objects related to the theme and gift cards for experiences.
7. Write a thank you card
Most employees are used to communicating electronically, so it will be a nice surprise when you take the time and effort to write a thank you card. You don’t have to write much, just that you appreciate their hard work (though specifics are always good).
You can then hand these cards to employees in person or mail them to their homes.
Recommended: Start on the right foot with the perfect welcome email.
8. Offer a personal casual day
Show your employees how much you appreciate their work by giving them a ticket to dress casually for a day of their choosing. This can be a great mood booster if they have to work on a day they’re not feeling well.
However, this may not be an option when uniforms are required, as in medical settings.
9. Start a hall of fame
You can start a hall of fame of employees who have exceeded expectations. Under their photo should be a description of the achievement that earned them their spot.
The hall of fame should be kept in an area that is only accessible to your employees, like the breakroom.
10. Let them choose the music for the day
If your business plays music all day, a fun staff appreciation idea is letting them pick the music for the day (as long as it’s appropriate). This could be a huge reward for an employee who is sick of hearing the same song over and over again — especially around the holidays.
11. Throw an end-of-year party
The Christmas party is a staple of most businesses. However, you can show your appreciation to your employees by also throwing a New Year’s party.
Have a small party with your employees featuring snacks and drinks throughout the day. You can also have employees share their resolutions on a corkboard.
12. Give performance bonuses
Don’t wait until it’s time for raises to reward high performance. You can give out performance bonuses to your employees anytime. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money — maybe enough to get dinner out.
The point of the bonus is to show you value your staff’s time and hard work. Make sure to consult your accountant or accounting department about how to report these bonuses for tax purposes.
13. Remember anniversaries
When an employee stays with you for a long period, you should highlight their loyalty. Celebrate every anniversary, whether it’s their total tenure at the company or the anniversary of moving to a new position.
Acknowledge how long they’ve stayed and how their work has impacted your business in person and on public forums. Getting them treats for the day won’t hurt either.
14. Give a social media shout-out
Use social media to highlight the great work done by your employees. This can help your employees feel valued while also expressing to your followers that you value your team.
Just make sure your employees feel comfortable with you posting about them on social media — you want to respect their privacy preferences.
15. Upgrade the breakroom
Employees come to the break room to unwind and relax. Why not improve their relaxation space? Employees should vote on different suggestions, like a new type of snack or a new coffee machine.
16. Provide gym membership discounts
Helping your employees remain fit and healthy has benefits for your workers and business alike — healthy and happy employees mean more productivity and ultimately more revenue. You can provide free or discounted gym memberships for employees who have gone above and beyond their duties.
17. Gift tickets to an experience
There are so many interesting places to go to, but money can be tight for some hourly employees. Show appreciation to your staff by offering tickets to these experiences. You can usually get a discount when buying a large number of tickets, making this an effective yet inexpensive employee appreciation idea.
You can base these experiences on various employees’ interests. For example, you can give museum tickets to art lovers or theme park tickets to young people or parents.
18. Give personalized awards
While the generic employee of the month award is nice, what if you made things more personal? A fun employee appreciation idea is to create awards based on the employee, not just their performance. For example, you can give an award for the best coffee maker or the person who is always smiling.
This will show your staff that you see them as people, not just workers.
19. Celebrate big personal moments
Your staff has a life outside your business, and a great way to acknowledge that is by celebrating big personal moments. Having a baby, getting married, getting a new pet, or running a marathon are all reasons to celebrate.
Giving a card, a little bit of money (maybe a gift card), or a party can go a long way.
20. Celebrate random holidays
So many random holidays are “celebrated” daily — what’s stopping your business from joining the fun? National Day Calendar lists a variety of US and international holidays.
Surprise employees with blueberry muffins on National Blueberry Day, for example. There are so many possibilities, and you can have fun picking and choosing which days to celebrate.
21. Buy employees coffee
When we say buy coffee, we mean take orders, go out, and buy the coffee. While you can give staff gift cards for a local coffee shop, taking the time and effort to buy cups of coffee yourself can have more impact.
This is a perfect employee appreciation gift for overnight and early morning crews.
22. Offer gift cards
Gift cards are a popular way to say thank you to employees. Give gift cards from retailers that stock a wide range of products, like Amazon or Walmart, if you’re unsure of individual preferences.
23. Buy pet toys
People with pets treat them like their own children. If you have pet parents among your staff, a great employee appreciation gift is buying them pet toys. They may want to get their pets more toys but not have the budget to do so.
Place a basket of cat and dog toys in the breakroom with a sign to take one.
24. Give branded merchandise
There’s a long list of merchandise that you can brand for your employees. You can choose items like T-shirts, stickers, iPad covers, or water bottles.
Whatever your budget, make sure you choose products of high quality (and that employees would want) to show that you value your employees.
25. Invite food trucks
Invite local food trucks to park near your business for employee appreciation week. If the food truck can secure the right permits to position themselves near your business, treat your employees to a free food truck meal on employee appreciation day.
26. Create an appreciation gift bag
An employee appreciation gift bag could contain different types of gifts, such as gift cards, candy, and something unique to your business. To ensure fair treatment, all bags for a particular achievement should have the same gifts.
27. Order artisan food
Support your local restaurants and give your employees a treat by ordering gourmet sandwiches, cupcakes, or cookies. Everyone loves a tasty meal they don’t have to pay for.
28. Introduce a peer recognition program
Another workplace recognition idea is to use employee engagement software like Bonusly to encourage employees to show their appreciation to their colleagues. Colleagues can give each other awards for excellent work.
Employees can collect rewards and exchange them for items like gift cards.
29. Add magazines to the breakroom
Get subscriptions to various popular magazines and keep them in the breakroom for your staff to read. It’s a great way to pass the time during rest breaks, and employees can even discuss articles with one another.
Try to find magazines about a variety of topics, such as fashion, technology, and news.
30. Add greenery to the breakroom
Add some plants to the breakroom for a splash of color. This can be especially helpful if the breakroom doesn’t have windows. The lack of natural light and a view can lower morale.
You can use typical house plants or succulents that are low-maintenance.
31. Design something wearable to highlight the employee of the month
If you have an employee of the month program, design a wearable item for the special employee. It could be a button, a lanyard, or even a different-colored version of the uniform.
This will be more exciting than writing names on a board — it lets them show off their accomplishments to everyone.
32. Donate to your employees’ causes
People have different passions, and you can cater to those passions while doing good at the same time. For special accomplishments, you can donate to an employee’s favorite charity.
You can make donations in the employee’s name, so they can feel good as well.
33. Buy entry into continuing education classes
Provide ways for your employees to better themselves through education. Let them take time off to attend seminars and events, or buy them a place in a new course.
There are so many different types of continuing education classes that employees can try. They could learn a new skill, language, or anything else that interests them.
Deputy can help you improve employee appreciation
If you’re struggling with HR management, you may not have the extra resources to show appreciation to your employees. This is where Deputy comes in. More than 90,000 businesses trust Deputy to schedule their hourly staff.
Try Deputy for free to see how we integrate shift-worker-focused HR, time clock, and scheduling processes into a single software platform.
