Top Ten Tips for... Celebrating Your Achievements
Now 2018 is drawing to a close, the festive spirit will no doubt be rife in your workplace. December is the perfect time for reflecting on, as well as celebrating, your successes, whether they are individual, employee milestones, or company-wide wins.
Here are our Top Ten Tips for celebrating your achievements:
1. Champion learning and development milestones
If you manage a company which nurtures talented employees and encourages continual professional development, then 2018 is likely to have been a big year for many of your co-workers. To help them celebrate in style, why not hold an award ceremony to mark their success? A ‘celebration of learning’ style event is also a great way of bringing employees from different departments and office sites together.
2. Say 'thank you'
Sometimes the simplest of things are the most appreciated and a ‘thank you’ can go a long way in ensuring your colleagues feel appreciated. If you manage a small company you may be able to go the extra mile by offering a small Christmas gift to your employees but the gesture doesn’t necessarily need to cost a lot. You could support your chosen charity of the year by sending out charitable Christmas cards or get creative and make a ‘thank you’ video.
3. Spread the word
Never underestimate the power of a good news story! Every business should do their own PR to showcase their achievements and December is the perfect time to reflect on the year you’ve had. Whatever your good news is – you should share it with your wider workforce and thank them for their hard work. You could do this by doing a ‘year review’ in your company newsletter or create a video or blog for your website. Timing is also key – it can be a good idea to save a topical news story, about a new client win or Christmas charitable activity, until December so you can also highlight the positive year you’ve had.
4. Provide opportunities
December and January tend to be months of reflection as well as celebration. Your colleagues may be thinking about what their future career holds. They may even be considering applying for a new job. This is the perfect time to show them that you care and that there are opportunities to continue to learn and develop with your company. Simply asking your employees what they hope the future holds for them in a one-to-one session may be enough to stop them seeking alternative employment. Engagement is key – you’ll never know what people’s aspirations are until you ask.
5. Recognise innovation
A workplace where you engage with your colleagues regularly and share new ideas results in a workforce that's much more invested in the company as a whole. Remember; there’s no such thing as a bad idea, even if it ultimately didn’t work out. A great way of reflecting on the year you’ve had is by looking at all the suggestions your employees have made to improve working practices, and showcasing the results.
6. Carry out an ‘end of year survey’
Engagement often means asking the difficult questions you might not like the answers to. But on the plus side, you may also be pleasantly surprised about what encouraging feedback you receive. It’s important to listen to your colleagues and to learn from their feedback. You could do this in a number of ways, from asking employees during a one-to-one session, in a simple email questionnaire or at a team meeting.
7. Understand what they want from the year ahead
Your ‘end of year survey’ may help you determine what’s gone well in 2018 and what your employees think could be improved upon. It’s also a useful opportunity to glean some personal information from employees and to figure out what they would like to see you change in 2019. This could be something as simple as adding a TV to your staff room or offering flexible working hours during the World Cup. You could also discover more strategic information, such as ways to provide a better work/life balance, networking opportunities or a mentoring scheme.
8. Hold a party
Whether your budget is big or small, everyone loves a party and there’s no better time to do this than when everyone is feeling festive in December. If you want to keep your celebrations low key then a simple communal lunch or Christmas buffet on Christmas Jumper Day would be a fun way of showing your gratitude. Or you could invite your colleagues on an extended lunch break or after-work drinks and pick up the bill. Having a boss who shows they care makes all the difference.
9. Introduce a hall of fame
You could really show your appreciation for your colleagues by introducing an ‘employee hall of fame’ made up of your regular employees of the week or month. Once it gets to December, it then gives you the perfect opportunity to either select your favourite or ask for your workforce to vote. You could display your hall of fame on your intranet or in a communal staff room. A public entrance would be even better as it would showcase your appreciation publicly.
10. Set goals for the year ahead
Once you have looked back at the year you’ve had it’s always wise to set some inspiring goals for the future or to let your employees in on some insider secrets about what they can expect from 2019. Your colleagues are more likely to be motivated to succeed and perform well if they have ambitions and goals. When setting goals for you and your team, make sure it’s something that really inspires and motivates them and will result in something meaningful they can be proud of. Inspiring goals will also help fight off any January blues for colleagues returning to work.
For more advice about celebrating your achievements at work contact Julie Gordon at cHRysos HR.
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cHRysos HR Solutions are a UK wide HR training and consultancy company offering CIPD accredited qualifications, Apprenticeships, Training and HR Services to SMEs. For more information about how cHRysos HR can help you or your teams successfully achieve further qualifications, contact us on info@chrysos.org.uk or call 03300 562443.