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Beyond Employee Appreciation Day: Ways Great Leaders Build Stronger Teams
- Lauren Brockett
- Mar 10
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 11
If Employee Appreciation Day came and went quickly last week, you are not alone. The real opportunity for leaders is turning appreciation into a year-round strategy.
Every year, companies celebrate Employee Appreciation Day with catered lunches, small gifts to administrators, or a quick thank-you email.
These are great, but employees can tell the difference between an appreciation moment versus a culture.
If you want to retain great people don't rely on a single day to show gratitude. Appreciation shows up in the systems, leadership behaviors, and opportunities employees experience all year. You will know when appreciation is embedded because something powerful happens:
Employees stay longer
Teams perform better
Leadership build trust
Organizations grow stronger
I work with organizations to turn appreciation into strategy, not just celebration. If you are not sure where to start, one meaningful framework many employees may resonate with comes from Gary Chapman and his book the Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts. The 5 Love Languages include:
Words of Affirmation
Acts of Service
Receiving Gifts
Quality Time
Physical Touch
Read five practical ways you can apply this framework all year round that can improve retention, culture, and performance.
Words of Affirmation | Tell Them What's Working
Some employees feel most valued through spoken or written encouragement. Have you ever noticed individuals who light up when they receive positive feedback or mention when recognition from a leader meant a lot to them.
For these employees, appreciation can be simple but be specific. Instead of saying "great job," take a moment to name three things they did well and why it mattered. For example:
You kept our client communication clear, improved our onboarding checklist, and helped everyone stay focused. It made a real difference.
Clear, specific affirmation helps this type of employee understand what is working and how their work contributes to the team.
Are you struggling to capture feedback or offer consistent recognition?
I will review how you recognize, capture thoughts from employees and communicate to leaders. Let's build a system that motivates your team!
Receiving Gifts | Personal Appreciation
You will often notice that some employees feel appreciated when leaders give thoughtful, meaningful gifts. The key is not the price of the gift, but whether the gift shows you were paying attention throughout the year.
Listen closely when they talk about the books they are reading, leaders they admire, podcasts they follow, or skills they want to develop. People will share when there is enough white noise, so create space for conversation in onboarding, one-on-ones, and team discussions.
Keep gifts simple and equitable among employees.
Books
Short courses
Live speaking event
Wouldn't you love for someone you work with to say,
"I remembered what matters to you"
Don't have time to gather these details from all your team members? Create a "Get to Know You" form for new employees to complete with these types of questions. If your onboarding process does not currently gather insights like this, that is a missed opportunity for engagement.
Book time with me to design onboarding systems that capture employee goals, motivations, and leadership potential from day one.
Quality Time | Build a Culture of Belonging
Speaning meaningful time together as a team makes other employees feel most valued. For them, appreciation might look like a team lunch, a short celebration after a project, or a simple set of intentional meetings between key people to connect beyond daily tasks.
Even small moments can strengthen a sense of belonging:
Coffee/tea breaks
Walking meetings
Staff socials
Leaders who intentionally create space for connection help teams feel seen, supported, and part of something bigger. Let your team into more of what makes YOU you.
Need more ideas?
If your managers struggle to build this kind of team culture, it may be time to coach leaders on how to create meaningful team moments.
Acts of Service | Remove One Burden
The best way to show appreciation to some people is to simply make their job easier. Have you ever asked:
What is one thing that would make your week easier?
If you would like to be even more intentional, observe and record who consistently carries extra responsibility. Acts of service may include:
Covering a meeting
Approving temporary administrative support
Reassigning a recurring task
Companies that consistently support their employees tend to see higher engagement and lower turnover. If your team feels overworked or under-recognized, I can help you redesign your performance management and workflow systems.
Human Touch | Visible Appreciation
In The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman describes physical touch as expressions like hugs, pats on the back, or other forms of physical encouragement that communicate care and affirmation.
However, the workplace should look professional, be a safe place for everyone, and respect boundaries. Rather than literal physical touch, leaders can focus on visible moments of recognition.
Consider any public celebration of someone's contribution, such as gatherings where you offer congratulatory handshakes, high-fives after a successful project, or simply pausing to recognize someone's work in front of the team.
Simply put: create a human moment of appreciation that others can see and celebrate together.
If appreciation is not embedded in your culture, infrastructure, and leadership practices, I can help.
Appreciation means investing in every individual's growth, which leads to:
Leadership development tracks
Mentorship opportunities
Internal promotion pathways
Skill-building opportunities for emerging leaders
Imagine hearing employees ask, "How far can I grow here?" instead of "What's my next job?"
If your organization needs a clearer strategy for developing future leaders, book a Leadership and Talent Strategy Session with me today.
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