Why it’s important to celebrate success
Workplace productivity is a top priority for many businesses. It helps your employees get more done in less time, achieve business objectives and create motivation within your team. It’s typical to accomplish a goal and then move on to the next.
This approach can keep the momentum going in the short term but can eventually lead to burnout, dissatisfaction and lack of motivation. Without acknowledging your employees’ successes, they begin to feel uninspired.
So, how do you keep employees engaged and motivated?
Make recognition a high priority. A great way to show appreciation is simply celebrating a well-done job. Celebrations boost morale, strengthen teams and increase employee engagement.
Some reasons to celebrate could be:
- A successful quarter
- Completion of projects
- Work anniversaries
- Achievement of specific goals
- Compliments from customers
- First-time accomplishment for a newer employee
Celebrating both big and small wins lets employees know their work is valued. Having a sense of accomplishment brings joy, and sharing that with your team members bonds the group and benefits everyone.
Three ways to celebrate your employees
No matter what achievements you recognize, there are many ways to celebrate with your employees. Here are three ways you can celebrate success at your company:
- Reward reliability
- Praise the small things
- Express your gratitude unexpectedly
1. Reward reliability
There’s a team member you and your employees rely on more than others. Perhaps they’re the first to volunteer their skills to deal with a complex case or to put out fires when something unexpected happens.
While everyone values their work, they may not realize the value of their contributions without acknowledgment. Take time to acknowledge this person, and tell them in detail about all the great things they bring to your company. Express to them that because their job is so well done, it makes your job easier. This can take less than 10 minutes, but the impression can last long.
2. Praise the small things
Praise a team member for the small things they do every day. Maybe one of your employees is extremely helpful, and people often ask them for help with seemingly minor things around the office.
The reality is that while these kinds of actions may not seem critical to your company’s performance, they help your employees get their jobs done, which is essential. Take the time to show appreciation for this person today, even with a simple thank you.
3. Express your gratitude unexpectedly
Surprise your team with a delivered breakfast or lunch to a local restaurant on you. Showing gratitude like this doesn’t cost much but helps employees feel valued and appreciated for their work. Plus, it strengthens the bond between team members to spend quality time together.
Ideas for celebrating success on your team
Celebrations don’t need to be extravagant to be effective. Here are some monetary and non-monetary ways to show your appreciation for your employees:
- Treat a hard-working employee to lunch
- Send a company-wide appreciation email from the CEO
- Cater lunch for the whole team
- Hand out gift cards for a local coffee or spa
- Print out unique awards for each team member and schedule an awards ceremony
- Offer paid time off for reaching a goal
- Send a handwritten thank you note to an employee
- Give movie tickets
- Offer a monetary bonus
- Post about the employee or team’s achievements on the company’s social media
- Host a party for the team
- Give employees a raise for consistent hard work
Tips for celebrating success effectively
Workplace celebrations look different from one company to the next, and sometimes from one department to the next. Figuring out how to celebrate effectively to help motivate your employees can take some trial and error.
Here are some tips for making your workplace celebrations more effective.
Celebrate in the right way
Not all employees thrive on the same type of celebration. Extroverts might love coming up in front of everyone in the company to accept an award for their accomplishment. An introvert might prefer a one-to-one chat and a small token of appreciation, such as a gift card.
Explain the reason for the celebration
Make the celebration meaningful by explaining the reason and the positive impact on the company. If your top salesperson broke their previous record, you might mention the new record and discuss how those sales benefit the company. Or, if a new employee has completed their first week, celebrating can make them feel integrated into the team. Don’t forget birthdays and work anniversaries, too.
Appreciate employees at every level
Find ways to celebrate teams or individual employees who don’t often get the spotlight. For example, it’s clear when your top salespeople or customer support staff hit goals, but how can you also recognize the admin, accountants, or IT team?
Celebrate teams and individuals
It’s important to recognize team and individual efforts. Teamwork is important and should be celebrated, especially when all team members play a large role in the accomplishment. However, iit’salso essential to recognize individuals so they know you see their contributions.
Celebrate promptly
You can celebrate work accomplishments anytime. You don’t have to wait for an annual work party or even the end of the quarter to celebrate. Recognizing accomplishments right after they happen makes the celebration more meaningful and boosts motivation — employees don’t want to wait all year for praise.
Show continued appreciation
Big celebrations are effective and enjoyable but don’t forget to show appreciation throughout the year. An occasional award or big celebration can seem insincere if your employees don’t feel appreciated at other times.
Define what success looks like
Team and individual goals vary widely across your company, so it makes sense to define clear goals for each. Then, understand how to measure their success. That way, it’s clearer when you should celebrate their wins. For example, measuring the success of a sales vs. IT team could look very different — generating $10k extra in sales in a month compared with stopping a cyberattack are both meaningful events that you should celebrate in their own way.
Ask for feedback
Knowing which rewards to give for celebrations isn’t always easy to get right. It’s okay to ask your employees what they value so you know you can personalize your token of appreciation. A simple way to do this would be with an employee engagement survey. Ask questions such as:
- Do you feel fairly rewarded for what you do?
- Do you think everyone is celebrated equally?
- What kind of rewards do you value the most?
FAQs about celebrating success
How does celebrating success benefit the company?
When employees feel appreciated, they tend to perform better. Creating an environment that practices recognition and rewards good employees improves morale. Happy employees are more engaged with their work, reducing time off and boosting productivity.
Celebrations can inspire people to keep up the good work they’ve been doing and give a sense of belonging within their team and the company as a whole.
How do you celebrate success at work virtually?
If your team works remotely, you can still celebrate team and individual successes. Include employee recognition like verbal praise on a team Zoom meeting, sending a company-wide email, playing online games or having a virtual party. You can also send items to your team, such as mailing them a gift or having a special lunch delivered to each person’s home.
What is worthy of celebrating success at work?
Deciding when to celebrate success can be challenging. If you celebrate every little thing, the recognition can lose its meaning. If you only celebrate the really huge accomplishments, it can be almost impossible for employees to feel that success and recognition.
Establish criteria for celebrations that mark significant milestones, such as breaking sales records or reaching a new milestone for the company. Leave room for subjective wins, such as consistent performance or embodying your company values well.
How much do you need to spend on work celebrations?
Work celebrations don’t have to be expensive. Free or low-cost recognition methods such as a thank you note allow for recognition without breaking your budget. Determine how much you have available to go toward celebrations. This helps you narrow down rewards to go along with verbal or written recognition.
You might choose different price ranges based on the significance of the celebration, too. For example, someone celebrating their first month with the company may celebrate with a modest gift, while someone celebrating 20 years with the company may receive an extravagant celebration.
