Thanks and You’re Welcome: Celebrating Employees |Kraus-Anderson
By Brenden Nickels
Brenden Nickels is Senior Office Assistant at Kraus-Anderson Headquarters.
The first Friday in March is Employee Appreciation Day not just at Kraus-Anderson, but at offices around the United States. “Dr.” Bob Nelson of Workman Publishing created Employee Appreciation Day in 1995 as a way to celebrate everything that the company’s employees do as well as to show it on office calendars. Over time, it has grown into an unofficial tradition at offices everywhere, and some magazines have written about the holiday itself and ways to celebrate it, including bringing in treats, gift cards, and a workplace happy hour, to name a few.
Employee Engagement Benefits
According to a Gallup poll, only 34% of American workers are engaged at work, while 16.5% are actively disengaged and 53% are not engaged at all. There is a big difference between employees that are engaged and employees that are not. When employees are engaged, they perform better, stay at the same job, get into fewer accidents, and are healthier. In this poll, it showed that when employees are respected and appreciated for their efforts, it helps increase their engagement and productivity.
When employees are engaged, they perform better, stay at the same job, get into fewer accidents, and are healthier.
As a Top Workplace, of course, Kraus-Anderson does respect and appreciate the work of its employees in many ways, not just on Employee Appreciation Day. One is the Shout Out Award, in which a KA’er nominates a fellow co-worker who did an excellent job helping them. The recipients of the Shout Out Award each month receive a $25 voucher to use in our Recognition Store for some Kraus-Anderson merchandise. I have received this award myself in the past a few times.
Getting Creative to Stay Connected
Right now, with the majority of the KA office workforce working at home because of the pandemic, we have been getting creative with ways to keep everybody communicating with one another. An example of this is our Quarantine Cup Challenge. In this fun setup, every employee at KA is randomly assigned to a team of about 17 people. We had to think up a team name, appoint a captain, and earn points for the team. Teams or individuals can earn points by participating in ice fishing contests or stay-at-home activities like building snowmen or Pinterest fails, or by joining other co-workers in virtual events like lunchtime trivia. At the end of May, the team with the most points will win the Quarantine Cup. It’s a fun way for us to stay connected while we wait out the pandemic and anticipate getting back to the office.
Keeping Morale Strong
“It is very important for us to keep the morale up for our employees as we navigate through this pandemic,” said Kraus-Anderson Director of Human Resources Diane Toll. “Even more important is making sure our employees know how much we appreciate everything they are doing that contribute to our success and how much we value the work they do every day. We are always seeking ways we can encourage engagement across all departments and keep people connected with each other.”
Everyone who works for an organization, whether Kraus-Anderson or any other company in any trade, has many different roles and responsibilities and they work both individually and as a team to get the job done. On March 5th, or anytime, even it’s just a small thing, let them know that the work they do really matters.
Sources: https://halorecognition.com/resource/employee-appreciation-day/
https://news.gallup.com/poll/241649/employee-engagement-rise.aspx
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