Why Your Pizza Party Means Nothing on Employee Appreciation Day

Do your employees feel appreciated?

Today, March 6, is Employee Appreciation Day.

Across the U.S., employers will treat their employees to pizza parties, happy hours, cookies and more, to show their appreciation of the hard work and dedication brought forward by their workforce.

Heck, even here at Businessolver we are ending the day with special treats followed by a much-needed Happy Hour. And that’s great… but, is it enough? Shouldn’t we be showing our appreciation to our employees year-round?

65% of the workforce is “not engaged” or “actively disengaged”, do we think a pizza party is going to change that? There must be a balance.

How to Show Appreciation to Employees

Employers, in the tightest labor market in history, must do more to show their employees their value year-round. Show them how you are supporting them not just at the office, but also how you are impacting their lives outside of the 9 to 5. And the answer starts with Total Rewards.

Ensuring your employees have a full view into the total value they bring to your organization and how you are supporting that is a crucial step in demonstrating the appreciation you have for your employees and the work they do for your organization.

Showing your employees appreciation through benefits is a strategy that can’t simply be served up like a piece of pizza. Communicating one’s Total Rewards takes time. Consider these factors:

1. Understanding the hidden paycheck. The starting point is raising awareness for the “hidden paycheck.“ So often your employees don’t know all of the benefit programs and perks you are providing! You need to ensure that someone who makes $75,000 understands that they really receive $100,000 in value from the company.
2. Benefits literacy helps increase value. Once they have a clear understanding of their hidden paycheck, you can start to create a deeper understanding of the programs you offer. Much of this falls within benefits literacy, which provides more context around their benefits. Using tools and visuals for them to see how their total compensation and benefits program has grown over time is also a great way to communicate value.
3. Optimization is key to appreciation. Last, but most certainly, not least, is helping your employees optimize the value they can receive from the programs that you offer. Isn’t it frustrating to design a program and learn that your employees aren’t taking full advantage of it? Creating personalized engagement is key to help your employees understand the value they may be missing out on. For example, not contributing the maximum match level in their 401k plan. That’s just leaving money on the table!

I’m certainly not saying you shouldn’t throw that company-sponsored lunch or buy your team a drink today. But, don’t forget that on Monday, they still want to feel valued and appreciated. What are you going to do to show them that appreciation year-round?

To learn more about how Total Rewards can help, check out “Break Through with Benefits – How a Total Rewards Solution Can Help You Attract and Retain Top Talent”.