Staff Appreciation Day

An agency told us that their annual Staff Appreciation Day was a big success.  They rented a party (group) area at a major league baseball game and had the best attendance by staff and families ever!  They had door prizes and certificates of appreciation for staff members.  The owner made a point to thank all of the families for supporting the efforts of the home care professionals.  He told them that it is not easy being the family member of a homecare professional and that often the families do not get enough credit for their support.

Hand out framed certificates of appreciation for your awardees that they can hang in their offices or take home with them.  Take lots of photos and create a collage that is mounted on foam board and can be hung in the office.  That way each year there will be a new group of great photos that can hang in your office.  This will create a longer lasting effect and will generate better attendance at each successive year’s celebration.

Ask your Board of Directors to attend and hand out the awards; this makes it that much more valuable to the employees.  It also will allow your Board Members to get to know some of the staff and their families.

Invite your best referral sources and their families to join the celebration.  Take the time to acknowledge those who do attend.  This effort will help to build stronger relationships between agency staff and referral sources in attendance.  Those who cannot attend will be impressed by the thoughtfulness of your agency, both for inviting them and for recognizing your staff. 

In addition, make sure that you write about Staff Appreciation Day in the agency newsletter and include photos with the copy.

This is a win—win—win way to make your employees happier, your referral sources love you more and make recruiting easier.

Excerpted from 101 Home Care Promotional Strategies that Deliver Legendary Results Without Busting Your Budget! by Michael Ferris