Questions to Ask Before You Begin an Employee Appreciation Program

Motivated employees feel appreciated. Weaving employee appreciation into your company’s culture is an important task for any...

October 24, 2019
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There are 300 more icebreaker questions at the bottom of the article
How would you describe your job to a five year old?
What season would you be?
What is a weird food you have tried? Would you eat it again?
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Would you go in the mother-ship with aliens if they landed on Earth tomorrow?
What is your favorite season?
Do prefer working from home or the office?
What is your earliest memory of this job?
What is the best thing you have bought so far this year?
What is the earliest book you remember?
If you had to move to another country, which one would you choose?
You are the best criminal mastermind in the world. What crime would you commit if you knew you would get away with it?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
What was the last thing you ate?
What person from history would you add to Mount Rushmore?
What is a weird fact you know?
What is your favorite part of working from home?
Were the Spice Girls a good team?
Imagine you can instantly learn any language. Which would you choose?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
Which fictional team is the best team of all time?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What do you usually eat for a quick lunch?
What simple food will you never eat?
Show us the weirdest thing you have in the room with you right now.
Would you rather stay at a hotel or an AirBNB?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
Are you more productive in the morning or at night?
Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?
Who was your most unique pet?
Choose one famous person from history you want on your team during a zombie apocalypse.
What is a good way to give back to the community?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
Is Hugh Grant funny?
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Would you want to have an imaginary friend today? Did you have one as a child?
What actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
What is the best super power?
What is your New Years resolution?
You can only eat one food again for the rest of your life. What is it?
What is the best work holiday?
What is the first gift you remember receiving?
Would you rather join Metallica or Backstreet Boys?
What is the best example of a community you have seen?
What is an easy way to do something nice for someone?
Show us your phone background and tell the story behind why you picked this image.
What was your first job?
Pick any band to play at your funeral.
If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Which superpower would you give to your arch enemy?
What is the most obscure superpower you would want?
What emoji best describes how you are feeling right now?
If you could live in any country, which country would you pick?
Would you rather live in a city or a town?
What is your favorite holiday?
What is something you accomplished as part of a team?
What is your standard office lunch?
What is your most used phone app?
What is your favorite season?
Have you ever won something as a team?
Imagine you are a professional baseball player. What is your introduction song?
Beach holiday or ski trip?
Have you ever been to a funny comedy show?
Would you rather live at the North Pole or the South Pole?
What is your favorite song to sing?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
Imagine you could teleport anywhere. Where would you go right now?
What is the most unusual job you have heard of?
What was the last thing you ate?
You can visit any fictional time or place. Which would you pick?
What do your family and friends think you do all day?
What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?
Show us your most-used emoji.
What was the most unique style or fashion trend you ever embraced?
What movie defined your generation?
You are stranded on a remote desert island. Are you alone or with your worst enemy?
What is your favorite knock-knock joke?
Have you ever told someone Santa is not real?
Do you know how to speak more than one language?
On a scale of 1 – 10, how much of a team player are you?
What is your #1 recommendation in this city?
What is your favorite holiday?
What bucket list item do you most want to check off in the next six months?
What is your favorite mythical creature?
What was the first way you made money?
If you could be great at any Olympic sport, which would it be?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
When did you start liking/hating mushrooms?
Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Do you take your PTO all at one time, or another way?
Which show do you remember most from your childhood?
Which beverage goes best with pizza?
Would you want to have a personal assistant follow you around everywhere and do what you asked of them?
Have you ever met your idol?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Would you rather live 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?
What is your hobby?
When you are alone in the car, what volume is the music at?
Imagine you no longer have to work. How would you spend a Tuesday?
What is your favorite type of sandwich?

Motivated employees feel appreciated. Weaving employee appreciation into your company’s culture is an important task for any business. If you are designing a program from scratch you should start by asking some simple questions.

How do you show employee appreciation?

At the foundation of any good appreciation program is the recognition of your employee’s contribution and their importance to the company. Your goal is to make them feel valued. Your words, policies, benefits, and special appreciation initiatives can help show your commitment to the goal. If you don’t know how your employees feel, seeking feedback on the issues important to them is your first step.

Why is Employee Appreciation important?

Employees who feel appreciated are more productive and more inclined to remain on your team. They’re also more efficient and effective. Those who don’t feel a connection may leave. Losing a valued employee can impact more than just workloads and project deadlines. A departure can create lingering morale issues. If you value an employee, they need to know it.

What does employee appreciation mean to you?

Employee appreciation is the fundamental recognition of the value one produces. Most people work hard, make sacrifices, and give their waking hours in service to their employers. They can do that anywhere, so their focus and loyalty go beyond a need for mere job security. If we like our jobs and our efforts are acknowledged, our workplaces can become a happy part of our lives.

How do you show staff appreciation on a budget?

You don’t have to have a huge budget to make people feel like they are part of the team. Kind words of praise don’t cost a cent. Money is always a motivation but most satisfaction is non-financial. Regular listening sessions can identify very simple pain points. One company’s outreach effort revealed a lingering desire for cushioned pads to stand on at workstations. After years of failed requests, employees quit asking. New management discovered this concern and made the minor investment in the pads. The employees felt heard and appreciated.

What are some good incentives for employees?

Financial rewards and perks are almost always appreciated, but sometimes you have to read the room to design incentive programs with broader appeal. Entry-level employees may desire more connection and mentorship from senior personnel. Senior employees may want wellness initiatives designed to support good health. A dance class or sponsored company hike can combine the goals of both segments and bring teams together. Good incentives align with a company’s strategic goals and provide motivation by giving employees something they want.

How do you show appreciation to colleagues?

Beyond a formal program don’t forget little things matter to the people around you. Handwritten thank-you notes are meaningful. It doesn’t take much to acknowledge birthdays, anniversaries, or other family events but the effort goes a long way.

Assembly is a peer to peer employee recognition platform where coworkers can easily recognize each other with meaningful messages and rewards and companies can manage culture spend with a positive and justifiable ROI. Assembly has a 95% employee engagement and can be easily integrated with Slack. Grow and sustain your culture with Assembly. For more detail please visit Assembly.

About the Author, Charles Gillis
Charles Gillis is a business leader with more than twenty-five years of experience in business
management and law firm administration. Prior to launching his Dallas-based firm Northside HumanStrategies, he held leadership positions at statewide, national, and international law firms. He is afrequent speaker and contributor to numerous business publications. His articles have appeared inCanadian Lawyer, the American Bar Association's Student Lawyer Magazine, and numerous other legal industry publications. He is the author of the book The Seven Year Trap; Back Office Observations of the Business of Law & the Path to Partnership.

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