Celebrating achievement is an important part of building and maintaining an effective, self-assured team, boosting your own confidence, and making your business a great place to work.
It boosts confidence and increases motivation. It gives your team a morale boost and can help retain your employees. Celebrating together bring us closer together, letting us know that we belong to a certain group. It creates a strong business culture and strengthening teamwork. It creates engaged employees and increases productivity.
Creating a culture of celebration also improves your business reputation and helps attract top talent. A place where people acknowledge, respect, celebrate and collaborate with each other becomes a successful and happy place to be.
Why we should celebrate
As well as boosting employee morale, a culture of celebration can become a part of your brand, helping to attract and retain employees. Employees feel appreciated and valued, helping them perform better and allowing for more productivity. Your employees feel valued and have a sense of accomplishment, bringing joy and a sense of belonging.
What to celebrate
As a business, it is important to notice and acknowledge milestones, achievements, even anniversaries. These are a reflection of your business journey and we need to slow down to acknowledge them. We can be so constantly on the go that we often pass achievements or milestones without really thinking about them.
We achieve one goal and we move straight on to the next. We need to slow down and take a minute to recognise and celebrate these achievements.
In terms of celebrating your team, there will be accomplishments and milestones that come along that seem obvious to celebrate. Then there will be other things to celebrate that are not so obvious. For example, celebrate that one employee that you can always count on. The one that is always there, ready to help, but might not receive any of the usual recognition.
Don’t forget the little things. It is easy to celebrate a milestone or big sale, but the smaller wins deserve recognition too. For example, pulling together as a team, learning a new skill, supporting new team members, consistent great work, even personal achievements can be celebrated in the workplace.
Other reasons to celebrate could be a successful quarter, project completion, work anniversaries, complimentary feedback from customers or colleagues.
How to celebrate
Make sure the celebration fits to achievement. A large event is not needed for most celebrations, but a simple thank you will do. Make it personal to the people involved and consider their preferences and personalities. Surprise the people involved and let them know you appreciate their efforts.
Remember that celebrations can lose their impact if it is done too often. Don’t go into overdrive and make sure to keep the celebrations special. Recognition should be natural and authentic.
Ways to celebrate
The simplest and often most effective celebration is recognition. A simple “Thank you” or “Well done” is a great way to celebrate achievement. You can do this face to face, via email or even within a group to recognize someone amongst their peers.
Small tokens of appreciation are another great way to acknowledge and celebrate the team. Gifts such as food, flowers, or gift vouchers are always a hit.
Social gatherings bring the team together and help boost team spirit. They are a great chance for the team to bond. Awards are often a more formal way to recognize team efforts. Make them a regular occurrence and acknowledge achievements together.
Every business will have different ways of celebrating. Work out what works for your business and your team.
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