There is a magical power of celebrating employee birthdays. Research study after study has shown that one of the most powerful motivators for employees is recognition.
For many employees, a compliment — not compensation — makes all the difference in feeling valued at work. Although compensation is essential for an employee's well-being and motivation, it only becomes a motivator when employees feel underpaid.
Recognition, on the other hand, has a longer-lasting and more noticeable effect on employee motivation.
Yes, group recognition and team-building experiences are excellent tools to help boost team morale. However, there is a straightforward and more effective way to recognize your employees — celebrating their birthdays.
It's that simple.
Why Celebrating Employee's Birthdays Works So Well as a Motivator
There are many wins that you as a company could celebrate, from landing that big account to making this quarter in sales or finally launching that product you've all been working so hard on.
But what those big wins lack is a focus on one person and one person alone.
Celebrating an employee's birthday is a chance for that person to stand in the limelight at the office and be recognized separately, away from all the business stuff.
For one day, it's their day.
Take a little time to recognize that it's their special day. Even if the workday goes along as usual, with the same start time and stop time and the same work, the day feels different when celebrating an employee's birthday. It gives everyone a chance to celebrate, socialize, and enjoy their teammate's company.
Benefits of Recognizing Employee Birthdays
Reduce Turnover
Study's have shown that job search activities jump 12% just before birthdays. Meaning right before your employee's birthday, they may be looking for a new position at a different company. So giving employees special attention on their birthdays will make them feel valued at your company. Employees who feel valued, recognized, and who feel appreciated are less likely to leave their jobs. By celebrating birthdays, it can be an effective way to reduce employee turnover.
Increase Happiness and Productivity
Shining the spotlight on your employee for their birthday helps make them feel cared for and part of the team. This helps to promote happiness, reduce stress, and prevent burnout — all by celebrating their birthdays. Research study on the correlation between happiness and productivity has shown that a happy employee's productivity is enhanced by 12 to 20% than those unhappy at their company. So happy employees equals more productive employees!
Enhance Employee Engagement
A global trend research study that was conducted by 850 human resource executives and professionals suggests it's crucial to create a great employee experience, inspire your employees, and power your team using emotional connections such as celebrating birthdays, work anniversaries, etc. Because of COVID19, this is no longer a "nice to have" or "differentiating" factor for your company — they're a requirement.
An Easy Way to Celebrate Employee Birthdays
Let's get started making your employees feel valued and happy at your company. Start by putting information on an employee's birthday into a program or software, so you'll know when the day approaches.
Pro tip: have the program or software inform you five days before their birthday to get everything together in time.
Celebrating a birthday can be a little overwhelming as the options are endless, from taking them out to lunch, having a party in the office, or a potluck. However, we suggest keeping it in the office, as it's familiar and comfortable for everyone.
Now you'll have to get ready to boost your company work culture with a video for the birthday person. So how do you boost your company culture with video? It's simple with VidDay.
VidDay is like an employee birthday card or anniversary card that gets passed around for everyone to sign but with video! Once you set up an event for the employee's birthday, you'll receive a unique URL — use this link to invite the entire office.
Gather all of their team member's well wishes, happy birthdays, and memorable moments they've shared. The birthday person will be able to keep this video a keepsake and be able to watch it over and over again.
There is power in celebrating employees, especially with a birthday video gift.
When You Ignore Employee Birthdays
Celebrating employees' birthdays is the ultimate motivator, but not celebrating birthdays can be equally powerful, as it's a huge demotivator.
When you ignore employees' special days, they feel like they aren't important, underappreciated, and demotivated. Your employee can begin to think that they are not valued as an individual, and may feel like they are just a number working for the machine that's your company.
With all of that, you will begin to see morale and commitment plummeting.
This eventually can lead to employees calling off sick regularly, their productivity declining, or even your best employees looking for a more welcoming workplace somewhere else.
You can avoid this by implementing a work culture that promotes the well-being of your employees! So start celebrating their birthdays, work anniversaries, and more!
Learn how you can celebrate your employees with VidDay!