Employee appreciation activities in New York City

Today is Employee Appreciation Day, and as I write this, the hashtag #EmployeeAppreciationDay is trending nationally on Twitter. I don’t recall if there was such a designated holiday when I first entered the workforce, however as someone who has made a career out of producing staff reward and team building activities in NYC and nationally, it certainly makes me feel good to see the long-overlooked issues of workplace happiness and staff gratitude being given its due attention.

Exactly ten years ago this week – March 1^st, 2006 to be exact – I started what would wind up being a six-year stretch working at the 92^nd Street Y, a prestigious nonprofit cultural and community center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. At the time, it was far and away the best job I had ever had. I was a junior event programmer within the Adult Education division, meaning it was my job to develop, plan and execute a wide range of continuing education and enrichment programs such as classes, lectures, outings, singles events and more. I’m a creative person by nature, and this was the first job I’d ever held where I felt I could truly spread my wings creatively, in order to produce unique and compelling experiences for people. In addition to loving the work, I enjoyed broad decision making authority over my program area, a relaxed dress code, an extremely flexible schedule (I worked Sunday through Thursday, generally coming in around noon and staying until my programs were completed, usually around 8pm) and, very often, plenty of free food.

Unfortunately, the job didn’t pay very well.

I quickly realized that the flip side to my newfound freedoms and work enjoyment was a small paycheck – they call them “nonprofits” for a reason, and I had even taken a REDUCTION in pay from my previous job, for what I felt would be a better fit. Fortunately, my flexible schedule allowed for me to comfortably assume a couple of side gigs, which helped me pay the bills and survive in the Big Apple.

I first began hosting pub quiz nights, trying my hand as a bar trivia night host in Manhattan. This worked out quite well – the pay was good, I got to be creative in writing questions, develop my “on air” voice and humor, as well as practice public speaking a couple of times a week. Also, given I didn’t have to be in early to work the next morning, staying out late on a Tuesday wasn’t really a problem.

But the big thing for me, the one which really set me off on the path which I find myself today, was when I began moonlighting for a NYC scavenger hunt company for the office. I knew I needed another side job to supplement my income, and for the life of me I didn’t want to do something like pour lattes or shelve books. Wasn’t there something fun, cool, creative and exciting out there, which would be well-suited for my skills and schedule, as well as pay decently?

Sure enough, you can find anything in this city – I started working at City Hunt as a corporate event producer, writer and guide, and for over two years helped create experiences designed as employee recognition and reward events for groups of all sizes and backgrounds. It was through this incredibly unique job where I gained tremendous insight and familiarity in all aspects of team building, and which provided a foundation for me to start my own NYC employee team building company in 2009, specializing in live trivia.

So, what have I learned in a decade of doing this?

I’ve learned that when it comes to appreciating employees, companies tend to fall into one of two categories: those which have never (or virtually never) had this on their radar, and those which have made a concerted, deliberate effort to instill staff reward and group bonding events as a core part of their culture.

First and foremost, I have deep respect for both – if a department director, office manager, HR specialist or the Big Boss himself/herself has decided to do something nice for the team, it demonstrates bold leadership which will help foster trust, collaboration, build better relationships and boost morale – with the ultimate goal of retaining loyal workers, creating happier customers, and generating more revenue. For companies which do this often, I applaud you. For those which have never done this before, but are trying it out for the first time, I think you will be very pleased with the results back at the office.

I’ve also learned that there is a right and wrong way to show staff how much you appreciate them. While the heart may be in the right place, saying “thank you” can take many forms, and if not done in a careful, thoughtful way, it will not have the desired effect of letting your people know how much you value them and their efforts – or worse, make them feel negatively towards the company (follow this link for several relevant case studies).

Finally, I can say with confidence that happier people do better work. They communicate better, perform as teams better, feel more comfortable with each other and “the boss,” and overall will make the environment a more enjoyable place to come in to every day. It sounds fluffy and touchy-feely, but it really is the truth – recent studies have shown that happy employees simply produce better, more efficient and higher-quality work, which in turn ins good for clients – and the bottom line as well.

If you have people who work in your employ, take a moment today to think about ways in which you can show them how much you really do feel that they are important, that they are valuable and their efforts critically essential to the overall success of the business which you are in. You will reap the rewards in abundance, I assure you!