Employee engagement ideas for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is, of course, the day of love, and the day to show your loved ones just how much you care. So it should be the perfect occasion for an organization to show some of that love and appreciation to its employees.

Whether your teams are in office, working from home or a mix of both, February 14th is an opportunity to let them know how valued they are. After all, they are the ones who are working hard for your company, day-in, day-out, all throughout the year.

By now, you probably know the importance of employee appreciation and the transformative power it can have on businesses and their employees. Companies with strong employee experience programs are proven to have a more productive and innovative staff that makes better decisions and even drive superior business results.

So how can you get the message across to your people and show them a bit of extra love this Valentine's Day?

Declare a dress-in-red day

An easy way to boost morale and make Feb 14th stand out in your calendar is to introduce a theme such as a dress-in-red day. This small act of dressing the part might work to get everyone in the “loving” spirit. Bonus points for employers who can even organize a contest for the most enthusiastically red-dressed employee – perhaps with a small prize or two!

Decorate the office

It's no good having your employees looking the part if the surroundings look like their usual 9-5. Some Valentine's themed decorations can make your workplace even more bright and inviting, while the novelty will surely be appreciated. 

Why not ask a few employees to come together to string up some lights, hearts and banners around the office, to make it really feel like the day of love you’re hoping to celebrate. You might even find employees are much likelier to brave the commute that day for some face-to-face time. 

Share a note of thanks

A strong culture of continuous employee recognition can only be produced with integrated, visible moments of acknowledgment. And many companies struggle to create a space that allows real recognition to cut through the clutter of daily work and announcements.

The secret to building that positive environment can – and perhaps should – start with a simple “thank you.” An easy and highly effective way to share your thanks is by sending moments of peer-to-peer recognition or manager-led eCards. The beauty of an eCard is that it is something in which everyone can take part. It is also a popular choice among employees because it is:

• Simple

• Creative

• Environmentally friendly

• Easy to produce

Here's a look at some of our more casual eCards that colleagues can send: 

Another benefit of a simple peer-to-peer eCard program is that it fosters a spirit of generosity, support, encouragement and respect. When a company encourages its employees to congratulate one another on a job well done, the feeling of gratitude can soar. This, in turn, will help boost morale, and it will even help motivate employees to work harder toward the organization’s mission and goals.

Using eCards is a smart method for boosting employee recognition by giving your people the tools and space to say, “thank you.” It’s the first step toward building a culture where recognition is abundant and your entire organization can feel – and be a part of – gratitude at all levels.

Bring on the food: Host a team lunch

Few things bring people together like food. An easy way to boost employee engagement on Valentine’s Day is by hosting a company (or team) lunch. Place an order for some catered food or plan a buffet in the break room to bring folks together during their lunch break as a low-cost way to recognise employees.

Oftentimes, employees eat at their desk and “work through” lunch, and if this is the part of the culture of your organization, the special lunch will be very appreciated by all.

An organized lunch will also give employees the chance to bond and open up about their work. Giving workers this opportunity to express themselves will only further boost employee engagement. Remember to consider allergies, and bonus points go out to those who remember to plan a sweet dessert! If chocolate's included, that's usually a big win. 

It's also a nice way to reward your hybrid workers who choose to commute in for Valentine's Day. And, if you have employees working from home that day, why not gift them a voucher for DoorDash, GrubHub or Uber Eats so they can join in on the fun and get themselves a treat.

Fondue fun

If an entire lunch isn’t in the cards for your company, why not let workers indulge in a little sweet treat for Valentine’s Day? You could rent or buy a fondue kit, stock up on some chocolate, strawberries, cookies and other sweets, and get the party started.

Give a goody bag

If you're feeling really creative, you could even put together a care package for your people, complete with Valentine's card, some Conversation Hearts candies, a small voucher for a free coffee or treat and maybe even a flower or two. 

Get social

Another easy way to up your recognition game is to champion social media within your team or organization. Social recognition programs shine a spotlight on moments of excellence by seamlessly integrating into an engagement strategy. They make it easy for employees to showcase and praise success across your entire company. Recognize your people on social media this Valentine’s Day, and you’re sure to be adored for it.

Instead of relying on basic social media pages, some companies choose to use a specialized social recognition wall feature, which can be used to publicly announce and boost both peer-to-peer and manager-to-employee recognition across the entire company. By using the social media interactions which are already a part of your employee’s daily lives, your team can congratulate others with a simple click of a heart, “thumbs up,” emoji reactions or thoughtful comments.

Think outside the (chocolate) box

Use Valentine’s Day to wear your company’s heart on your sleeve. Have employees vote on a charity for the business to make a generous donation in honor of Valentine’s Day to show a little love, or spend the usual 3 p.m. slump with an hour of making Valentine’s Day cards to send out to care homes or charities in your area.

Keep the love going strong

While Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to show your people some much-deserved love and appreciation, it shouldn’t be something that only happens once a year.

This Valentine's Day it's more important than ever to find new ways to appreciate your employees for who they are, not just what they do, will help deepen connections between your people and your organization.

Our latest study has shown that organizations that effectively appreciate their employees see boosted productivity, improved employee wellbeing scores and higher business performance as a result. Ultimately, employee appreciation is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s no shortcut or quick fix, but it is the most valuable and worthwhile work you can do with your most important asset – your people.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Reward Gateway | Edenred!