EVIL HR LADY
DILEMMA OF THE MONTH
Easy Ways to Thank Employees in a Hard Year
BY Suzanne Lucas
ILLUSTRATION : JOHN CHASE
This has been a terrible year . Unfortunately , as a business , we ’ re just scraping by — and that ’ s despite the Paycheck Protection Program loan from the Small Business Administration . There ’ s no money for a lavish holiday party , year-end bonuses or even anything more than a $ 5 gift . What can we do to show our employees how much we appreciate their hard work at year-end ?
You ’ re not the only business in this situation . Unless you ’ re Amazon or a Plexiglas manufacturer , your company may not be running deep in the black this year . But there are many ways to show employees how much you care about them , even if you can ’ t shower them with gifts and bonuses .
1 Write each employee a letter explaining why you appreciate them . This is , of course , not feasible if you have 2,000 employees , but if you have 25 , this can be an excellent morale booster for your employees . Don ’ t unload this onto your administrative assistant or use a form letter . Write unique things about each employee and how you appreciate their help . Keep a copy in their personnel file . Don ’ t say anything that isn ’ t true . If someone is on a performance improvement plan , don ’ t praise them for their skills . Instead , for example , talk about how their enthusiasm helps cheer others up .
2 Have a small party , if your employees have returned to the workplace . You can , realistically , have a pizza party during business hours for $ 5 a person . It may not be the big to-do that you usually have , but it lets people know you care
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18 comstocksmag . com | November 2020