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Birthdays are an easy way to show some staff appreciation. And if you make a little event of them, they can provide a boost to your entire team’s morale. Here are some tips on how to plan for birthday celebrations on your team.
- Find out everyone’s birthday. This may seem obvious, but I want to clarify that you should only be seeking out the month and the day, not the year. The year is irrelevant. This celebration is not about age recognition, but about taking one day of the year to celebrate one your team members.
- Create Outlook invites for each staff members’ birthday. Send the invite to the rest of the team, but of course, not the one celebrating the birthday. Regardless of whether you decide to keep these birthday celebrations a surprise, there’s something that feels good about learning that your team planned something in your honor, without you having to contribute. Also, don’t forget to set an alarm for the appointment about one week prior so that you can get to planning.
- Come up with a creative, yet doable activity to recognize employees on their birthdays. I like to do keep the celebrations consistent so that everyone feels the love, and so that I don’t have to spend an impossible amount of time planning each one. I like to bake for birthdays. This way everyone on the team gets to enjoy some sweets and the team can take a break from their days for a little singing and wish-making. A card is always appreciated, especially if the whole office can sign it. Some offices will do more elaborate lunches, happy hours, or gifts. While these gestures are nice, you don’t need a ton of resources to start celebrating birthdays.
How do you celebrate birthdays on your team? Tell us about it in the comments below.