Easy Employee Appreciation Day Gifts (& More)

💡 Employee Appreciation Day always takes place the first Friday of March 💡

Employee appreciation day gifts are an easy way to add a genuine smile to your team’s week. Even small tokens and gestures can spark big goodwill when they come with heartfelt thanks.

Taking time to celebrate your people helps boost morale and fosters a stronger, more connected workplace. Happy employees tend to be more productive, stick around longer, and build better relationships on the job.

In this article, we’ll explore easy employee appreciation day gifts and other creative employee rewards that go beyond the usual birthday cake and cash bonus. 

👀 Looking for more ways to celebrate your staff? See here: Special Days Every HR Team Should Have In Their HR Calendar

Employee Appreciation Day matters because employee appreciation matters

Employee appreciation should be part of any workplace, but especially on Employee Appreciation day!

Having a happy staff is good for business. According to a SHRM survey, 82% of HR professionals felt that employee recognition programs increased employee happiness while 79% believed these programs improved employee relations.

Additionally, more than half the respondents saw these rewards as an effective method to increase productivity.

Cash bonuses are an old standby when it comes to recognizing employee achievements. And anyone who’s worked in an office has likely gathered in a meeting room countless times for the obligatory birthday cake to celebrate a colleague’s special day.

However, there are more modern options for showing employees you care.

Thinking about giving your employees cash Employee Recognition Day? Here's what you need to know ➡️ Gift Cards Versus Cash: How To Choose The Right Rewards & Incentives

1. A simple shout-out

Never underestimate the power of a little public recognition. 

This can be as simple as making a shoutout on Linkedin, congratulating someone on a job well done on a project.

For example, when Giftbit's Support Manager Andrew Flaro earned a 99% customer satisfaction score, we were sure to share! 

An added bonus of using social media is that it presents an opportunity for other employees to like, share or comment on their colleague’s achievement, which can help to build relationships within your team.

We also like to shout out our employees on our company Slack. Pair a Slack message with even a small gift card, and you're really off to the races. 🏇

Pro-tip: It's easy to integrate employee rewards with Slack, with a simple gift card integration. 

2. The power to choose

Do you take your team out for a monthly lunch or a quarterly team activity? If so, how about allowing a specific employee, department, or team to choose the destination or activity? This approach doesn’t necessarily cost you anything extra—you’re going to treat the team to this experience anyway.

But, instead of you making the decision to take everyone out to eat at Chili’s or go-karting for an afternoon, you’re shining the spotlight on someone else by giving them the power to choose.

3. Digital rewards

💬 “Digital gift cards are flexible enough that you can always create the right moment for the person you’re giving it to,” says Nat Salvione, Giftbit CCO.

Give an employee $20 in cash and it could easily get lost in the mix, but give them a $20 choice of gift cards (like iTunes, Amazon, Starbucks...) and they'll be delighted with an experience you know they'll like, with you to thank.

With the right gift card platform, it's easy to send your employees customized digital gift card rewards in a wide range of denominations, track redemption details and even enjoy bulk savings. 

4. Gather naming ideas to personalize your workplace

Employee recognition doesn’t need to be all serious and straight-faced. Why not add some levity to your workplace by allowing employees to name something in your shop or office as a reward for good work?

Your business might be getting a new warehouse forklift that could use a nickname, or maybe a meeting or breakout room could use a dose of personality.

Set some guidelines, if necessary, to keep the name within certain boundaries, and then let your chosen employee(s) have some fun with it.

Looking for more opportunities to celebrate your staff? Check out these resources:
💝 Easy Administrative Professionals' Day Gift Ideas (Send In Minutes!)
🗓️ 13 Special Days Every HR Team Should Have In Their HR Calendar

5. Points-to-rewards 

Meanwhile, if you’ve got a tight employee rewards budget, or want to turn day‑to‑day wins into larger goals, you might to consider a points‑to‑rewards program.

Let your employees earn points for habits and achievements—think being early to a meeting, closing a sale, or giving a peer shout‑out.

Then they can save them up for rewards, like gift cards to their favorite stores and restaurants. This model keeps everyone chasing positive behaviors and makes each reward feel earned.

Giftbit helps you build and automate this loop with API or Zapier integrations that trigger digital gift cards the minute someone hits their target. You only pay for the rewards people actually redeem (so if someone cashes in a $20 Starbucks gift card, for example, it'll only cost your company $20 🙌). 

Plus, real‑time tracking lets you see what’s resonating with your team so you can tweak things on the fly.

Employee recognition matters

Employers who understand this know that while pay increases and birthday cakes are a good start, there’s a much wider world of employee recognition to explore. Those who do so stand to reap the accompanying benefits to their business.

Need help sending Employee Appreciation Day gifts? Talk with one our our specialists, or simply create a free Giftbit account now to get started.