I used to have the worst birthdays; people would forget my birthday, one of my friends might tick me off, or something like bad weather might prevent me from enjoying it.
A few years ago, I started celebrating Braathe Gras – 8 days of enjoying my birthday with friends, family, and doing things to appreciate what the last year brought me. Last year, I expanded this into Braathe Appreciation Month, where every day in the month of April I spend time with many friends and family and do things to take better care of myself than in any other month. I may not go out every night, or do something every day of April, but I do my best to spend time with as many of the people I know and love that I can, even if its just a phone call or a walk in the park.
While this approach may not work with employees, perhaps one of the best practices I’ve seen at companies is to designate a day each month to celebrate everyone’s birthday that falls that month in the office. This creates an opportunity for multiple people to celebrate together on a day that is convenient for all and recognizes as many people as possible at once.
Other good ways to recognize birthdays is by giving employees a birthday lunch in the company dining area, usable at anytime that month; giving employees a half a day on their birthday (or the day after); or something as simple as taking your employee out for coffee or bringing them a coffee on their birthday.
What have you done to make your employees feel special around birthday time? Do you have an Appreciation Month for yourself? Share your stories by sending me a message
Robert Braathe
