Today is Employee Appreciation Day – an unofficial annual observance celebrated every year since 1995. I couldn’t imagine operating without their expertise, creativity and steadfast dedication to getting s#*% done (which just happens to be one of HighGround’s everyday values.). According to research, simply telling employees you appreciate them is important. Employees want “Full appreciation for work done” more than anything else. MORE

First up is Appreciation (Ap). More than half of employees say that hearing an occasional “thank you” from their managers gives them a high sense of satisfaction. But many organizations don’t have an engagement solution that gives managers an easy, public way to extend appreciation to their team. And employees agree. You’ll get the latest HighGround and industry news sent straight to your inbox. . Let’s get a little nerdy. MORE

On the whole, it’s good news for employees this holiday season. So, what are the other 25% of companies doing for employees this holiday season? If employees were expecting it, it could lead to an uncomfortable situation. The last thing a company needs is a group of disgruntled, unengaged employees as you kick off a new year. Here’s some (mostly) free ways to rally your employees together in an effort to encourage a little holiday cheer and thankfulness this season. MORE

Employee Appreciation Day is here and I’m sure all of us in HR have been busy prepping for “the big day.” I’m excited to organize activities for our employees, but I couldn’t help but have some worry around this day — specifically that leaders and employees will show appreciation to their colleagues only today, and not on any other day of the year. Expressing appreciation unexpectedly will surely have a greater effect than you might expect. MORE

Prior to using HighGround, Patagonia determined and communicated merit pay, or bonuses, and compensation, or base pay, once a year in conjunction with annual reviews. Employees had little visibility into the process and a small window of opportunity to address compensation issues. Patagonia redesigned its process from the ground up with HighGround. This allows Patagonia to more accurately assess and compensate employees for their contributions. MORE

Check out a few of the recent stories that caught our eye as well as HighGround in the news. Even though employee appreciation day was last week, that doesn’t mean you should stop recognizing, thanking and acknowledging your workforce. HighGround’s Director of People and Culture, Libby Rapin, shares some simple tips on how to appreciate your employees on a daily basis. Vote] HighGround is in ChicagoInno’s Tech Madness. MORE

How Can HR Drive High Employee Engagement? HighGround founder and CEO, Vip Sandhir, shares his thoughts on employee engagement, the power of HR insights and the responsibility of executives to drive employee engagement strategies. HighGround was nominated as one of the coolest companies in Chicago and we hope you agree. if you do, follow this link to vote HighGround for the Reader’s Choice award. Are your employees working hard or hardly working? MORE

Over the past few weeks, I’ve blogged about different aspects of employee engagement that illustrate how today’s multigenerational workforce has more in common than you might think. Outdated performance management strategies such as annual reviews slow progress and disengage employees of all ages. Here’s why soliciting feedback in real-time and surveying your employees regularly is the best way to drive improvement. I set and monitored my goals in the HighGround app. MORE