If you want to increase employee retention, start with appreciation.

In 1952, Harry Klemfuss of Young and Rubicam created National Professional Secretaries Week and National Secretary's Day. Today, the recognition holiday is known as Administrative Professionals' Day / Week and this year it is celebrated during the week of April 25.

The History of Administrative Professionals Day / Week

Klemfuss’ goal was to encourage more women to become secretaries, while recognizing the value an administrative assistant provided to a company.  The name of this day has changed and evolved as the original position has broadened in its terms.

In 2000, the name officially changed to Administrative Professionals Week Day and Administrative Professionals Week to keep up to date with changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of the modern administrative workforce.

Typical ways this day is celebrated include:

• Flowers
• Gift cards
• Lunch 
• Chocolates / Candies
• Assorted gift baskets

Recognition Beyond One Role

Employee appreciation is not just a national observance and does not extend to only one role. Many companies adopt a form of an employee appreciation program. Research has proven that organizations that give thanks to their employees far outperform those who don’t. Pins, watches and plaques aren’t enough to keep an employee sticking around for an extra year, but there are incentive programs that will.  Companies that scored in the top 20 percent for building a “recognition-rich culture” actually had 31 percent lower voluntary turnover rates.

Some effective employee appreciation programs are:

Recognize a specific result. Rewarding an employee for outstanding customer service, or a specific task promotes a culture of doing the right thing and doing it well.

Exercise peer-to-peer recognition. Studies have shown that appreciation resonates more when delivered from peers compared to upper level management. The reason is that peers know more about what each other is doing on a day to day basis and have a better understanding of the job duties. Top-down recognition can sometimes be viewed as political or not as meaningful.

Go public. Some companies make their “thank-you’s” public with announcements, a wall of fame or other such displays of appreciation. A specific area of a newsletter or blog for such recognition promotes a sense of pride in employees, and it also lets the entire company share in the appreciation.

Make it a regular occurrence. This not only promotes healthy competition, it gives employees something to look forward to celebrating and can even become a goal.

Build recognition programs that promote your company’s values, goals and mission. This not only brings awareness to a company’s strategy, it also builds loyalty.

The Power of Appreciation

In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, two of the most valuable psychological needs we have as human beings are the need to be appreciated and the need to “belong.” Companies who understand the power of recognition and appreciation benefit from longer tenure and happier employees. When the view from the top is strictly about bottom-line results, employee suffer. Companies benefit when they strive for their employees to want to do better, and nourish a sense of belonging. It’s good business.

What employee appreciation programs do you have in your business? Share your ideas with our readers in the comments below.