15 Unique Ways to Celebrate Job Promotions on Your Team
As we enter the New Year, many companies are wrapping up their annual performance review cycles and will hopefully have some exciting and well-deserved employee promotions to announce.
With promotions, typically comes a title change and a salary increase but the buck (pun-intended) doesn’t have to stop there.
Your employees work extremely hard to earn these promotions and those efforts should be publicly recognized and celebrated.
Promotion gifts are a great way to celebrate your team member’s job promotions and come in many forms.
They’re also an effective employee engagement idea for in-office, remote, and hybrid workers alike.
“People don’t get promoted for doing their jobs really well. They get promoted by demonstrating their potential to do more.” – Tara Jaye Frank
Promotions are awarded to those employees who show the most potential to continue their career growth and meaningfully contribute to future company success. And that should be celebrated!
Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of celebrating employee promotions and some actionable ways you can get started.
Why should you celebrate a job promotion?
While celebrating promotions may seem like a no-brainer, many companies fail to take this important next step after informing an employee of their promotion. To show appreciation and recognize your employees’ accomplishments, your next step should be identifying a few ways to celebrate their job promotions.
There is a myriad of benefits to celebrating an employee’s new promotion. These benefits include:
Building a Culture of Recognition
If employee recognition is not an integral part of your company culture, it should be. Celebrating promotions helps foster a culture of recognition and appreciation.
Motivator for Other Employees
Celebrating job promotions shows other employees that there is a path for growth and upward mobility at your company. Each time you promote an internal employee instead of recruiting externally, you’re letting your employees know that you believe in your workforce and motivates them to achieve the next promotion.
Reinforces Overall Company Goals
Company and personal goals aren’t meant to sit on a shelf all year. While celebrating an employee’s promotion, consider highlighting how that individual has contributed to the broader company goals and success.
Ideas for Celebrating a Job Promotion
1) Group eCard
If you’re looking for a virtual team celebration idea for a promotion, a group ecard is a fantastic way to get everyone involved, no matter where they’re located. You can easily create your work ecard using a free template or partner with an external platform to compile and send your ecard.
Either way, a group ecard typically includes messages from colleagues congratulating their fellow team member on their new promotion and sharing a fond memory or appreciative note.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love that everyone on the team took a few minutes out of their busy day to send a thoughtful congratulatory message.
Tip! Provide ample time for your team to fill out the ecard so you have high levels of participation. Also, consider pairing the ecard with a digital gift card as an added surprise!
Celebrate your colleague’s new promotion with CareCards!
CareCards allows your entire team to wish them a happy workaversary, send them a work anniversary gift, and share personalized congratulations all on one easy-to-use platfrom.
2) Post on your Company’s Employee Recognition Platform
If your company utilizes employee recognition software, posting about employee promotions is a simple yet effective way to celebrate.
Many recognition platforms also have a rewards point system integrated within it so that you can attach reward points or awards directly to your employee promotion post. It’s also a powerful opportunity to encourage dialogue amongst the broader company so everyone is involved in sharing their congratulatory messages on the post.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love being recognized formally on the company’s engagement platform and receiving accolades from the management team and colleagues alike.
Tip! Establish recognition post parameters for employee promotions. For example, who should create the post, when they should post it, and associated reward options that can be utilized and standardized.
In a hurry? These are some of our favorite employee recognition systems & platforms:
3) LinkedIn Shout Out
Employee shoutouts on social media sites like LinkedIn are another impactful way to celebrate your employees’ promotions.
These can be posted on both the company LinkedIn page and the new manager’s or leadership’s personal LinkedIn page. The posts should obviously include an enthusiastic message of congratulations and speak to the employee’s accomplishments thus far and those to come.
Why your employee will love this: LinkedIn is a highly visible professional forum, so posting on the site is not only great exposure for the recently promoted employee but also shows that the company takes pride in its successes.
Tip! Personalize the LinkedIn shout out to include a brief example of when this employee went above & beyond.
4) Company Newsletter
Some of the best email newsletters include a section highlighting star performers or major milestone accomplishments, like a promotion. If your business has a company newsletter, consider including employee promotion announcements as a standing feature.
Employee promotion announcements typically include a brief bio on the individual, some key company contributions they’ve made, and any shareable details on the new role.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love that they’re featured in a company-wide communication and are being celebrated in a public & meaningful way.
Tip! Add a personal touch to these announcements by including a quote or two from colleagues on the positive impact this employee has made on them.
5) Team Lunch
Team lunches are an awesome way to gather the team together and celebrate an employee’s promotion. Whether you leave it to the promoted employee to choose their favorite restaurant location or you order food into the office from a team favorite, team lunches strengthen the employee bond and provide a fun opportunity to celebrate a hard-earned promotion.
Kick things off by sharing your favorite work memory of the newly promoted employee and encourage others in the room to do the same!
Why your employee will love this: Your employees will love that you’re treating them and the team to a celebratory lunch where they’re the guest of honor.
Tip! Don’t limit team lunches to celebrating promotions. Lunch outings are a great team building activity for work any time of the year.
6) Employee Care Package
Employee care packages not only make great thank you gifts, but are also the perfect way to celebrate an employee’s promotion. Your congratulatory gift basket could include branded company swag items like a coffee mug, office supplies, decadent sweets, and even some bubbly to mark the occasion.
Employee care packages are also easily customizable so you can create the perfect package for that specific employee & their new position.
Why your employee will love this: I mean, who doesn’t love receiving a care package? Care packages will show your employee that you’re just as excited about their promotion as they are!
Tip! Partner with Caroo to find the ultimate employee care package for celebrating job promotions on your team!
7) Send them on a Weekend Adventure
With a new job comes new responsibilities and stressors. Before your employee gets started in their new role, treat them to a weekend adventure where they can enjoy themselves and spend some quality time with their loved ones.
Depending on your budget and the role, you can keep it local with a staycation vibe or go all out and gift them an adventurous trip elsewhere.
This is a great way to show your appreciation and excitement surrounding your employee’s promotion.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love the opportunity to let their hair down and have a fun experience before getting down to business in their new role.
Tip! Consider partnering with a local hotel or employee adventure company (like Blueboard) to help you craft the perfect trip for your promoted employees.
8) Give them a Personalized Gift
Each employee is different and has unique interests, so embrace that by giving your promoted employee a congratulations gift tailored just to them.
You can find a custom corporate gift that fits your employee’s personality or brainstorm additional gift ideas based on your knowledge of what that employee would enjoy. Some examples include a personalized name plate with their new title on it or a custom jacket embroidered with their name.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love that you took the extra time and thought to send a personalized gift.
Tip! Think outside the box. When it comes to personalized gifts, the sky is the limit!
9) Coffee with the CEO
The lower you are on the corporate ladder, the harder it is to get meaningful facetime with senior leadership, particularly the company CEO.
As your employees rise in the ranks, provide them with the opportunity to spend some quality time with the CEO and discuss their new role & future at the company. If you’re looking for a unique gift, coffee with the CEO does just the trick.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love getting to know the CEO on a more personal level and being allowed to talk about their experience & ideas for the company’s success.
Tip! Consider providing the CEO and the newly promoted employee with a handful of question prompts to get the conversation flowing.
10) Handwritten Card
Keep it retro and send your employee a handwritten card to celebrate their promotion. In the tech-driven world we live in, penning a good old-fashioned handwritten card is almost a lost art at this point.
The card doesn’t have to be wordy– a brief yet heartfelt message of appreciation can go a long way. Whether you’re delivering the card in person or through the mail, a handwritten card shows your promoted employees that you truly do care about their success and career growth.
Why your employee will love this: Your employees will love the personal touch of receiving a handwritten message & feel your support and appreciation.
Tip! If you’re feeling a bit of writer’s block when crafting your card, look up some examples of congratulatory messages for employee promotions to get the creative juices flowing.
11) Spot Bonus
A spot bonus, as the name suggests, is a monetary or non-monetary bonus given on the spot, or spontaneously.
Spot bonuses are typically rewarded when some kind of milestone or achievement is reached, making them a perfect fit for celebrating employee promotions. Spot bonuses differ from annual bonuses in that they’re typically of smaller value, but they are a great way to surprise & delight your promoted employees.
Why your employee will love this: Your employees will love receiving an incremental spot bonus to celebrate their promotion because it’s an immediate and tangible way of recognizing the hard work they put into earning that promotion.
Tip! Calculate what your annual budget is for all spot bonuses, including those related to promotions, so you can track how you’re pacing and ensure you don’t go over budget on spend.
Here are a few spot bonus ideas to get you started!
- Digital gift card to arrive in their email inbox
- Personalized message with recognition points on Bonusly
12) Friday Retreat
Friday retreats are another awesome method of celebrating your employee promotions. Before they get too busy in their role, provide them with the space to step back and mindfully reflect.
You could send them to a day-long yoga retreat, a corporate leadership retreat, a meditation retreat, or team building retreat. There are a ton of retreat opportunities, so find the type that best suits your team culture.
Why your employee will love this: Your employees will love that you’re investing in their growth and encouraging them to celebrate their wins by continually learning and being their best versions.
Tip! Consider partnering with an external company that specializes in employee & corporate retreats.
13) Upgrade their Workspace
Whether your employee works from home or in the office, upgrading their workspace is a practical way to celebrate their promotion. You could give them something small like a quirky paperweight or succulent. Or think bigger and provide them upgraded computer monitors & a stand up desk.
Employees spend a ton of time in their workspace so upgrades, both big and small, can make a big difference when it comes to employee satisfaction and productivity.
Why your employee will love this: Your employees will love that you’re setting them up for success by ensuring they have a workspace that meets their needs.
Tip! In general, promotion or not, it’s important your employees have a functional workplace area with the technical tools they need to do their job. Keep this in mind when onboarding new employees.
14) Decorate the Office Bulletin Board
If you’re looking for office bulletin board ideas, featuring recent employee promotions is a great place to start. This is a super simple but impactful way to celebrate your employee promotions.
On the office bulletin board, dedicate a section to announcing newly promoted employees where you can feature their headshot, new title, and any other fun factoids.
Why your employee will love this: Your employee will love being recognized and appreciated in the office for the accomplishment they’ve achieved.
Tip! Get the whole team involved and encourage them to post congratulatory messages on the office bulletin board.
15) Give them Praise
Whether made in public or private, giving your promoted employee praise is a noteworthy way to celebrate their promotion. You can speak your words of praise or include them in a congratulatory note.
A good rule of thumb when giving praise is to provide specific examples of why this employee is so valued and a glimpse into their exciting future.
Why your employee will love this: Your employees will love hearing praise about their stellar performance and appreciate that you’re taking the time to reflect on their contributions.
Tip! If you’re planning a promotion celebration at work or have an upcoming office happy hour, carve out a few minutes to say a few words about your promoted employee.
People Also Ask These Questions About How To Celebrate A Job Promotion
Q: Why is it important to celebrate your employees’ promotions?
- A: It’s important to celebrate your employees’ promotions because it builds a company culture of recognition & motivates your employees to continue their success at your company.
Q: What are some unique ways to celebrate a new promotion?
- A: Some unique ways to celebrate a new promotion include coffee with the CEO, a workspace upgrade, and a Friday retreat.
Q: How do I choose the best way to celebrate their promotion?
- A: To choose the best way to celebrate a promotion, consider your budget and also the person being promoted. Keep in mind how that specific employee would like to receive praise and select the type of celebration based on that.
Q: How do you celebrate an employee promotion?
- A: You can celebrate an employee’s promotion by giving them a gift or ecard, taking them out to a team lunch, providing a spot bonus, or posting a congratulatory message on LinkedIn.
Q: Are there low-cost celebration ideas for promotions at work?
- A: Yes, there are low-cost celebration ideas for promotions at work including words of praise, a handwritten card, and being featured in the company newsletter.
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