By Will Elliott, Office Manager
Anniversaries are a funny time. I’ve been the office manager at Reward Gateway’s London headquarters for a year now. I might not remember the events of my first day, but I do remember my very first task.
The task, on paper, seemed simple: Celebrate employee birthdays.
Sure, that’s easy, I thought. I’ll just get a cake and stash some candles. We can gather round some people to sing happy birthday, they’ll make a wish and we’ll have checked that off.
But, always one to push the boundaries, I wanted to think outside the box and do something special, that would make everyone in the office — the globe, even — recognise that employee’s special day.
And very quickly it hit me. I had failed to consider the fact that I sat in front of a huge video wall, much like the BBC newsreader.
I looked at my task again:
- Access our employee database.
- Locate all employee birthdays and copy them to my calendar.
- Access our employee photo library.
- Get creative with Keynote/Photoshop and produce a personalised birthday message.
Since that first day, I’ve used these birthday messages as a perfect opportunity to be creative, and also as a unique way of bringing delight and unexpected pleasure to others.
Click here to learn more about how Will increases employee engagement as part of his role.