Updated: January 25, 2023

14 Best HR Professionals Day Ideas

You found our list of the best HR professionals day ideas.

HR professionals day ideas are activities organizations and teams can engage in to acknowledge HR professionals. Examples include organizing an HR event, sending customized gifts and self-care packages, and celebrating on social media. The purpose of this day is to shine the spotlight on HR workers, recognize their positive contributions, and celebrate their crucial role in running an effective workplace.

HR professionals day ideas are similar to employee appreciation day ideas and Boss Day ideas and virtual Administrative Professionals Day. Companies seeking information about human resources can benefit from these lists of HR blogs, employee engagement books, and human resource training programs.

This article includes:

  • HR professionals day event ideas
  • HR professionals day activities
  • HR professionals day games
  • virtual HR professionals day ideas

Here we go!

List of HR professionals day ideas

The HR department plays a crucial role in keeping an organization running smoothly. The HR team works tirelessly to efficiently manage the organization’s most valuable asset, its employees. Therefore, it is important to celebrate the hard work of your HR professionals and shine the spotlight on their awesome work. The following are some HR professionals day event ideas you can try.

1. Publicly Recognize and Reward your HR Team

One of the key lessons remote work experience has taught the corporate world is how much value an HR team offers in keeping a company running smoothly. Most global leaders were able to manage the overnight shift to remote work thanks to their highly competent and expert HR team.

It is important to recognize employees who work behind the scenes to ensure the organization runs smoothly. In today’s hybrid world, employees, including your HR personnel, want to be acknowledged and appreciated for their work and accomplishments. On this HR professionals day, you can put your entire HR team in the celebratory spotlight for being the voice of reason, connecting top-level management and workers, and managing employees during any major crisis. You can present an award or recognition to members of your HR team or publish their achievements on the company’s website or internal newsletter.

The awards can include:

  • Highly performing HR professionals
  • Noteworthy HR initiatives that made great impacts
  • HR personnel of the month

Publicly recognizing and rewarding your HR team will go a long way in motivating and encouraging them. Also, this action can give a huge boost to their morale.

Here are more employee recognition ideas.

2. Organize a Human Resources Event

One great way to commemorate this day is to organize a human resources event. It is important to create awareness about HR professionals’ impact on employees’ lives and running the organization smoothly. This event will serve as an eye-opener and help build admiration for HR professionals. As a result, employees will have even more respect for HR work practices.

The event can also include a professional development workshop for team members to learn new skills and gain insights about their field. You can invite a prominent HR professional to give a talk during the event. This approach is an amazing way to communicate that your company values the HR team’s development and provides them with the knowledge to excel in their roles. Furthermore, this event can help motivate and persuade personnel to work in human resources and eventually become HR professionals.

3. Give Employees an Unexpected Day Off

You can appreciate your HR staff by surprising them with a day off. The HR team works all through the clock, actively and passively, all year round. You can, therefore, provide these workers with a mandatory day off, which they can utilize to focus on their health, spend more time with their loved ones, or enjoy much-needed time away from the usual business. This compensation will help minimize employee burnout, improve mental health and staff resilience, and affect long-term work motivation and satisfaction. In addition, you can encourage team members to log out of their Teams or Slack chat so they can enjoy the benefits of this time off.

For similar ideas, check out National Leave the Office Early Day.

4. Address your HR Team’s Needs

If you work for a modern organization, then there is a high chance that you already have some sort of employee survey in place. However, if you limit these surveys to your workforce alone, then you may miss out on critical feedback from your organization’s core department, your HR team. Your HR team understands what it takes to create a company culture that attracts and retains top talent. These workers are in the ideal position to get the actual perspective of both the management and the staff. Hence, when your HR team indicates a situation is problematic, you may want to trust them and solve it as soon as possible.

You can get your HR team’s feedback through different means, like an anonymous pulse survey or a one-on-one meeting. Whichever medium you choose, what is most important is actually acting on the feedback.

5. Provide Accessible Mental Health Support

In the corporate world, HR professionals usually have to be caregivers, making most HR professionals suppress their personal issues. A recent survey in the HR Director showed that 23 percent of HR professionals have compassion fatigue due to supporting struggling employees. In comparison, 26 percent of HR workers reveal they can become overly invested in employees’ personal lives or mental health issues. Your HR team is not immune to mental health issues. As a leader, you should make it a point of duty to advocate for and extend mental health support to your HR team. In addition, having certified mental health counselors on the ground to deal with employee well-being will significantly relieve the burden on your HR team and help them set proper boundaries.

Many employers assume that poor mental health is a problem that only “regular” employees experience, but there is nothing further from the truth. For workers in HR, caregiving boundaries can easily blur, causing responders trauma. HR professionals can get overly involved when discussing mental health issues with employees and succumb to compassion fatigue if they do not set appropriate boundaries.

Similarly, here are mental health awareness quotes.

6. Set Up a Wall of Fame

You can set up a forum on your organization’s internal platform to appreciate your HR team’s hard work. The goal is to have staff members thank your HR team for enhancing employee engagement and positive culture. You can also set up a wall of appreciation. Staff members can attach notes to the wall stating why they are grateful for HR, how HR has helped them, and why HR is important for the company. You can then take pictures of the wall or single notes and share them on social media. For your remote HR team members, you can set up a virtual wall of fame or create a team bulletin board full of data and accomplishments. To further spice up the fun, you can set up a photo booth or provide a selfie card and have employees take pictures and write thank-you notes to the HR team.

Check out more office bulletin board ideas.

7. Host a Dinner Party

One of the most effective and easiest ways to celebrate your HR team members is with food. Almost all employees would appreciate a free meal. You can set up a special dinner date for your team, surprise them with a cake or pack of gourmet snacks, or send them out for coffee. You may also promote wellness by offering nutritious and delightful snacks or choosing a restaurant with healthy menu selections. During the dinner party, you can try some HR professionals day games like Murder Mystery, Scavenger Hunts, and Office Trivia.

Browse this list of corporate catering companies.

8. Send a Customized Gift or Care Package

Since HR professionals constantly prioritize the needs of the organization and its employees over their own, one special way to appreciate them for all they do is by gifting them a self-care package. This act is a way of saying, “Take some time out for yourself too.” Since care packages are highly customizable, they are an amazing choice because they feel more personal to the recipient.

The options are numerous, including:

  • scented candles
  • spa gift cards
  • international snacks
  • customized jewelry
  • soft socks
  • neck massagers
  • gym subscriptions
  • body care gift sets
  • personalized journals
  • luxury chocolates

Giving these gifts to your HR team will boost their overall experience and inspire many smiles.

Here are more care package ideas.

9. HR Day Out

You can set up a plan for your HR team to get a chance to unwind and enjoy a day of relaxation outside the office. Even if your company organizes frequent team lunches or fun events, it is very unlikely that your HR team gets to enjoy these events to the fullest. These professionals are usually the ones in charge of ensuring the events go as planned. Therefore, change the narrative and organize a day out for your HR team where they get to engage in fun activities.

Some HR professionals day activities may include:

  • a formal dinner
  • luncheon
  • paintball
  • fun run
  • a garden party with hot air balloons
  • yoga
  • hiking
  • a stroll in the park
  • picnic
  • karaoke
  • team breakfast

These activities can offer a great opportunity for team members to bond with their colleagues and relax.

10. Celebrate your HR Team on Social Media

As part of their virtual HR professionals day ideas, organizations can showcase and celebrate their HR team on social media. You can create social media campaigns, write articles, create videos, share pictures, and give special shout-outs. You can also highlight best practices in HR, corporate activities for employees, etc. You can use the hashtag #HumanResourceDay and even create a special hashtag for your organization to notify your friends and followers about how you are celebrating.

11. Organize a Volunteer Event

One great idea is to organize a volunteer or charity event where your company’s HR team can give back to the community. This event can be a charity run, a food drive, or even a community cleanup. Organizing these activities is a great way to show that your organization places great value on its social responsibility and also builds a positive reputation for your organization within the community.

Another option is to donate to a charity that your workers support. You can make these donations in your employees’ names or give them a set amount to give each month, quarter, or year. This activity will show that you appreciate your HR professionals and pay attention to their passions.

Check out volunteer day ideas.

12. Mentoring Program for the Team

The company can organize a mentoring program for its HR professionals, providing opportunities for them to learn from experienced professionals in the field. During this program, team members can share their experiences and knowledge with others. This initiative will also help to build a strong community among your organization’s HR professionals.

Here are more mentoring program ideas.

13. Set up an Online Leaderboard

You can bring out your team’s playful side by introducing fun games and encouraging a competitive spirit. You can assign high points to HR team members who have achieved and completed more tasks, and see how this tactic will help motivate other employees to be more productive. While being at the top of the leaderboard is an excellent incentive, you can go the extra mile by gifting your HR professionals some nice customized gifts and care packages.

14. Endorse Team Members on LinkedIn

Writing a LinkedIn endorsement is one way to boost your HR team members’ morale and make them feel like a top priority. Your HR staff and remote workers will greatly benefit from you posting management recommendations. Simply committing ten minutes of your time to write a compelling letter of recommendation can make your workers’ day.

Regularly recognizing and rewarding employees for their contributions and achievements can create a positive environment where employees feel appreciated and valued and will, in turn, help attract and retain top talent.

Conclusion

Many organizations usually do not appreciate the human resources department’s significant role since their work is mainly behind the scenes. Unlike what many folks think, the scope of the HR team goes beyond hiring, processing employee payroll, and setting health benefits. These professionals handle all of the operational work, including developing the organization’s strategy by enhancing employees’ perception and providing a well-rounded experience for each workforce member. In short, without an efficient HR team, you will not have talented employees, and without talented, dedicated workers, there is no business.

The HR department plays a significant role in any organization’s success, from recruiting, hiring, and training the workforce to managing benefits and employee relations. Without your HR team, a lot can go wrong. Hence, it is important to recognize and celebrate the contributions of these HR professionals and appreciate them for their vital influence.

Next, check out our list of crucial HR skills, HR software tools, and HR automation best practices.

FAQ: HR professionals day ideas

Here are frequently asked questions about HR professionals day ideas.

What is HR professionals day?

HR Professionals Day is a day set aside to recognize and honor all HR and people professionals worldwide. The day aims to recognize the profession, inform others about the work of HR professionals, and highlight their important contributions to the company.

How do you celebrate HR professionals day?

There are many ways to celebrate HR professionals day, which may vary by organization. One of the most popular ways to mark the day is to hold a special event in honor of HR professionals. The event may be a luncheon, a formal dinner, or a casual get-together. Some companies may also give awards, hold a mentoring program for the team, or give gifts and care packages. Other ways to commemorate HR professionals’ day include giving team members a day off or publicly recognizing and rewarding them for their efforts.

What are some good ideas for HR professionals day?

Some good ideas include organizing a special event to honor them, giving them an unexpected day off, promoting their work through internal and external communication, setting up a wall of fame, or celebrating them on social media.

When organizations recognize and show appreciation for the contributions of the HR team, these actions can help to foster a positive and supportive work culture that will attract and retain top talent. Celebrating this day will also help HR professionals in the company build a strong community, give them opportunities to develop professionally, and raise awareness of the organization’s social responsibility.

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Author:

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

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