Written by Carmella Giancursio
Engineers Week is an annual event that occurs the 3rd week in February. This year, the week runs from February 18-24th, 2018. If you have engineers in your office, you may be looking for small ways to acknowledge them in honor of the week-long observance. Here are 12 simple ways to celebrate Engineers week and to incorporate appreciation (and fun!) into your company culture.
How can you celebrate Engineers week?
1. Public recognition
Whether you acknowledge your hard-working engineers on your website, thank them in a company-wide email, or post their photos on a bulletin board in the office, a little recognition goes a long way in boosting morale.
2. Get to know them
Take the time to find out more about the engineers you see every day. Better yet, find out some of their favorite foods and hold an office potluck celebration at lunchtime one afternoon. Celebrate Engineers week by saying “I care.”
3. Educate others
Use your YouTube channel or company blog to teach others about the field of engineering. Who better to teach about engineering than engineers?
4. Office-wide competition
Put everyone’s engineering skills to the test with an unexpected STEM challenge in the office. Quick and fun ideas include the spaghetti structure challenge or a gumdrop challenge.
5. Awards banquet
Get together with a couple of colleagues and brainstorm some of the best qualities of the engineers in the office. The awards can be serious or funny. Print out some awards on cardstock, call a quick stand-up meeting and you’re good to go.
6. Beer-thirty
Just because you’re at work doesn’t mean it has to be all work and no play. Call it quits a little early one Friday afternoon and share some drinks in the staff lounge – or better yet, head to a local pub for a company happy hour!
7. Volunteer
Send your engineers out to local classrooms to share their love of problem-solving with aspiring engineers.
8. Host a “Bring your mini/future-engineer to work day”
Children idolize their parents (well, usually). Host a bring-your-kid-to-work day at your office complete with games, experiments, competitions, and job shadowing.
9. Give a gift
Everyone loves receiving little gifts of appreciation. Here at L-Tron, we enjoy combining gifts of appreciation with our engineer’s quirky personalities. We bought our engineers these quirky mugs!
10. Encourage your engineers to sign up for trainings/conferences
Continuous education and improvement, it’s what we’re all working toward, right? One way to show your appreciation is to send your engineers to learn new things. Their learning could be your company’s next big thing.
11. Encourage women in engineering and women in STEM organizations
Let’s face it, women are a force to be reckoned with. This year, take the extra step in encouraging your women engineers and volunteer with organizations like SWE, IEEE Women in Engineering, or one of these 7 outstanding organizations supporting women in STEM careers. Better yet, find local organizations and colleges that are supporting and inspiring women in your own back yard.
12. Personalize and provide individualized spotlights to praise each person’s unique qualities
Whether it’s a company-wide email, a blog post – or series of blog posts – or a fun video highlighting the behind the scenes, there are plenty of ways to shine a spotlight into your employees’ quirks, personalities, and individual greatness.
Engineers Week is a chance to not only celebrate the amazing talent of your employees but it’s a time to show them off to the rest of the company too. L-Tron is so excited to celebrate Engineers Week in our office. Stay tuned to read more about our upcoming activities and to learn about all of our amazing engineers!
