2022 Employee Appreciation Day

Target Audience: CCRTA's target audience for this campaign was its workforce consisting of more than 230 employees and 90 contractors.

Strategy Objective:CCRTA wanted to celebrate the employees and contractors within the organization. The event provided an opportunity for supervisors, directors, leadership, and the Board of Directors to thank everyone for their dedication to an essential service (public transportation) and selflessness during the pandemic. Photos and video of the event were shared on social media, which also generated positive feedback from the community, including former or retired employees. Our workforce was celebrated digitally throughout the day, and during the weekend that followed.

Situation Challenge: Transit Driver Appreciation Day is celebrated by numerous transit agencies each year on March 18th. This year, CCRTA worked to not only recognize Bus Operators but rather be inclusive of the entire workforce due to their collective selflessness and dedication throughout the difficult year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results Impact: The campaign reached more than 320 employees/contractors, management, and CCRTA's Board of Directors, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Staff felt appreciated for their hard work and the recognition given through the lunch, a personalized note from the CEO thanking them for their work, commemorative gifts, and the special banners that were placed at each location. CCRTA reached 18,436 views through 33 social media posts on the day of the event and the weekend that followed. Posts from the event also had 2,636 engagements (likes, shares, and comments) which really showcased how valued CCRTA's workforce is to the communities it serves. The feedback from employees was extremely positive, and there was an appreciation for the efforts of leadership and the Board of Directors.

Why Submit: By snowballing Transit Driver Appreciation Day into a broader Employee Appreciation Day, CCRTA was able to extend the inclusiveness of the celebration to the entire organization. In turn, this cultivated tremendous interaction between different departments and provided an avenue for the Board of Directors and leadership to personally communicate how valuable each individual was to CCRTA. The messages, gifts, and experience increased the morale of the workforce and led to tremendous feedback from staff to leadership about working for the CCRTA. The inclusion of everyone's name on the banners and shirts was also significant as it drove home the "team" aspect of transportation. It takes all of us for our industry to be successful, and signifying that to a workforce is of incredible value.