APR Employee Week – Take Four

The week before I cannot wait for it to be over … the week after I am sad to see it go.

Employee week is an idea I borrowed from a friend who used to RAVE about where he worked.  When someone appears to like their job so much you have to just ask why?  His answer was simple – “they know how to treat their employees.”  So when HR became one of my responsibilities here at APR I thought – I want our employees to say the same thing.  And 4 years ago I started Employee Week.

The week has grown and evolved based on the feedback we get year to year and how our company continues to grow and mature.   This year for instance, we added the charity element.  We had the opportunity to pay money to see other employees dressed up as Uncle Sam (since our theme was All American.)  I think some employees paid more to NOT be Uncle Sam than others had to to get someone to be but in the end we raised almost $1,000 for Making Strides in 3 states.  A coworker looking hilarious while raising money for charity - what is better than that?

It was simple to get our ownership team on board from the beginning even though that required them cooking breakfast … doing a little manual labor … and even sharing some  embarassing high school pictures.  But one of the main reasons I came to work for APR is shown in their excitement and attitude about this week.   Although productivity may go down slightly … to see our teams interact and smile and laugh is obviously well worth to them and makes this company a place I want to work.

I knew this week achieved all that I had hoped when one of our employees mentioned that her friends saw pictures of her tagged on her Facebook Page from “all the fun stuff she get sto do at work.”  She agreed that she worked at a great company … you might even say one that knows how to treat their employees.  

Check out the video below to see some highlights from this year’s “All American” Employee Week!