Ready to wrap up and celebrate all the vitality wins of this year together? đ
Another year has flown by, and what a year it's been for building healthy habits at work! Or maybe you have used this year to get inspiration so that next year will be the time for fresh, healthy habits. As the year comes to an end, it is the perfect time to take a moment with your employees to reflect on all the efforts of the past few months. Naturally, you want to thank all your employees for their efforts and celebrate all the milestones achieved. Or maybe you want to share some plans and show what you have been working on recently. How nice is it to take a moment to do this together with your employees? Here are three cheerful and enthusiastic ways to look back at all your vitality successes of the past year!
Time to read: 5 minutes
Celebrate your champions đ
Every employee's journey towards healthier habits deserves to be celebrated, whether they are ahead of the curve or just taking their first steps. This is your chance to highlight everyone who has contributed to your vitality initiatives and recognise the effort and dedication it takes to prioritise wellbeing in a busy workplace.
The beauty of this celebration lies not only in honouring those who have achieved the highest milestones - such as the colleague who took the most steps or the team that completed a challenge - but also in recognising the quieter, smaller victories. For example, celebrate the colleague who took the most steps, the team that completed a wellness challenge, or highlight the employee who initially hesitated to join. For some, starting is the hardest part, and celebrating those efforts shows that every contribution, big or small, matters.
Organise an awards ceremony during a team lunch or create fun categories for both major achievements and smaller milestones (such as âMost steps takenâ, âTeam spirit extraordinaireâ or âSuperstar of the first entrantâ) and share a cheerful annual review. You can also let employees nominate other colleagues for these categories. Aks them to share why they would nominated this colleague or how their actions made a difference in the team.
Relive the yearâs vitality moments together đŒïž
If the walls at your work could talk, they would tell fantastic stories about the past year. Why not collect these memories in one place? As an HR manager, you can set up a âVitality Wallâ, a digital gallery or even a printed yearbook to bring these moments to life. Invite employees to share photos, short videos or even a short sentence about their favorite moments from the initiatives. Whether it is a photo of a team yoga session, a short video in which colleagues meet a walking challenge or a heartfelt note about a colleague, each contribution contributes to the bigger story.
Fun idea: For example, add funny âbehind-the-scenesâ moments or reactions from employees to the collages. Seeing their own stories alongside those of colleagues emphasises that these successes are shared.
Not much time? Start with an online gallery via the internal communication platform or a shared folder to gather contributions. From there, you can display a simple slideshow in the cafeteria or break room to bring these moments to life. Or you can print images directly with a Polaroid camera. These prints can be immediately hung in a prominent space, celebrating collective wins.
Let music bring back the memories đ¶
Music has the power to evoke memories and relive meaningful moments. Ask employees to share songs that kept them motivated this year â whether during workouts, walks, or wellness breaks. Perhaps someone has a go-to running track or a soothing tune that helped them unwind after a long day.
Collect all submissions and create a playlist with a fun name, like âOur Year of Vitalityâ, and share it via a newsletter or Slack channel. To encourage participation, you can share a few examples or categories, such as energising songs for activity, calming music for relaxation, uplifting tracks to start the day with a coffee, or focused playlists for getting into a productive work rhythm.
Fun idea: Gather employeesâ favourite power songs â tracks that make them feel unstoppable â and create a âVictory Playlistâ. Include songs that help them push through, celebrate wins, or simply boost their energy.
And finally: Take small steps, but celebrate big đ
Celebrating vitality successes doesnât have to be a grand production. Whether youâre handing out awards, creating a memory gallery, or enjoying a shared playlist, the goal is to put your employees in the spotlight and thank them for their efforts.
As you wrap up the year, remember that every small achievement is a step towards a healthier workplace culture â and thatâs something worth celebrating!