Tag: automate work anniversary

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Employee experience Human Resources Remote work

Workaversary or Workiversary? Everything you need to know!

workiversary vs workaversary

In the contemporary professional world, celebrating milestones is not confined to birthdays and work anniversaries. Enter the realm of ‘workiversaries’, an increasingly popular way to commemorate the anniversary of your initiation into a workplace. But hang on a minute, is it ‘workiversary’ or ‘workaversary’? As it turns out, the popular vote goes to ‘workiversary,’ and here’s everything you need to know about this new tradition that is enhancing workplace cultures around the world.

The Correct Term: Workiversary

While the word ‘workiversary’ might still be absent from the formal dictionaries, its usage is gaining traction globally. From social media platforms to corporate hallways, the term is finding a steadfast place in the professional lexicon.

  • Google: When we refer to Google‘s vast database of search terms, ‘workiversary’ is searched approximately three times more than ‘workaversary.’
  • Instagram: A scan through Instagram hashtags reveals a similar trend with #workiversary boasting twice the popularity compared to #workaversary.
  • X (Twitter): The distinction is even starker on X, where #workiversary is used a whopping twenty times more than #workaversary.

But what is behind this growing fascination with celebrating work milestones, and why is ‘workiversary’ the correct term to use? Let’s delve deeper.

The Roots of Workiversary

The term ‘workiversary’ stems from a blend of the words ‘work’ and ‘anniversary’. This mash-up succinctly captures the essence of the celebration — marking the completion of another year at a workplace. While ‘workaversary’ is also formed from the same parent words, it somehow hasn’t caught on with the same fervor, probably because ‘workiversary’ rolls off the tongue a bit smoother and aligns well with the original word ‘anniversary’.

The Birth of Company-Specific Work Anniversaries

Taking the workiversary trend a notch higher, some companies have come up with a clever twist, amalgamating the organization’s name with ‘anniversary’. For instance, celebrating a ‘Googleniversary’ is now a thing in the vibrant corridors of Google. This personalized approach not only adds a fun element to the celebrations but also fosters a sense of belonging and unity among employees.

Looking for a way to automate work anniversary celebrations?

billy the birthday bot birthday work anniversary celebration message

We’ve got you covered! Our simple Slack/Teams app, Billy (the birthday bot), allows you to streamline the collection of birthdates and work anniversary dates, and automate celebrations by posting a fun and engaging message on the D-Day in the channel of your choice! Read more here about the benefits.

Try it now.

That’s it folks,

Categories
Employee engagement employee retention Human Resources

Introducing Billy: the birthday bot for Microsoft Teams

Celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries. What a normal thing to do! But as companies went remote and then hybrid, it got lost in the process. Celebrating birthdays fosters team bonding, brings some fun and positivity in the (remote) workplace. It’s one of the most efficient initiative to implement when it comes to improving employee engagement.

Billy was installed by hundreds of companies on Slack and celebrated thousands of birthdays. This is from this enormous success that our team decided to help Microsoft Team users as well. We’re proud today to be introducing Billy: the birthday bot for Microsoft Teams.

The Power of Celebrating Milestones in the Workplace

Research consistently shows that celebrating employee milestones has a profound impact on their job satisfaction and overall engagement. When employees feel appreciated and valued, their morale and motivation soar, leading to increased productivity and retention rates. Recognizing birthdays and work anniversaries is an opportunity to show employees that their contributions are valued and that they are an integral part of the team’s success.

Meet Billy Birthday – A Bot that Spreads Joy

If you’ve been using Slack, you may already be familiar with Billy Birthday. This delightful bot has been brightening up workplaces by celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries with a touch of fun and excitement. With its charming personality and interactive features, Billy Birthday has become a favorite among teams looking to foster a sense of camaraderie and celebrate milestones in a memorable way. From personalized greetings to virtual celebrations, Billy Birthday has proven to be a simple yet effective tool for bringing teams closer together.

Expanding Billy Birthday to Microsoft Teams

We’re thrilled to announce that Billy Birthday is now available for installation on Microsoft Teams! As one of the most popular collaboration platforms, Microsoft Teams offers a vast user base and a familiar environment for teams to come together. By integrating Billy Birthday with Microsoft Teams, we aim to extend the reach of this beloved bot and enable even more teams to celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries with ease.

How to Install and Use Billy Birthday on Microsoft Teams

Getting started with Billy Birthday on Microsoft Teams is a breeze. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you get up and running:

  1. Open Microsoft Teams and navigate to the Apps section.
  2. Search for “Billy” in the App Store and click on the installation button.
  3. Once installed, you can access Billy Birthday by typing “@Billy” in a channel or direct message.
  4. Follow the on-screen prompts to set up preferences and customize the bot’s behavior.

With Billy Birthday seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Teams, you and your team can now enjoy a host of features designed to make milestones even more special.

Testimonials and Success Stories

Don’t just take our word for it! Here are a few testimonials from companies that have experienced the magic of Billy Birthday:

  • “We are happy to have Billy installed on our Slack, the employees are delighted to receive a little attention on their birthday.” – Sarah, Office Manager @ smallable.
  • “Billy Birthday has been amazing. It’s very intuitive and easy to configure my preferences. I had no problems dealing with Billy Birthday and I loved the functionality of uploading an xls file to import birthdays.” – Victor, Hapyness manager.

Conclusion

Celebrating milestones in the workplace is not just a formality; it’s an opportunity to create a positive and inclusive work environment where employees feel appreciated and valued. With Billy Birthday now available on Microsoft Teams, you can now elevate your team and elevate your culture! Install the app with this link.

Categories
Employee engagement Remote work

How to use Microsoft Teams to automate birthday celebrations

In today’s fast-paced world, finding efficient and creative ways to celebrate birthdays can be a challenge, especially when distance separates us. However, with the power of technology and the versatility of Microsoft Teams, you can automate and personalize virtual birthday celebrations like never before. In this article, we’ll explore how you can leverage Microsoft Teams apps to make remote birthday celebrations truly special. Let’s dive in!

Set up automated posts with Billy Birthday

To ensure no birthday goes unnoticed, integrate Billy Birthday with Microsoft Teams. Start by creating a dedicated birthday channel or chat within Teams. Then, leverage Billy Birthday’s app features to set up posts that notify team members, colleagues, or friends about the birthdays or work anniversaries. By automating reminders with Billy Birthday, you ensure that everyone has ample time to prepare and join the celebration with the perfect gift in hand.

Automate Virtual Surprises and Gifts

Even from a distance, you can surprise the birthday person with automated virtual gifts and surprises. Microsoft Teams offers various integrations and connectors that enable you to automate the delivery of e-cards, virtual gift cards, or even personalized video messages. Set up scheduled deliveries or trigger these surprises based on specific events, such as when the birthday person joins a virtual meeting or opens a Teams message. These thoughtful gestures make the birthday person feel cherished and bring joy to their special day.

Conclusion

Thanks to the power of Billy Birthday and the versatility of Microsoft Teams, remote birthday celebrations can be streamlined, personalized, and full of joy. By leveraging automated reminders, personalized messages, virtual surprises, you can create memorable experiences for the birthday person and everyone involved. Embrace the capabilities of Microsoft Teams and make each virtual birthday celebration a moment to cherish.

In this digital age, distance may physically separate us, but technology connects us in meaningful ways.

Categories
Human Resources Remote work

Celebrating Employee Birthdays and Work Anniversaries in Microsoft Teams

Recognizing and celebrating employee milestones, such as birthdays and work anniversaries, is crucial for fostering a positive work culture and boosting team morale. With remote work becoming increasingly prevalent, it’s important to adapt to virtual environments and find innovative ways to celebrate these special occasions. In this article, we will explore creative ways to be celebrating employee birthdays and work anniversaries using Microsoft Teams in 2023.

  1. Create a dedicated channel
    Establish a specific channel in your Microsoft Teams workspace solely dedicated to celebrating employee milestones. This allows for easy organization and ensures everyone has access to relevant information.
  2. Collect employee information: Gather essential details such as birth dates and work anniversaries for all team members. Maintain an updated record to ensure accurate recognition.
  3. Virtual Birthday Celebrations:
    • Send personalized messages: Encourage team members to send personalized birthday messages via direct messages or within the designated celebration channel. This creates a sense of personal connection and shows that colleagues care.
    • Virtual parties and games: Organize virtual parties where team members can join a video call to celebrate the birthday. Incorporate fun activities like virtual charades to engage everyone and make the celebration memorable.
    • Digital gifts and e-cards: Encourage team members to send digital gifts or e-cards using Microsoft Teams’ integrated features or third-party apps. These small gestures can make employees feel valued and appreciated.
  4. Commemorating Work Anniversaries: Use the designated celebration channel or a dedicated Teams post to publicly recognize employees reaching work anniversaries. Highlight their contributions, accomplishments, and years of service. If you want ideas for good messages, check out our article about the best work anniversary messages.

Want to simplify this process ? Install Billy, the birthday bot for Microsoft teams

In the virtual work landscape of 2023, celebrating employee birthdays and work anniversaries in Microsoft Teams offers an excellent opportunity to strengthen team bonds and promote a positive work culture. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that your team members feel valued, appreciated, and connected, regardless of physical distance.

Categories
Employee engagement

12 best work anniversary messages

Here we go again! Today is another work anniversary for one of your colleagues, and you’re out of inspiration for sending them a message. Since we are currently in the hype of ChatGPT, I won’t copy/paste what it could have said; instead, I’ll give you relevant prompts to use in order to create the best work anniversary messages!

Drafting the perfect prompt

Counter-intuitively, it is not an easy task. Every time you write a ChatGPT prompt, you need to be very specific to ensure that the results fit exactly what you expect for the employee work anniversary messages.

What is important for our matter (work anniversary celebration message) is to mention:

  • the hierarchy level between you and the person
  • how close you are to this person
  • the tone of the message (humorous, sarcastic, friendly, etc.)
  • whether or not the message will be seen by others (public channel vs. direct message)
  • (bonus point) ask ChatGPT for a fun fact about the work anniversary date

Additionally, it is best to ask ChatGPT for multiple results so that you can choose the one that best reflects the intention you’d like to convey, or pick parts from different results of happy work anniversary messages.

Let’s see that in practice!

Examples

Here are some examples of prompt and some examples of messages ChatGPT generated:

Example #1 – The basic one

Prompt

Write 7 short work anniversary celebration messages for me to send to Beth, a colleague who is 3+ hierarchy levels above me and in another department, with whom I’m not close at all. I have never met her in person. These messages will be sent directly to her through Slack. By the way, it’s her 3rd work anniversary.

Sample messages

  1. Congratulations on your 3rd work anniversary, Beth! 🎉 Your hard work and dedication continue to inspire us all. Wishing you many more successful years at [company name]!
  2. Happy 3rd work anniversary, Beth! 🌟 Your leadership and expertise have made a significant impact on our company. Here’s to many more years of growth and success!
  3. Wishing you a fantastic 3rd work anniversary, Beth! 🎊 Your commitment to excellence is truly admirable. May you continue to lead and inspire us in the years to come.
  4. Happy 3rd work anniversary, Beth! 🏆 Your guidance and dedication have been invaluable to our organization. Thank you for your hard work, and may you continue to achieve great things!
  5. Beth, congratulations on your 3rd work anniversary! 🎈 Your passion and drive for success have contributed greatly to [company name]. Here’s to many more years of accomplishments!
  6. Cheers to your 3rd work anniversary, Beth! 🥂 Your unwavering commitment and leadership have played a vital role in our company’s progress. Wishing you continued success in your career!
  7. Happy 3rd work anniversary, Beth! 🎉 Your dedication and expertise have been a guiding light for our team. We’re grateful for your leadership and look forward to your continued achievements!

Example #2 – Max power

Prompt

Write me 5 work anniversary celebration messages I could send to Alex, a colleague who is at the same hierarchy level and with whom I’m really close, that will be posted in a public channel. Please use an humorous tone and include a fun fact related to the 18th of March.

Sample messages

  1. Hey Alex! Happy work anniversary! 🎉 Can’t believe it’s been another year of sharing office gossip and coffee runs together! Did you know that on this day in 1314, Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake? Well, at least our job isn’t that intense, right? 😂 Here’s to another year of surviving the daily grind together! Cheers! 🥂
  2. Happy workiversary, Alex! 🥳 On this day in 1965, the first-ever spacewalk took place, which is almost as groundbreaking as the day you joined our team! Thanks for all the laughs and friendship – looking forward to more interstellar adventures together in the office! To infinity and beyond! 🚀
  3. A massive shout-out to Alex on their work anniversary! 🎊 Did you know that on March 18, 1990, a major art heist happened at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston? Well, you definitely stole our hearts right from the start! 😜 Let’s keep creating our own work of art together – cheers to another year of teamwork and camaraderie! 🎨
  4. Happy work anniversary, Alex! 🍾 Fun fact: On this day in 1850, American Express was founded. Just like their slogan, “Don’t leave home without it,” we wouldn’t want to work here without you! Thanks for being an invaluable partner in crime and for all the fun memories we’ve shared. Here’s to another year of growing, learning, and laughing together! 💳
  5. Hey Alex! It’s your work anniversary, and you know what that means – time for a little history lesson! On March 18, 1644, the third great plague pandemic began in China. But don’t worry, unlike that pandemic, your presence here has had only positive effects on our team! 😅 Thanks for being a fantastic colleague and friend. Let’s keep spreading good vibes and conquering the office world together. Cheers! 🍻

Conclusion

As you can see, the hardest part is fine-tuning the prompt you’re going to send to ChatGPT. The more precise you can be, the better the results will be. Keep in mind you can always ask for more variations and it can be used for remote office birthday as well. I hope this helps you avoid the blank page syndrome!

If you want to go further you can even set up a birthdaybot for slack, see this article for more details.

Cheers ✌️

Categories
Employee experience Remote work

How to Celebrate Your Birthday on Slack

Introduction

Slack has become one of the most popular communication platforms for teams, with its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with other apps. One of the best features of Slack is its ability to bring people together, even when they are working remotely. Celebrating birthdays is an important part of any workplace culture, and Slack has made it easier than ever to do so. In this blog post, we will explore some of the ways you can celebrate your birthday on Slack.

Creating a Birthday Channel

One of the easiest ways to celebrate your birthday on Slack is to create a dedicated channel for the special events. This can be done by simply creating a new channel and naming it something like #celebrations. Once the channel is created, you can invite your colleagues to join in and share their wishes. You can also use this channel to post pictures of your celebration or any other birthday-related content.

Using a Slack Birthday Bot

Celebrating birthdays is not a built-in feature of Slack (see our other article about “does Slack notify birthdays“). You can use an app on Slack to celebrate your birthday. You can use Billy (The Birthday bot) for instance, simply install it in your workspace and you can set it up to post in the channel of your choice (the #celebrations one for instance). This way it will post the wishes reminder for you.

Virtual Celebrations

If you are working remotely, celebrating your birthday on Slack may be the best option. You can set up a virtual celebration by scheduling a video call with your colleagues and using a conferencing app like Zoom or Google Meet. You can also use Slack’s built-in video calling feature to connect with your colleagues and celebrate together. You can use this time to play games, share stories, or just catch up with each other.

Conclusion

Overall, there are many ways to celebrate your birthday on Slack, whether you are working in the office or remotely. Creating a dedicated channel, using Billy Birthday, and scheduling a virtual celebration are just a few of the ways you can bring your colleagues together to celebrate your special day. Celebrating your birthday on Slack is a great way to build team morale and strengthen workplace relationships.

Categories
Employee engagement

How to automate birthdays in slack in 2023

There are few things more frustrating than forgetting a birthday. Whether it’s a coworker, family member, or close friend, forgetting someone’s special day can leave you feeling guilty and thoughtless.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to avoid this issue altogether: by automating birthday reminders in Slack! Here’s how to automate birthdays in slack in 2023.

Why it’s important to send birthday wishes to employees and colleagues

Wishing birthdays in Slack is something everybody does. It’s the most simple and natural thing to do, not mentioning that it is totally cross-cultural and done all across the globe. You can learn more on why it’s important to celebrate employee’s birthdays in this article.


It’s a great way to celebrate your employees, build a culture of recognition and increase employee engagement.

When your team scales, you’ll want to find a way to simplify and automate the process of birthday notifications and celebrations. But when it comes to putting it in practise you’ll soon find out that there are very few solutions out there to automate birthday messages for your team.

How to automate birthday wishes in slack

With Billy Birthday, there’s no excuse for forgetting a birthday ever again! By following these simple steps, you can set up automated messages and reminders that will help you keep track of all the special days. So go ahead and give it a try! Here’s how to do it:

  1. Install Billy Birthday by clicking “Add to Slack” on this page.
  2. Authorizing the app to access your Slack account.
  3. You’ll be taken to a page where you can customize your settings.
    Choose a slack channel for the messages, select if you want to celebrate work anniversaries, update posting times, and select which birth date collection method you’d like (either automatic, the bot will ask the users their birthday or manual with a spreadsheet where you can enter birthdays in bulk)
  4. That’s it! Billy Birthday will automatically post birthday celebration messages to your team in the channel you’ve selected.

By following these simple steps, you can easily automate the process of tracking employee birthdays and anniversaries using Slack. This will free up your time so that you can focus on other important tasks and make sure that no one’s special day goes unnoticed.

Categories
Employee experience

Using Slack to Celebrate Employee Birthdays in 2023

Birthdays are a special occasion and a great opportunity to show your employees that you care. In 2023, celebrating birthdays in the workplace will look quite different from how it did prior to the pandemic. With many companies still working remotely, there is an increased need for virtual communication tools like Slack to help bring everyone together and make birthdays extra special. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to use Slack for birthday wishes this year.

Birthday Channels

Creating a birthday channel on your company’s Slack workspace is one of the most effective ways to celebrate employee birthdays. This gives everyone in the company a dedicated space to post happy birthday messages, funny memes, and other celebratory content. It also encourages camaraderie by bringing people together who might not otherwise interact regularly on Slack. Plus, it’s just plain fun!

Birthday Bot

Another great way to make sure no one misses an employee’s birthday is by using a Slack app to automate it like Billy Birthday. This bot can be set up so that it automatically sends out notifications when someone’s birthday is coming up. This ensures that all of your employees get their due recognition on their special day without any extra effort or manual tracking required from HR staff or managers.

Virtual Gatherings

Finally, what better way to celebrate someone’s birthday than with a virtual gathering? Use Slack to send out invites for an online video call where team members can chat and catch up while they share cake (or cupcakes!). Virtual gatherings can provide much-needed social interaction during these times of remote work, while still allowing people to maintain social distancing protocols as needed.

Celebrating birthdays in the age of digitalization has its challenges – but also plenty of opportunities! By utilizing tools like Slack channels and bots, HR teams can ensure that no employee goes unnoticed on their special day while also creating meaningful connections between colleagues who may not have interacted before now. Whether you opt for virtual gatherings or simple messages sent through Slack – there are limitless possibilities for making birthdays even more special in 2021!

Categories
Remote work

Connecting with a Remote Team: A Practical Guide

Working with remote teams can present unique challenges, but it can also be a rewarding experience. With the right tools and strategies, connecting with remote teams is not only possible but highly beneficial. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to foster strong connections and collaborations with your remote team.

Establish Clear Expectations


When working with a remote team, it’s important to set clear expectations from the start. Make sure that everyone on the team is aware of their individual roles and responsibilities and what is expected of them. Make sure that everyone is held accountable for their performance by setting deadlines and goals that are achievable and measurable. This will help create an environment of trust between all members of the team and make it easier to work together smoothly.

Communication Is Key


Communication is key when it comes to connecting with a remote team. It’s important to have regular check-ins to ensure that everyone is on track and up-to-date on any new developments or changes in plans. Use video conferencing or chat platforms so that your team has an opportunity to connect face-to-face at least once a week. Setting up virtual office hours where everyone can come together for an hour or two each week can also help build camaraderie among your remote staff members. Make sure that everyone feels comfortable speaking up during these meetings so that all ideas are heard, shared, and discussed in an open forum.

Incentivize Collaboration


Encouraging collaboration between your remote staff members will help foster stronger connections within the group. Offer incentives for collaboration such as rewards for completing projects together or recognizing individuals who excel when working as part of a team. You could also consider offering bonuses for completing tasks ahead of schedule or creating collaborative learning opportunities where your staff can learn from one another while working on projects together. These types of incentives will help encourage strong collaboration within the group which can lead to improved results overall!

Special tip from us

The best effort / impact to boost communication and team cohesion is to install Billy Birthday Slack app. Posting celebration messages regularly has a huge impact on the teams.

Connecting with a remote team may pose some unique challenges but it doesn’t have to be intimidating or overwhelming! By establishing clear expectations upfront, implementing effective communication strategies, and incentivizing collaboration you’ll be able to create stronger connections within your remote team quickly and easily! With the right tools in place you’ll be able to optimize productivity while fostering strong relationships among all members of your team! For more details about managing a remote team, checkout our article about 3 tips for managing a remote team.