Creating a culture of everyday appreciation
Last updated: August 26, 2025
At the University of Washington, passion never rests—and neither do the people who power our mission. This toolkit gives you tools and ideas to recognize your team’s contributions, strengthen connection, and create a culture of appreciation where everyone feels seen.
A culture of appreciation begins with recognizing the value each employee brings to our campuses, medical centers, classrooms, labs, and communities—every day. As a manager, you play a powerful role in shaping this culture. Below are some everyday ways to make recognition part of your leadership style:
- Use Viva Insights in Teams to send digital praise in private or public channels. To find Viva Insights, click on the Apps box in Teams, type Viva into the search box and click the add button in the Viva Insights box.
- Host informal team-building or ‘get to know your colleague’ events.
- Recognize great work on the spot—small acknowledgments go a long way.
- Include recognition moments in 1:1s and team meetings.
- Recognize peers and leaders—gratitude flows in all directions.
- Invite team members to share stories about a colleague’s impact.
- Use UW-branded Teams or Zoom backgrounds to celebrate milestones creatively.
Zoom backgrounds to use (click on an image to save as a download):
- Share monthly work anniversaries in Microsoft Teams. Use Workday report R0441 to identify upcoming milestones.
- Check out some of the great resources the UW Medicine community has put together: https://uwnetid.sharepoint.com/sites/og_uwmpaf/recognition