Some workplace traditions don’t announce themselves loudly.
They don’t sit in HR decks or make it to annual reports. They show up quietly – in the way someone welcomes you on your first day, in the pause a team takes to celebrate a small win, or in a gesture that stays with you long after the job is over.
Ask people what they remember most about a workplace, and it’s rarely the policies. It’s the feeling. The small rituals that made them feel seen, included, or simply human in a system that often forgets that part.
This Friday, we look at two such traditions HR leaders swear by. Not because they were big, but because they mattered.
When a promotion didn’t just belong to you
Tanaya Mishra, G-CHRO, InSolutions Global
One of the most meaningful rituals Tanaya Mishra carried through her career didn’t happen inside the office. It happened at employees’ homes.
Her idea was simple. When someone gets promoted, it isn’t just their win. It belongs to the people who made that effort possible – the family that adjusted routines, took on extra responsibilities, or quietly supported them along the way.
So instead of limiting recognition to the employee, she wrote handwritten notes to their families.
These weren’t templated messages. They were personal, signed, and physically delivered, sometimes with a bouquet, sometimes as part of a small hamper. The message acknowledged something most workplaces overlook: your contribution made this possible too.
And then came the reactions.
In one instance, a husband walked into his home, saw a bouquet of red roses, and immediately questioned who had sent them. Suspicion turned into surprise when he opened the note and realised it was from his wife’s workplace—thanking him for his role in her success.
In another case, a father wrote back weeks later, expressing gratitude for recognising his daughter’s achievement in a way that felt deeply personal.
Over time, this did more than celebrate promotions. It created a sense of shared pride. Families felt included. Employees felt understood.
A promotion stopped being just a line on a CV. It became a shared moment.
What people can take from it: Sometimes, the most meaningful recognition extends beyond the employee to the ecosystem that supports them.
When care didn’t feel like a policy
Anju Jumde, CHRO, Aditya Birla Money
If one tradition made recognition more personal, the other made care more real.
For Anju Jumde, what stands out is not a single initiative, but a consistent way of showing up. A culture where care is visible in action, not just language.
On paper, it reflects in benefits – insurance that extends meaningfully, support for ageing parents, access to mental health counselling without friction.
But it was during moments of crisis that this culture revealed its true depth.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when uncertainty was at its peak, the organisation mobilised quickly. Teams arranged hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, vaccinations, not just for employees, but for their families, often across cities and smaller towns. Medicines were delivered wherever needed.
There was no playbook for many of these actions. Just intent, and execution.
That’s what made it memorable. Not because it was dramatic, but because it was consistent.
For employees, this changed how they saw their workplace. It wasn’t just where they worked. It was where they were supported when things fell apart.
And that kind of trust builds slowly, through actions that show up when it matters most.
What people can take from it: Care isn’t defined by policies. It’s proven in moments when showing up is difficult.
The real test
Workplace traditions rarely feel like “initiatives” when you’re part of them. They just feel thoughtful. Human. Different.
But step away, and you realise they did something more.
They made work feel less transactional. They added memory to routine. They gave people stories to carry forward – long after deadlines and meetings faded out.
Maybe that’s the real test of a workplace tradition.
Not how innovative it sounds.
But whether years later, someone still says, “That was something I actually loved.”
What’s a workplace tradition you actually loved?
The small ritual that made you feel seen, supported, or simply human at work? Share in the comments.