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HR Professionals Day: the date, 30 ideas and 60 thank-you messages

The next HR Professionals Day is Sunday, September 26, 2027. That's a Sunday, so if your office is closed, celebrate on the nearest workday, Monday, September 27.

KraftyLab TeamUpdated 9 min read
Coworkers surprise three seated colleagues with a candlelit cake and colorful cards in a bright office.

HR Professionals Day, also called HR Professional Day or Human Resource Professional Day, is September 26 every year: one day to thank the people who hire, pay, train and support everyone else. Below are the dates for the next five years, how it differs from International HR Day, 30 ways to celebrate your HR team and 60 thank-you messages you can copy.

When is HR Professionals Day 2027?

HR Professionals Day is September 26, every year. The next one is Sunday, September 26, 2027. The date doesn't move on weekends, so if your office is closed that day, celebrate on the Friday before or the Monday after.

HR Professionals Day and International HR Day for the next five years
YearHR Professionals DayInternational HR Day
2027Sun, Sep 26Thu, May 20
2028Tue, Sep 26Sat, May 20
2029Wed, Sep 26Sun, May 20
2030Thu, Sep 26Mon, May 20
2031Fri, Sep 26Tue, May 20

HR Professionals Day vs International HR Day

  • HR Professionals Day, September 26. Also called HR Appreciation Day or Human Resources Professional Day, and most widely marked in the US. Coworkers and leaders thank their own HR team.
  • International HR Day, May 20. First held on May 20, 2019, started by Lithuania and the European Association for People Management. HR associations in many countries use it to celebrate the profession as a whole.

Neither is a public holiday, so the office stays open. If your company runs a global HR team, you can mark both. Planning the rest of the year? Our employee engagement calendar maps out appreciation days from Employee Appreciation Day in March to Boss's Day in October, and the front desk gets its own day too: Receptionist Day in May.

Why HR teams rarely get thanked

HR runs the thank-yous for everyone else and rarely gets one back. Four plain reasons:

  • When HR works, nothing happens. Payroll lands, the new hire has a laptop, the dispute never spreads. Nobody thanks a problem that didn't occur.
  • People mostly call HR when something is wrong. A missing payment, a conflict, a resignation. The good days rarely generate a message.
  • The best work is confidential. HR can't tell anyone about the hard cases it handled well, so the credit never travels.
  • HR plans the thank-yous for everyone else. Work anniversaries, appreciation weeks, holiday parties. Nobody plans theirs, so plan it for them, from outside HR.

30 ways to celebrate HR Professionals Day

Grouped by budget and by who gives them. The best ones give HR time back or name what they did.

Free ways to thank HR (6)

No budget, just attention. Most take five minutes.

  1. Thank them by name at the all-hands. Say what HR solved this year: the benefits switch, the hiring push, the new leave policy.
  2. Send one message about one moment. The payroll fix, the hard conversation, the first day that went well. Specific beats general.
  3. Open a thank-you thread in the company channel. Post one prompt in the morning, "What did HR make easier for you?", and let the replies pile up.
  4. Write a public recommendation. A few lines on LinkedIn about how someone in HR helped you. It lasts longer than a card.
  5. Tell the head of HR what someone did. Two lines about how someone in HR helped you, sent to their boss, count at review time.
  6. Hold non-urgent requests for an afternoon. Agree as a company to send HR nothing that can wait after lunch, so they get a quiet half day.

Low-cost ideas (6)

A little money and a little planning.

  1. Breakfast at their desks. Bagels or pastries waiting before the first meeting of the day.
  2. Better coffee for the week. Stock their corner with a coffee or tea that beats the kitchen's.
  3. A team lunch someone else organizes. HR books every lunch for everyone else. This time another team picks the place and the order.
  4. A stack of cards, one from each department. Each team signs its own card, and they arrive together on the day.
  5. A small chocolate gift box with a note. Gift boxes from our catalog start at $22, with your note inside.
  6. A book from their own wish list. Ask a teammate what they want to read. It doesn't have to be about HR.

Remote and hybrid ideas (6)

For HR teams spread across homes and offices.

  1. A video of short thank-yous. Collect 10-second clips from staff in every location and stitch them into one video.
  2. Lunch delivered to every HR home. A meal or a delivery credit for each person on the team, the same day.
  3. An hour of play on a video call. A hosted game for HR and the people they support, with nothing for HR to plan.
  4. A group card for every address. Use a digital card, or mail a signed paper one to each HR person's home.
  5. A feature in the company newsletter. A photo of the team and three things they delivered this year.
  6. A home office upgrade. A good headset, a desk lamp or a seat cushion for the long days of calls.
Two colleagues talk warmly across a meeting table with a blue folder in a bright, plant-filled office.

Ideas from leadership (6)

The ones only executives can give, and the ones HR remembers.

  1. A CEO note that names results. Not "thanks for all you do": the hires made, the policies shipped, the hard cases handled well.
  2. A seat in the planning meeting. Bring HR in where the plans get made. It says more than any cake.
  3. Fund one thing HR has asked for. The tool, the training budget or the extra hire. Announce it on the day.
  4. Pay for a course or certification. One of their choosing, with study time on the calendar.
  5. Put HR's results in the board update. Name the hiring, retention or policy work in the next report to the board or investors.
  6. Ask what wastes their time, then fix it. Pick the one process HR hates most and commit to a date to change it.

Ideas from the whole company (6)

Small things from everyone, which add up.

  1. A sticky-note wall outside the HR office. Leave a pad and a pen in the morning. It's full by lunch.
  2. A potluck where HR eats first. Every team brings one dish, and HR gets first pick.
  3. A week of paperwork on time. Every timesheet, expense report and review goes in early. HR will notice.
  4. Collect first-day stories. Ask people what HR did on their first day, and hand the team the collection.
  5. Nominate the team for an award. A local or industry HR award, backed by stories from staff.
  6. Invite HR to an event as guests. HR usually runs the party. This time someone else hosts and they just enjoy it.

60 happy HR Professionals Day messages

We wrote every one of these. Copy one into the card or chat, then add one detail only you would know.

From employees

For a card, a chat message or a note on the desk.

  1. 1

    Happy HR Professionals Day! Thank you for answering my benefits questions without ever making me feel silly for asking.

  2. 2

    Thank you for making my first week feel organized and welcoming. I still remember how easy you made it.

  3. 3

    You helped me through a hard month and kept it private. Thank you, truly.

  4. 4

    Thanks for fixing my payroll mix-up so quickly. You turned a stressful morning into a non-event.

  5. 5

    Happy HR Professionals Day to the people who make this a fair place to work.

  6. 6

    Thank you for listening when I needed to talk something through. It helped more than you know.

  7. 7

    You made my leave simple to plan, from the first question to my first day back. Thank you.

  8. 8

    Thank you for the training you set up this year. I use what I learned every week.

  9. 9

    A lot of your work happens where nobody sees it. I see it, and I'm grateful.

  10. 10

    Thanks for always replying with a real answer instead of a link to the policy.

  11. 11

    Happy HR Day! Thank you for treating every one of us like a person, not a file.

  12. 12

    Thank you for helping me find my next role here. I wouldn't have known where to start.

  13. 13

    Thanks for making open enrollment painless this year. Your guide saved me an hour.

  14. 14

    You always make time, even on your busiest days. Thank you, and happy HR Professionals Day.

From managers

For the HR partner who backs you up.

  1. 15

    Thank you for helping me hire the best person on my team. Your process found them.

  2. 16

    Thanks for coaching me before a hard conversation. It went better because you prepared me.

  3. 17

    You made onboarding our new hires smooth, and my team noticed. Happy HR Professionals Day.

  4. 18

    Thank you for being the steady voice while my team went through a big change.

  5. 19

    Your advice on the review cycle made my feedback clearer and fairer. Thank you.

  6. 20

    Thank you for filling our open roles while the rest of us were buried in deadlines.

  7. 21

    I bring you the hard questions, and you always have a calm answer. Thank you.

  8. 22

    Happy HR Professionals Day to the partner who makes me a better manager.

  9. 23

    Thank you for spotting the problem before it became a crisis. You saved us weeks.

  10. 24

    My team is better supported because of the programs you built. Thank you.

  11. 25

    Thanks for always telling me what I need to hear, kindly and directly.

  12. 26

    You made a complicated reorganization feel humane. Thank you for the care you put into it.

From leadership

For the CEO's note, the all-hands slide or the company email.

  1. 27

    On behalf of the leadership team, thank you for the culture you protect every day. Happy HR Professionals Day.

  2. 28

    This year you hired, trained and supported more people than ever. Thank you for growing this company with care.

  3. 29

    Every good decision we made about our people this year had your fingerprints on it. Thank you.

  4. 30

    Thank you for holding us to the standards we set, even when it was inconvenient.

  5. 31

    You turn our plans into policies people understand. That is hard work, and we are grateful.

  6. 32

    Happy HR Professionals Day. Our people are our biggest strength, and you look after them.

  7. 33

    Thank you for the honest advice you bring to the leadership table. We are better for it.

  8. 34

    You kept this company fair, compliant and kind through a demanding year. Thank you.

  9. 35

    Thank you for making this a place people want to join, and want to stay.

  10. 36

    You listened to what people told us, then made sure we acted on it. Thank you.

  11. 37

    From the whole leadership team: thank you for the work that never makes it onto a slide.

  12. 38

    Today we celebrate the team that celebrates everyone else. Happy HR Professionals Day.

Short card lines

One line for a small card or a sticky note.

  1. 39

    Happy HR Professionals Day to our favorite problem solvers.

  2. 40

    Thank you for looking out for all of us.

  3. 41

    Fair, kind and always ready. Thank you, HR.

  4. 42

    Happy HR Day! We're lucky to have you.

  5. 43

    Thanks for making work work.

  6. 44

    The heart of this company sits in HR. Thank you.

  7. 45

    Thank you for every question answered and every door opened.

  8. 46

    Happy HR Professionals Day to the people who care for the people.

  9. 47

    Grateful for you today, and every payday.

  10. 48

    Thanks for having our backs, quietly and always.

  11. 49

    You make this a great place to work. Thank you!

  12. 50

    Cheers to the team behind the team.

Funny but kind

Light enough for the team chat, kind enough for anyone to read.

  1. 51

    Happy HR Professionals Day! Thank you for reading every policy so the rest of us don't have to.

  2. 52

    Thank you for answering the same benefits question for the hundredth time, with the same smile.

  3. 53

    To the team that remembers everyone's work anniversary except their own: happy HR Day.

  4. 54

    Thanks for not laughing when I asked for the form that was attached to your email.

  5. 55

    Happy HR Professionals Day! This thank-you has been reviewed and approved.

  6. 56

    Thank you for planning every party and still staying to clean up. This one's for you.

  7. 57

    You've heard every excuse for a late timesheet, and you still believe in us. Thank you.

  8. 58

    Happy HR Day to the team that knows where everything is, including the spare chargers.

  9. 59

    Thank you for staying calm in every meeting that could have been an email.

  10. 60

    Happy HR Professionals Day! No forms required to accept this thank-you.

Need wording for other people too? Try our thank-you messages for coworkers, the Boss's Day messages or the ideas for Employee Appreciation Day.

Run it with a host: an hour HR doesn't have to plan

The kindest gift for the team that organizes every event is one they simply attend. A hosted game on a video call brings HR and the people they support together for an hour, and someone else runs it. See all virtual employee appreciation events.

  • Gratitude Games & Grins is a high-energy game night built around gratitude, with themed games and small teams that switch up, so people meet colleagues they rarely talk to.
  • Your Favorite Game Shows! has small groups play classic TV game shows at the same time, so nobody waits for a turn.
  • Each runs about an hour with a live host on Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. Book about 2 weeks ahead.
  • Teams split across time zones can have the game run as two sessions. For a hybrid team, the office group can sit together on one screen while remote colleagues join from home.
  • Prefer a gift? Our employee appreciation gift boxes start at $22 and ship to the office or to every home. Order small unbranded orders about 2 to 3 weeks ahead, and branded or 100+ gift orders 4 to 6 weeks ahead.

Two hosted games for HR Professionals Day, with today's price.

Send your date and headcount and get a free quote. We reply within 24 hours. Want to hear how it landed? A short pulse survey goes out automatically after every event to participants with an email, and our multiple choice survey questions help you write your own.

HR Professionals Day FAQ

When is HR Professionals Day?

HR Professionals Day is September 26 every year. The next HR Professionals Day is Sunday, September 26, 2027. That's a Sunday, so if your office is closed, celebrate on the nearest workday, Monday, September 27.

Is HR Professionals Day the same as International HR Day?

No. International HR Day is May 20. It was first held on May 20, 2019, started by Lithuania and the European Association for People Management, and HR associations in many countries mark it. HR Professionals Day on September 26 is a separate day, most widely marked in the US, when colleagues thank their own HR team.

When is National HR Day or HR Appreciation Day?

National HR Day, HR Appreciation Day, Human Resources Appreciation Day and Human Resource Professional Day are all names people use for HR Professionals Day on September 26. It isn't a public holiday, so work goes on as usual and the thanks happens at work.

How do you celebrate HR Professionals Day?

Thank the HR team by name in front of the company, add a card or a small treat, and have someone outside HR organize it. From leadership, the strongest thanks is funding something HR has asked for.

What do you write in an HR Professionals Day card?

Name one specific thing HR did for you and what it changed, then say thank you. For example: "Thanks for fixing my payroll mix-up so quickly. You turned a stressful morning into a non-event." Pick from the 60 messages on this page and add your own detail.

What is a good gift for an HR team?

Food the whole team can share, a home office upgrade for remote staff, or a chocolate gift box with a note. Our employee appreciation gift boxes start at $22, shipped to the office or to every home.

Who should plan HR Professionals Day?

Anyone but HR. A leader, an office manager or a culture committee should run it, so the people who usually plan every celebration get to enjoy one.

Give your HR team an hour they don't have to plan

A live host runs a gratitude game on your video call for HR and everyone they support. Send your date and headcount for a plan within 24 hours.

See appreciation eventsGet a free quote