4 Ways to Show Your Employees How Much You Appreciate Them
How regularly do you say “thank you” to your team? Day-to-day, periodically, or during their annual review?
Expressing gratitude and demonstrating appreciation shouldn’t be restricted to special occasions. Here are four different ways to instill a company culture of appreciation in your work environment:
Include your workers in the major decisions and strategic planning of the company
Solicit their ideas about the direction you’re leaning. Discuss the future of the company with them, along with their place within it. Consider what they have to say and acknowledge them for their input.
The employee’s direct manager relationship may be the number one factor in job satisfaction, often ranked higher than compensation and benefits. Thus, if you have employee morale concerns trending in your workplace, one of the first places to look is your team of managers and supervisors. Employees tend to highly value a manager who is forthright, respectful, honest, and consistent. Additionally, it is critically important that your team of managers consists of clear and concise communicators who are comfortable providing direct feedback, whether positive or constructive. Suppose your management team is lacking in any of these areas. In that case, it may benefit your organization to enroll in some management skills training programs or even consider making some changes in your management staff.
By doing all this, you show your employees that you value them and the organization’s success.
Investing in your employees
Offer opportunities for advancement. If promotions aren’t possible, then help employees level-up their skills and learn new ones. Provide coaching and training sessions—or cover the costs of outside services.
Employees who see a clear path for professional growth within the company are happier and tend to produce a higher quantity and quality of work. You may want to analyze your company’s career paths and perhaps institute career planning/mentoring systems. This will also help the organization prepare for succession planning and focus on employees that may be suited for fast track career paths.
Employees often feel appreciated when it’s clear that you care about their professional development.
Consistently recognize employee accomplishments
Try not to wait for performance surveys or end-of-year occasions to give workers the recognition they merit. Utilize whatever electronic communication system you have set up to praise your employees and their achievements. Perhaps institute a peer-recognition program in which employees can applaud one another for jobs well done and recognize practices that led to their success.
Say “thank you” daily
As opposed to implementing formal, no matter how you look at it acknowledgment programs, we generally suggest focusing on employees feeling valued and recognized by the management team. How supervisors behave establishes the pace for the workplace. Consistently saying “thank you” cultivates a welcoming and respectful work climate and helps employees know that they are valued. There are countless approaches to communicate to employees that they are appreciated. A portion of our clients have reported excellent morale-improving results from:
Giving gift vouchers to local restaurants, cinemas, etc.
Delivering lunch or dinner during periods when employees work additional hours
Having the management team wash and detail workers’ vehicles
Getting a massage therapist to set up for the afternoon and allow employees 30-minute back rubs
Arranging and executing team building events (ropes courses, bowling, dinner out, and so on)
Establishing a casual dress day.
Appreciation can be expressed in many different ways. However, whether you show it through engagement, recognition, involvement, or investment, you’ll be making gratitude a vital component of your workplace culture.
