Employee Recognition: Top Ways to Show Worker Appreciation

Happy employees are the best employees, so you should take every opportunity you can to praise the people who work for you. People love to be recognized when they do something well: it not only makes them feel good, it validates all of their hard works and shows them that you appreciate them.

Unfortunately, many managers and companies fail to do this simple thing. If you don’t praise employees — especially after a particularly great job — you risk losing their trust and their future work will suffer for it. Rather than facing potential financial and productivity issues, just offering a little praise can go a long way. Here are a few simple ways that you and your management team can show your employees that you value their work and make them feel appreciated.

Always Say “Thank You”

Everyone knows that “please” is the magic word, but “thank you” is the magic phrase. Employees want to hear you thank them, not because they are needy, but because it shows them that you are taking notice of what they’ve done.

Professional courtesy isn’t something that can be faked: people are very good at reading the hidden signals of others, so they will know if you are just going through the motions without truly appreciating what they’ve accomplished. If you feel like you don’t say “thank you” enough to your employees, then you should start doing so immediately. You will notice a quick change in the attitudes of those who work for you. They will be happier for knowing that you have taken the time to thank them and they will want to do just as good of a job or better then next time they are assigned a task.

Offer Flexible Scheduling if Possible

If you give employees the flexibility of working when they want to then you will usually get the best out of everyone. Sure, a lot of businesses can offer flexible scheduling because of time constraints (like banks, for example), but if you can offer it even once a week or around the holidays your employees will thank you.

If you have employees who can do their job from home, give them the opportunity. Watch their work closely: if it suffers, then you should cease allowing them to do so, but oftentimes, you’ll see an improvement. Or, if your company is open every day of the week, let your employees choose the days they work, as long as they put in the hours you need.

Vacation time falls into the realm of scheduling as well, so make sure to offer decent vacation packages. Employees like to know that taking time off for family or vacations won’t be a problem.

Give Small Surprises

Another simple thing you can do to show your appreciation is to give small gifts and surprises to your staff. This can be anything from bringing doughnuts with you in the morning or giving gift cards as prizes for employees who go above and beyond.

Providing a light breakfast for your employees is a great way to start their day off in a good mood, which should help them face the day and be excited to get to work.

Good, hard-working employees should be rewarded for all of their efforts: they are the ones you can rely on to get things done, so you need to make sure they know you appreciate their work. A $25 gift card to a local restaurant or a website you know they like is an easy way to let them know that you are watching when people go above and beyond. It will then give incentive for other people to do the same.

Host a Fun Event

Christmas parties, company picnics, and even company retreats can be a fun way to improve employee relationships and show them that you care.

Hosting larger events for special occasions give everyone the opportunity to strengthen bonds beyond their working relationship. You can get creative and throw a surprise party in the office, or you can rent out a venue and hire a company like Lifetime Media to record it and make a fun film to watch afterward. This will remind everyone of the fun they had and that you take a special interest in making sure they are happy.

Even offering to take employees out to dinner occasionally is an easy way to show your appreciation.

Take every opportunity you can to show your appreciation and your employees will be happier and work harder.

Maisie Bond started her business several years ago and has so much knowledge to offer others who are just starting out or need a helping hand on 1 aspect of their business. She hopes her articles will be of help!