Conveying a Sense of Appreciation for Your Employees

Everyone wants to feel appreciated every once in a while. This is especially true of employees that work tirelessly every day, week in and week out. It doesn’t matter if they work at a hospital, a private business, a retail store, or even a marketing research company like Research America.

Employees need to feel appreciated for the work they do. Luckily, there are several ways you can go about doing so. Here are some ways you can convey a sense of appreciation for your employees:

Give Them a Shout-Out

An easy way to show your employees that they are appreciated is to give them shout-outs during weekly meetings. Not only will this make them feel appreciated, but it will recognize their work in front of the whole team so that others will know how hard they have been working.

Sometimes all it takes is making others aware of their respective accomplishments to give them all the extra encouragement they need.

Food for the Soul

If there’s one thing that will win somebody over, it’s free food. There’s no way your employees wouldn’t feel appreciated with a hot meal, whether it means buying them lunch or bringing lunch into the office for everyone to enjoy.

You could order some pizzas, pick up donuts, or even order take-out. Another option might be to pick everyone up coffees or give them gift cards for certain restaurants or beverage places.

As long as they can get some delicious nourishment in their bellies, you can bet they’ll be satisfied, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone complaining about free food.

Pull Them Aside

If you don’t want to make a scene or a spectacle out of showing appreciation for an employee, it’s not a bad idea to simply pull them aside for a moment to thank them for everything they do.

This is a great way to tell an employee that they’re doing a good job and that you are grateful for everything they do without making a big deal out of it if they don’t want it to be. For particularly shy or low-key employees, this might be the way to go.

Give Out Rewards

Handing out occasional rewards is a great way to incentivize employees and let them know that their work is valued. This doesn’t have to be anything overly extravagant, like a new TV or an iPhone, but simple rewards like gift cards, coolers, insulated mugs and cups, or other similar objects.

These small gestures of goodwill can provide employees with an incentive to aim high each and every day. Even if they aren’t anything expensive, employees will take notice of these opportunities and feel special when they earn one.

Take Them Out of the Office

You’re in the office pretty much every day that you show up to work, so why not reward the team by getting out for a little excursion? This can be done monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or once a year.

Taking a day for the whole team to get together outside of the office to work on team building, communication, and have fun in the process can work wonders for the workplace, and on top of all that, it will recharge their batteries and put a smile on their faces so that they are ready to tackle the next week of work.

You could go out to a nice dinner, a winery, a museum, a sporting event, a day at the beach, or anything else you could possibly think of that your employees would enjoy.

Remember Birthdays and Anniversaries

Nothing says “I appreciate you” like remembering a birthday or anniversary. You don’t have to go crazy and throw a surprise party every time a date comes up on your calendar, and if you have a lot of employees, it may be impossible.

However, simply recognizing these dates by giving employees a “congratulations” or a “happy birthday” will let them know that you cared enough to make an effort. Plus, you could always do something small for them that is more manageable, like giving them a custom cupcake or possibly buying them lunch for the day.

Take a Half-Day

What’s the best way to reward your employees for all their hard work? By calling off work, of course!

If you have a small business and half of your employees are sick or out of the office for the day, give the remaining team the opportunity to work from home for the day or simply go home after lunch and make it a half-day (so long as their work is fairly caught up and it won’t put them behind).

The same goes for the holidays: give your employees time to spend with their family and friends and enjoy the seasons.

Knowing that they will get a few days off around Thanksgiving and Christmas will boost their morale and give them the impression that you value them as an individual with a life and not just a worker typing on a keyboard.

A Raise?

If you have a loyal employee that has been going above and beyond, pulling their weight and then some for an extended period of time, it might be time to give them a raise. Nothing will show that you appreciate their work more than giving them more money to do what they do.

Raises can’t just be handed out to every employee, even those that you appreciate, and should be reserved for the times when they have proven themselves to be responsible, loyal, and competent employees. They will definitely appreciate it.

Appreciation Goes a Long Way

These are some of the best ways to show your employees just how much they are appreciated.

Whether you take them all out of the office for a team-building excursion, bring them pizza for lunch, or even let them take a half-day, the message will be conveyed, and with so many different ways to show your appreciation, you’ll have a method for nearly every occasion.