Employee appreciation is when an employer recognizes and rewards the contributions of employees in the workplace. This can occur formally or informally. When employees don’t feel appreciated, that can mean they start to lose their sense of motivation and engagement.
Along with things like holiday business gifts, year-long appreciation through different channels and methods is important. There are some different categories of employee appreciation.
For example, it can be peer-to-peer when coworkers acknowledge the work of their team members. There’s manager appreciation, and then there’s event-based appreciation, such as positive feedback triggered by a particular event.
Employees can also be appreciated for doing their job. Another way to classify appreciation is formal versus informal.
Formal appreciation includes recognition in things like email newsletters or award ceremonies, while informal appreciation might be a thank you in person.
The terms appreciation and recognition are often used interchangeably, and there is an overlap.
Recognition, however, is often described as rewarding exceptional achievements in the workplace, while appreciation can expand to the personal qualities of someone at work.
For example, you can appreciate an employee for being flexible and always willing to help others.
The following are seven tips and ways to show appreciation to employees.
1. Food Never Misses
Everyone loves good food, and you can show appreciation to one employee or a group of employees, from a team to everyone in the office, with food. You can bring in baked goods, you can send out personalized snack packages, or you can cater a meal.
If you’re going to show appreciation to an individual employee, you might do something like a gourmet food kit, which has items that can be used to prepare a meal.
If you want to personalize a gift, you can include the person’s name on the box or packaging, or you can personalize it with your company name.
2. Things That Are Cozy
When you give gifts that elicit feelings of warmth and coziness, it can help to create similar positive feelings toward you as an employer or the workplace in general.
Blankets are a good example of a cozy gift. You can customize throw blankets or Sherpa blankets, for example. Cozy gifts can also include hooded sweatshirts or soft socks. These ideas work especially well in the colder weather months.
3. Have A Party
If you want to recognize your entire team, you can host a party. You don’t necessarily have to wait for the holidays to have an office party. Parties are great because they allow people to come together in a less formal environment and get to know each other.
Have snacks, music, and drinks, and let everyone celebrate their hard work together. You can also use it as a party as a time to give out individual awards or recognition.
4. Make A Big Deal Out Of Employee Appreciation Day
Employee appreciation day is on the first Friday in March, and it’s celebrated by many companies throughout the country. The goal of Employee Appreciation Day is, of course, to take time to recognize everyone’s contributions, and you can make the day a big celebration and event.
Maybe you have a team game day or barbecue. You could take everyone to a restaurant, or you might have an office happy hour. No matter what you do, just make it something that goes above and beyond a normal day.
5. Offer Training
Offering training and development is something that goes underrecognized in the workplace.
When you offer employees training and development, you’re going to get better performance from them. You can upskill them and make them into the employees you need currently and for the future.
This is also a way to show appreciation. When you’re offering training and development to employees, you’re signaling to them that you want to invest in them. You want to work with them to create a future for them in the company, and you believe in them.
You’re not only building your talent pipeline from within the organization, but you’re showing employees that you see them, recognize their value, and you hope that they’ll stick around for the long term. It goes a long way to make them feel appreciated.
6. Go Public
It’s easy to feel like no one sees our achievements in the workplace or that we’re, in many ways, invisible despite putting in our best effort. When you recognize your employees, go the extra mile and do it publicly.
This might be through your employee newsletter or by featuring them on your intranet. You can also include them on your social media.
Hearing something positive being shared publicly is a morale booster not only for the employee you’re talking about but everyone who sees it. You’re showing you’re the type of employer who values the people who work for you, and it gives something for other employees to work to achieve as well.
When you publicly recognize or appreciate someone, say what it is, in particular, you appreciate about them. Link their contributions to the successful completion of a project. Be thoughtful and individualize your message.
7. Give A Day Off
Self-care and mental health are integral to a successful workplace. Your company is only going to be as successful as your employees are healthy and happy. Facilitate their self-care by offering days off for jobs especially well done. Even if it’s not a full day, maybe your recognition program can include the option to work remotely once a week or to take an early Friday off.
Just giving your employees some time to rest and recharge after a job well-done show that you value them as people rather than just employees.
When you give employees extra time off for a job well done, you’re also showing that you think work-life balance is important.
There are so many great ways to recognize and appreciate your employees and make it known that they’re important to you and to the success of the entire organization.
Ella Marcotte
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