Everyone likes to feel special and appreciated, especially in the workplace where they put in the best effort. The sad thing is that many businesses go years and sometimes decades without showing their employees how much they appreciate them. The results are low morale, unhappy employees, and a high churn rate. To help you avoid these issues, we have outlined some of the best ways to show appreciation to your employees.
Send Recognition Letters and Notes
While they are still excellent options, many ways to show employees your appreciation are expected and sometimes cliché. This is why you should always think of something new that will surprise and delight them. A great example is sending them a letter or note of recognition. You can use one of the many available letter templates to get started, and then add a personal message you know they will like.
When you do this, try to ensure each letter or note is as personal or specific as possible. While you might think generic letters and notes will save you time, they will only serve to annoy your employees when different employees realise you sent them the same message in different letter formats.
To ensure these notes have as much impact as possible, mail them physically instead of emailing them. Emails can get lost in all the messages they receive, but most people have not received a letter in years, or ever, so they will appreciate one immensely.
Receiving one is a huge deal, and it becomes even more impactful when they realise that the letter is for appreciating a good job they have done.
Provide Financial Rewards
Some employees appreciate monetary rewards more than other types of recognition, so these options would work well for them. The most common type of financial reward is performance-based bonuses. These tell the employees they have been doing a great job, and they are getting rewarded for it.
An alternative to these types of bonuses is spot bonuses. Business leaders and managers can hand these out after particularly challenging projects or when the employee has excelled at a task. They are much more impactful because, much like recognition letters and notes, they are unexpected.
Salary increases are another excellent way of showing employees your appreciation. Employees want to know that you value their work, and that is reflected in the increase you give them.
Lastly, you can give stock options or equity gains. They help employees feel they have some ownership of the company. The added benefit of these bonuses is that they can increase employee loyalty, reduce churn rate, and decrease hiring and training costs.
Professional Development Investment
Many businesses do not invest in their employees’ professional development. They expect them to gain new skills and level up their skills without input from the business, at their own time, and their own cost. Businesses that take the different approach of providing professional development opportunities typically have happier employees who are more likely to stay with them for longer.
Businesses can provide such opportunities by sponsoring conference attendance. These conferences provide excellent learning opportunities and can help employees gain new skills that make them better at their jobs.
They also provide additional networking opportunities. While no business wants to let its employees go, those who feel like you are allowing them to rise the professional ranks will always be grateful and happy to go above and beyond for the business.
Businesses can also support professional development by paying for educational courses. These days, there are innumerable online courses that teach different skills employees can learn from. Businesses can show their recognition and appreciation of their employees by paying for these courses outright or reimbursing employees who complete them and earn certifications.
Recognising Employees Publicly
It is fine to appreciate employees privately, but doing so publicly can also have a significant positive impact on metrics like employee happiness. Businesses can use numerous options to show employee recognition publicly, starting with company-wide email announcements.
If your business regularly sends employees emails, you can use one of these emails to show appreciation to specific employees. You can make this a monthly or quarterly thing, but many businesses see the best outcomes when they show appreciation after specific projects.
Effective employee appreciation and recognition require a careful approach and serious thought while combining different recognition options for different employees. Personalised or public recognition, depending on the employee, can work very well to make them feel valued and seen, both of which can have a positive impact on their performance, happiness, and loyalty.
