Five Small Ways To Show Employee Appreciation

Savvy business owners understand the true value of well-trained and hardworking employees. Without their efforts, your business would certainly not be as successful as it is today. Whether they regularly put in a hard day’s work and go above and beyond in their effort, or they have come up with some truly ingenious way to improve your business processes, you undoubtedly need to show your appreciate for them. In fact, employee appreciation can go a long way toward increased job satisfaction. This leads to decreased turnover. There are several fabulous employee appreciation ideas that you can implement in your organization, and you may find that you want to adopt all of them in different circumstances.

Thank Employees For Their Efforts

Some days in a workplace can be exceptionally grueling. On those days, you may be proud of how one or several members of your team performed in a stressful situation. They may have muddled through under a tremendous workload, dealt exceptionally well with a grumpy client or made other important strides. At the end of such a hard day, your employees want to know that their effort did not go unnoticed. A simple word of thanks can go a long way to tell them that their effort was appreciated.

Cater a Lunch When the Team Works Well Together

Teamwork is vital in a successful organization, and there may be times when you are pleased with how well your team is working together. In some cases, they may have handled a group project well. In other cases, you may have had a successful or profitable week or month. A great way to thank employees for their efforts is to cater lunch for them to enjoy together. An alternative to this would be to set up a business meeting the morning and to surprise your team with a catered breakfast.

Offer a Personalized, Unannounced Gift of Appreciation

Many companies have a rewards-based incentive program, such as offering a trip to a sales associate who outperforms his or her colleagues. However, unannounced gifts may be more touching and well-received by employees. These gifts could have a personal touch, such as a small gift card to the employee’s favorite restaurant or a free personal day so that an employee who has been putting in so many hours can spend extra time with his or her family.

Provide Annual Bonuses When the Company is Productive

While people love words of thanks, food and other small gestures throughout the year, the year-end bonus is a reflection of the culmination of their efforts. In an ideal situation and in a profitable year, employees should receive a portion of the profits. It can be very disheartening for employees to spin their wheels through exhausting days at work only to see their boss grow richer from their efforts. When you offer a year-end bonus based on company productivity, you encourage them to do a great job and reward them when they are successful. As an alternative of cash, offer stock or extra paid time off the following year.

Encourage Employee Training and Growth

Another great idea is to show your appreciation of their efforts by expressing an interest in their future with the company. When an employee has done exceptionally well with a project or in his or her position as a whole, suggest training and continued education that may be necessary for him or her to advance within at a later date. This shows employees that you have future plans for his or her career and that you value contributions to the company.

When you think of employee appreciation, you may automatically think of financial rewards. While money is always a well-received reward, it is not the only option. Consider using each of these great ideas in your company in the future.