Five easy ways to let your employees feel appreciated

Regardless of what business you are in, everyone likes to feel important; it’s just human nature. A major part of creating a healthy productive work environment must include ways to encourage and recognize the work of all employees in a consistent and frequent manner.{{more}}

It can be argued that a salary should be enough of a motivator to get people to come to work and do a great job, but a good salary package is only the first step in ensuring that your employees feel valued. Because humans yearn for approval, acceptance and the knowledge that what they contribute is valued, it would seem logical to play to that need, while at the same time achieving extraordinary performance for the organization.

Here are five inexpensive ways to let your employees know you appreciate what they did.

Offer immediate positive feedback

The tendency in many organizations is to constantly criticize and berate employees until they submit to the request of the manager. A more effective strategy would be to praise employees for the things they do right and then examine the areas that need to improve and come up with a plan with the employee to turn around the problem areas. Positive feedback opens the doors for an employee’s creative and problem-solving qualities to shine through.

Make time for them. There are still many employees who struggle to get the ear of their managers and supervisors. Schedule time outside of your regular employee evaluation to sit with your employees. Get to know them as humans and learn what’s important to them personally and professionally.

Greet them.

Make it a habit to greet your employees daily when you enter the office. A simple good morning or a farewell at the end of the day can go a long way to building rapport and helping your employees to feel valued.

Present fun awards. Don’t wait until the end of the year to award a few selected employees at a big ceremony. Begin a quarterly or monthly programme that recognizes outstanding performance and offer a small gift or a certificate. Certificate paper is not that expensive and some can even be made on a regular computer. Employees can frame it, hang in their space and include as part of their performance appraisal.

Encourage peer recognition.

Companies under antiquated management systems wait only for managers to recognize outstanding performance; this should not be. Employees should be given the go-ahead to publicly recognize one another. Managers are not able to see all acts of excellence. Peer recognition helps employees feel like a part of the organization and promotes morale.

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