Employee morale is directly linked to productivity for any business, leaving you with the challenge of maintaining positive company culture. The best way of doing that is by taking steps to help your employees feel more appreciated as members of the organization. If you find it difficult to express your appreciation for your employees, following these suggestions can help.
Simply Express Your Appreciation
It’s easy to assume making an employee feel valued will require spending money, but that’s not always the case. In many situations, a kind or supportive word will go further than gifts or rewards. When an employee performs exceptionally well, stop by their workstation to congratulate them.
If they’re facing a particularly challenging assignment, send them an email or text to offer your support and encouragement. Look for more opportunities to connect with your employees and acknowledge the effort and passion they put into performing their jobs. Often, a word of support can mean the difference between an employee who does the bare minimum and one who strives to excel.
Offer New Opportunities
You’ll help your employees feel more like valued members of your organization when you offer them opportunities for advancement or enrichment. This includes promoting from within the organization, but there are more opportunities you can create for your employees. For example, offer to pay for employees to attend a business conference or an industry-related convention.
You can also make online resources available to them, such as webinars and eLearning. When there’s a special project, choose someone from your team to lead it and ask for volunteers to help complete the project. If you rotate the employees you choose to lead special projects, each person will have an opportunity to lead.
Combine Your Marketing Campaign With Employee Recognition Programs
You can help the brand building of your business as you recognize the achievements of your employees when you reward them with company apparel. As an employee meets a challenge for attendance, sales, or some other productivity goal, you can give them a T-shirt, sweater, or baseball cap with your business’ name and brand logo on it. Your employee will enjoy a free gift, and you’ll get free marketing for your business every time they wear the gift.
Create Social Engagements
Take the time to engage with your employees outside of the workplace. Meeting for drinks at a local pub is a traditional means of socializing with your employees, but you may have people recovering from substance abuse problems on your staff. A better alternative is to host a cookout once a month or restore the traditional company picnic.
You can also add extra time to meetings and allow socializing at the end of the meeting.
These options provide an opportunity for you to bond with your employees and for your employees to bond with one another. As you learn more about their personal lives through these events, you’ll gain a better understanding of your team. This can help you motivate them more effectively, and it can help you understand how you can better show your appreciation to individual employees.
Include Employees in the Organization’s Progress
You can hold meetings for your employees on a regular basis and invite them to participate. During these meetings, you should explain any challenges your organization is facing and ask for suggestions for dealing with the situation.
This gives your employees an opportunity to feel as though their thoughts are valued. If you use someone’s idea, be sure to recognize them for making the contribution. You should also share news about goals your business has reached. This is an opportunity to congratulate your entire team for contributing to the success. Everyone in your company will see that their work produces real results, and it will encourage them to continue striving for the next goal.
You can try more ideas that you find online, but the best way to show employee appreciation to take the challenge directly to your team. By seeking their insights, you’ll show them that you do have an interest in their thoughts and concerns. That, in itself, may go a long way in showing your appreciation for all of the work they do for your business.