What Is Employee Appreciation – All You Need To Know
Who does not like appreciation? A little bit of appreciation at any place can help you get your things done better. The same thing is applicable in the workplace too. When you have employees working for you, rewarding them for their work can bring you positive outputs.
Without appreciation, employees are most likely to get demotivated and lose interest in doing their work. As a result, the overall productivity of the organization will decrease.
What is employee appreciation?
Let us begin with understanding what exactly is employee appreciation. The term employee appreciation can be the simple act of acknowledging the efforts and contributions that your employees make towards the organization and workplace. The first Friday of March is celebrated as Employee appreciation day. However, this should not be limited to just one day, and employers shall keep practising this the entire year.
There are six major types of employee appreciation-
- Peer-to-peer appreciation
- Manager appreciation
- Event-based appreciation
- Regular appreciation
- Formal appreciation
- Informal appreciation
Why is employee appreciation crucial?
There are a lot of reasons why you should appreciate your employees. Some of them include:
- First thing first, appreciation enhances productivity. If employees know the worth of their work, they are more likely to contribute better.
- An employee who gets appreciated is more likely to appreciate the other team members and co-workers. As a result, the morale in the workplace increases.
- Employee appreciation is essential as it helps build employee loyalty.
Employee appreciation strategies
While some companies follow the practice of employee appreciation regularly, some still are not sure how to do it. However, building and implementing the right strategies can always help. Here’s how:
Encouraging healthy competition
Healthy competition is a great way to acknowledge and reward the employees who complete their work on a fair basis. You can assign points to different tasks that your employees can earn after completing the task. It will develop healthy competition among employees, and they will perform well as a whole, ultimately increasing productivity.
Normalizing peer-to-peer appreciation
You need to create an environment at the workplace where your employees can get along with each other easily. When peers appreciate each other, that strengthens the interpersonal relationships in the workplace. It will also bring into light that the colleagues are paying attention to each other’s work, and so they would perform well to seek positive feedback from not just the managers but co-workers too.
Acknowledging the extra efforts
It’s always a good idea to acknowledge the extra mile your employees have walked to get their job done. An employee might have stayed overtime to complete that one project or might not have taken leave to cover up the tight schedules. Such employees deserve your support and appreciation.
Providing growth opportunities
You can show your employees that you understand them and their efforts by providing them with better growth opportunities. For example, a fresher who does exceptionally well in the initial 12-months of his job might be given a chance to move one step ahead. However, you need to assess this carefully and encourage only those who want to explore career growth.
Celebrating achievements
It does not matter big or small, but achievements should be celebrated. Appreciating your employees in front of the whole group would boost their confidence and morale. You can call for an event, reward them with some gifts or cards, or even give them a bonus.
Remote teams and employee appreciation
You might have teams and employees who work remotely. Although they don’t visit the office regularly, they also need your appreciation. Here’s how you can do it:
- Provide the remote team with work from home equipment needed to perform their job.
- Send personalized notes and cards to them
- Send them gifts and chocolates
- Create a virtual awards program
- Appreciate their efforts in front of the entire group on a video call
- Practice no-meeting periods
- Give them a long weekend off
Employee appreciation gifts
Finding the right gift for your employees can be confusing at times. Some great gift employee appreciation gifts include:
- Customized company-branded sweatshirts, t-shirts or hoodies
- Desk plants
- Notepads, diaries, key chains, pens, books, flowers
- Corporate discounts
- Handwritten notes and cards
- Offer catered lunch
- Team lunch with the senior official
- Increment in salary
- Bonus
Employee appreciation messages
Who would not like a special note from their boss or supervisors? Make your employee’s day with these messages:
- You are doing exceptionally well. Thank you for your hard work.
- I am amazed at how you utilize your skills and hard work for this organization. Keep up the good work.
- Congratulations on your great work. You pulled it so well.
- Your creative and innovative thinking is an asset to this company.
- Your hard work and dedication are an example to everyone else in the company.
- Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I am grateful for your hard work.
Employee appreciation software
Employee appreciation software helps you manage employee satisfaction and relationships as efficiently as you manage your project’s deadlines and goals. Employee appreciation software is a great way to make your employees feel valued and appreciated while motivating them for being productive. Some best employee appreciation software is Nectar, Bonusly, Kazoo, Awardco, etc.
Employee appreciation final tips
Your employees are the ones who keep the organization going. Therefore, they must be celebrated and rewarded for their hard work. A little act of appreciation can impact positively on your business, and you might not afford to lose that.
