5 Ways to make every day: Employee Appreciation Day

5 Ways to make every day: Employee Appreciation Day

It always feels good to be appreciated, doesn’t it? For employers, appreciation has the power to transform productivity, engagement, and the overall success of a business. Why? Because businesses are powered by people; and when colleagues feel valued, respected and appreciated, they are more likely to work harder and be passionate about what they do.

According to Gallup, if businesses doubled the number of employees who receive weekly recognition, they would experience an increase of 24% in quality and a 27% reduction in absenteeism. AND, 40% of employees reportedly would work harder if they were recognised more often!

Put simply, appreciation = engagement. And appreciation needs to be part of your culture.

So, where do we start?

1. Celebrate the process, as well as the result

We often praise the end result - completing a project or hitting a target, but what about the time and effort that’s been put in before that?

The hard work and commitment that lead up to resulting achievement deserve credit too. A long journey starts with a small step, after all. So, taking the time to recognise the work goes into the process will ensure you consistently show appreciation of your employees, increasing motivation to continue their great work.

2. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition

Peer-to-peer recognition, which is when employees thank each other, will put recognition at the heart of your culture because appreciation is regularly expressed at all levels and more often. If employees exchange their thanks and actively voice appreciation of each other engagement increases.

A great way to initiate this is to implement a peer-to-peer recognition scheme, giving your employees the tools to nominate colleagues when they do great things based on your company goals and values. enabling ‘in the moment’ recognition and making appreciation a fundamental part of your business.

3. Communicate often

Communicating ‘what’s going on in your business’ shows your employees that they’re part of a community that’s trusted, respected and valued. Employees appreciate being kept in the loop, and that makes them feel appreciated.

Transparency in your communications is key. This avoids rumours and misinformation which can be really damaging. Communications must be honest, authentic and delivered regularly to ensure your employees feel fully informed and involved. They will feel more appreciated too.

4. Make it personal

Employee recognition is powerful, but to have impact it needs to be meaningful to the employee. Company-wide gestures of appreciation are of course appropriate, but it’s those moments of individual recognition that really drive home a meaningful message of gratitude to employees.

A personal message explaining exactly why an employee’s actions or behaviour is appreciated is special, valuable and really amplifies the significance, consequently making a real impact.

5. Use technology

Technology is a very useful tool that can help to make appreciation part and parcel of your business.

Put simply, a reward and recognition platform are crucial for any business wanting to build a culture of recognition. These platforms facilitate peer-to-peer recognition by allowing employees to share their personal gratitude towards colleagues. This makes recognition visible, business-wide and gives the ability to exchange personal messages of appreciation whenever they like.

In conclusion, building your entire culture around recognition is how you’ll really make your employees feel valued and drive engagement across your business. By making simple changes to your business, you could unlock the hidden potential of your team.

Take a look at www.myworkperks.co.uk for more inspiration.  

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