Access Profiles, Inc.

During the every day rush of running your business, it is often easy to overlook those that are working hard to make your company a success.  Read on for some great ideas on what you can do to make your employees feel appreciated ~ and remember, even little gestures of thanks can have a great impact!





Praise and recognition are essential to an outstanding workplace. People want to be respected and valued for their contribution. Everyone feels the need to know that what they do affects others in a positive way. Everyone feels the need to be recognized and to feel a sense of achievement for work well done (or even for a valiant effort). When employees and their work are valued, their satisfaction and productivity rises, and they are motivated to maintain or improve their good work. As leaders, we have the ability to affect our employees in one of the simplest ways: Appreciation, which can be the difference between motivating a team to new heights and creating a revolving door of turnover at your organization.


The cost of a recognition system is quite small, and the benefits are large when implemented effectively. Recognition has shown to lead to measurable improvement in profitability. Measuring the direct impact on profitability is difficult because it is only one of many factors influencing employees in a workplace, but what I have gathered in my research has shown to be profoundly the same across the board.


Most managers, when they recognize employees, tend to recognize employees in the same manner that they like to be recognized. This is only effective when the employee's recognition method is the same as the manager's. The following are some areas to consider when trying to individualize recognition:

1. Public or private
2. Verbal or non-verbal
3. Tangible or intangible

A Written Note:

One of the best ways to show how much you appreciate someone is with a hand-written note.


Verbally:

Just telling an employee or individual how pleased you are by the work or efforts they’ve done and/or made is sometimes all that's necessary. But be mindful of the way in which you're expressing your gratitude. Providing private recognition to a person who prefers public recognition is perfectly fine, but keep in that mind that you have not gained the best value from your effort. On the other hand, if you provide public recognition to someone who prefers private recognition by recognizing them in front of a group, you may create the opposite effect and embarrass them to such a degree that they may become demotivated.


Time:

One surefire way of making your employees feel your appreciation is by giving them paid time off. Even highly engaged employees still enjoy time off to spend with friends and family.


Treat:

Another time-tested way of saying job well done is bringing in donuts in the morning, pizza for lunch, or dessert for the afternoon.


Give:

Sometimes the simplest way to show gratitude to your employees is by giving gift cards or bonuses. Better yet, try starting an incentive program where they work to get a specific gift card or cash bonus. Sometimes healthy competition does wonders to a company’s engagement and productivity.


Please help us compile a list of ideas with ways in which you show appreciation for your employees and how your appreciation has affected your business!

Written by James Moore, Director of Talent Acquisition Services for Excelsior, a Sales and Management Recruiter.



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