10 Ways to Show you Appreciate your Employees

Most organisations say they appreciate their staff and have a team that foster positive working environments. However, with turnover of staff still high in many organisations, are they really doing what they say? Tim has 10 ways to show your staff you care!

By Tim Frear

10 cost effective tips to demonstrate appreciation and build teamwork.

1. Thank you – A simple ‘thank you’ can be a powerful tool. Effective recognition, when genuine, will boost the employee’s confidence and their positivity can be infectious. Where possible, give the praise in public and explain what they have done that exceeded your expectations.
2. Define your expectations – If employees understand what is expected of them, their actions will be aligned to the business goals and objectives and you will all be working towards the same goal. This links directly to…
3. Communication – Communication is key to a successful team, not just communication from the leaders but in all directions. You need to keep the team informed of what’s happening and how the team is doing, but also listen to and understand their needs and opinions. Employees should feel safe, secure, valued and included at work; hence you should ensure you effectively communicate any changes to their work.
4. Feedback – Your team have a wealth of knowledge, that if harnessed well, will allow you and the team to achieve great results. Give appropriate feedback in a constructive and honest manner, allowing the employee to respond where needed. Have effective 121s and appraisals that allow for two-way feedback and offer relevant guidance support and training.
5. Know your employees – Understand what motivates your employees. Some employees will be motivated by money, whereas time off or flexible working will motivate others. If you understand what drives your team, you’ll be able to motivate them better.
6. Be fair with consequences – If you’re consistent, open and fair with under performance or issues that have arisen. E.g. persistent lateness, you’ll be able to manage your employees much easier! Employees will know where they stand and have a clear and consistent boundary. The team morale can be negatively affected if you don’t hold everyone accountable to the same standard.
7. Succession Planning – Coach, mentor and develop team members who want to progress within the company. Your open comms and 121s should allow you to understand who want to progress and at what speed. Make sure your teams know of upcoming opportunities and support them with their moves and development.
8. Follow though – Ensure you do what you said you’d do. If your team have asked for assistance, make time for them. You can’t hold them to account for missing deadlines if you fail to meet deadlines yourself!
9. Support mistakes – Allow your team to make mistakes, learn from them, embrace them and move forward from them. An organisation with a blame culture can be disastrous to team morale.
10. Time for a fuddle – As many of you know, here at HR180 most of our activities revolve around food, so and what better way to thank staff than with a fuddle? Each person brings in some food and we all sit and have lunch together. This promotes personal communication, builds relationships and allows everyone to get to know their work colleagues a little better!

If you’d like any more advice to help you show your appreciation for your employees, we’d love to help.  Just get in touch!