Six Unique Ways To Show Your Employees Your Appreciation

Your employees are the backbone and soul of your business. Their dedication and loyalty can be an inspiration to you and other employees, bringing a sense of purpose and excellence that might otherwise be lacking in your organization.

Unfortunately, many companies forget about their top people when it comes to rewarding them for their efforts. If you want your best people to continue to give their best efforts and results, it is essential that they feel appreciated and rewarded for doing so, and here are some ways to do just that.

Express Your Appreciation with Gifts and Food

Rewarding your employees is a way of showing your appreciation for their dedication and hard work. For instance, getting the best non alcoholic wine is a good appreciation gift for your employees. It’s classy yet thoughtful and respects other people’s sentiments. You can also show appreciation with baked treats or other gifts that are useful yet inexpensive enough to be within the budget of an average employee.

You can also consider gifting food items that are common in your office’s location or culture. For instance, if your office is located in North America, fresh-baked donuts are a practical gift. If you have employees based in Asian countries, green tea can be an excellent form of appreciation.

Give Time Off for Good Performance

It can be tough having to come up with new and exciting ways to reward your employees when the traditional ones have already been used so many times in the past. One of these tried-and-tested methods that you can use is giving your top performers a chance to take some time off.

If you manage a small business, consider allowing them to take an extra week of vacation. On the other hand, if your company is larger and has more resources at its disposal, you can give all your top performers time off for good performance by planning special events that only they will get to attend.

Make Work Flexible

Flexible work schedules and work from home or on-the-job arrangements can be a big relief for your employees, and it will show them that you value their time and efforts. This is important because most of today’s educated workforce works in multiple roles; many even juggle responsibilities as parents, caregivers for an elderly relative, etc.

Employees need workplace flexibility to appoint their time as per their convenience and the freedom to work from home. Once they know that you recognize this fact, they may reciprocate by working diligently and with a sense of fulfillment.

Allow Them to Speak Up

Giving opportunities to your employees to voice their opinions and suggestions is another great way of showing them your appreciation. You can do this through regular meetings where you ask for feedback; they share their ideas or solutions to problems they see at work.

It will surely be beneficial if you act on some of the good points they bring up to have the desired impact. In fact, this will show that you genuinely care about their contributions and value them as individuals.

Recognize their Families

You can also show appreciation for your employees by recognizing the contributions of their families. Having support at home is pivotal to an individual’s success in taking on professional challenges, meeting targets and completing initiatives.

For instance, you could reward members of your team who recently received a diploma or degree with a gift basket that contains items that their family members would find practical and helpful. This could include things like chocolate, coffee or other food items that many families commonly eat during special occasions.

Offer Training Opportunities

Training is one of the best ways to develop your employees’ skill sets to perform better at work. You can offer training opportunities to your employees by letting them attend specialized courses that will polish their skills, broaden their knowledge base and enhance their value within the organization.

In some cases, you can also hire an external trainer or coach to conduct a work-related workshop for your staff members. If your budget is limited, consider inviting a guest speaker who has a lot of experience in the field that employees are working in.

Final Thoughts

Employees who feel appreciated at work are more likely to work harder, take pride in their jobs and perform better for your company. Valuing them is also good for the overall morale of your organization and can help raise productivity.

With these creative ways, you can show appreciation to your employees. As long as you let them know how much you appreciate their work, they are sure to reciprocate with their hard work and commitment.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.