Employee Appreciation: Gratitude as a productivity tool

Employees are undoubtedly one of the most essential resources of the organisation. While we take utmost care of all our tools, technologies and equipment, why do we forget to take care of our employees every now and then? Employees are human, and unlike machines that require large investment and care, they only need a hint of appreciation and humane touch to stay dedicated and engaged in their work. 

In this article, we will read in detail about employee appreciation and recognition and their importance to the organisation. We will also discuss some tips and tricks which can help you appreciate your employee’s time and keep them connected to the organisation.

What is Employee Appreciation?

Recognising the hard work of your employees and rewarding them for their extra effort every now and then is known as employee appreciation. It is a process that is continuous and must be carried out by the employers timely to keep the employees engaged and satisfied. It prevents you from facing a situation where your employees might become demotivated or lose interest in the job or the role offered to them. 

Also, it helps improve employee engagement and retention rate and thus saves a lot of unwanted costs on the part of the employers. Also, a highly motivated and diligent employee provides a lot of benefits in terms of business, revenue and fulfilment of organisational goals for the business.  

The simple act of acknowledging the contribution of the employees in achieving the organisational goals is known as employee appreciation. It adds value to your overall business environment and workplace culture. There are multiple types of appreciation, which include- 

• Peer-to-peer appreciation- where one or more employees appreciate the work of a fellow employee or a high-performing team member. 
• Manager appreciation- where the managers appreciate the efforts and contributions of an employee. 
• Event-based appreciation- in which positive and meaningful feedback or words of appreciation are rendered to the employee at a special occasion or exceptional accomplishment. 
• Regular appreciation- which is just like a boost to the employees on a regular basis to keep their morale high. 
• Formal recognition program- where the employees receive appreciation in the form of an award, certificate, mention in the newsletter, or any other formal way. 
• Informal appreciation- which is just like a regular talk with the mention of words such as “good job”, or a pat on the back, etc. 

Appreciation uplifts the mood of the employees and encourages them to work harder for the company. Therefore, appreciation, whether formal or informal, is quintessential for organisations that wish to keep their employees engaged and retained for longer periods.  

Benefits of Employee Appreciation

While appreciating a person for good work is a morally nice thing to do, it also has strategic significance for the organisation. Employee recognition program can add value to your business in multiple ways, some of which are mentioned below-  

• Building a Positive and Ideal Company Culture

Making the employees feel appreciated and recognised for their work makes them want to continue working with your firm for longer periods. They consider the company to be a significant part of their lives, and a contributor to the creation of a healthy and joyful environment. Consequently, they are ready to put extra effort into instant or important tasks. Today, employees want more than a good wage- they want an ideal company culture that is positive and rewarding. Therefore, you must recognise the efforts of your employees to let them know how much you value them. 

• Reducing Employee Turnover

Employee turnover rate is the rate at which employees tend to resign from your organisation in a given period. A higher turnover rate implies more expenditure and loss for the organisation. The cost of employee turnover per employee goes around $15000 for the organisation. On the contrary, employee retention implies that the employees tend to stay with the organisations for a long time. With the help of constant appreciation, you can ensure that the employee turnover rate of your firm goes down, and the retention rate goes up. Your employees tend to stick with you during the good and the bad times.  

• Enhancing the Loyalty of the Employees

Loyal employees are more productive and provide better results to organisations. Employee appreciation and meaningful recognition help the organisation in procuring the loyalty of the employees. When the employees feel welcomed and consider themselves as an important part of the entire team, their productivity, efficiency and engagement increase significantly, which brings in revenue and growth for the organisation.  

• Improving Employee Engagement

Data says that only 30-35% of the total workforce in the US is engaged with its organisation. This is because of the lack of effort of the organisation in appreciating and rewarding the employees. If you want to ensure high levels of employee engagement which can help improve the working of the organisation significantly. You must start celebrating the accomplishments of your employees and express appreciation towards their work. This will fill your employees with optimism and improve their performance and creativity.  

• Boosting Productivity

Reports suggest that 69% of employees tend to work harder if they are provided with constant appreciation and meaningful recognition. These include basic activities such as praise or meaningful feedback, which want the employees to put in more effort for the organisation. The employees start showing improved performance and become an essential part of the company’s success. Even the top talent of the organisation will turn down opportunities from other companies if they feel attached to the company. 

• Fostering Employee Happiness

In the present times, issues such as employee morale and happiness have gained significance. The employees spend a lot of their time in the office every week, and thus having a strong culture and environment at work is essential for employee wellness and mental health and happiness. Therefore, employers must try to improve the employee experience as much as possible and offer them a higher sense of well-being and employee satisfaction.  

• Bringing in the Best Talent

If you aim to recruit the best talent across the industry, you must ensure that your work environment is good enough for them. You can add practices in the form of employee appreciation programs to improve your company culture. This will help you attract the best talent who want much more than good pay- a progressive and developmental positive company culture good for their mental health and employee wellness. You can also have a regular incentives program, which helps motivate the people at work and represents the optimistic future of the company. This builds up a good reputation for your company and helps you attract top talent.  

• Better Customer Experience

When your customers interact with highly motivated and supportive employees, they automatically feel good about their relationship with the company. This can be achieved only if your employees are happy and feel appreciated at work. Well-compensated, respected and recognized employees go the extra mile to satisfy the clients of the organisation, and maintain healthy relationships with them.  

• Aligning With the Core Values

If you want your employees to align with the core values of your organisation, you must ensure that their efforts are given meaningful recognition. When the employees feel valued and recognised, they commit to the missions and company values. Therefore, firms must invest in a culture of recognition to embed the company values in the hearts of the employees. 

How to Show Appreciation For Employees? 

It is not necessary that the company spends a fortune on keeping the employees engaged and happy. Small gestures and words of appreciation will do the trick. Mentioned below are a few tips as to how you can show gratitude to your employees-  

• Acknowledge employee accomplishments- whenever your employee does something out-of-the-box and highly creative, you must not hesitate to appreciate them right away. To make the maximum impact, the managers must show their appreciation in person, by congratulating them or offering them a few words of appreciation. 

• Write appreciation notes- You can also give a smile to your employees by writing them appreciation notes with positive feedback. The employees will post them to their cabins, and every time they see them, they will feel motivated to do hard work for the organisation. You can write a personal note or an email in your words, congratulating them genuinely for their extra effort. 

• Thank the team members publicly- Public employee recognition platform is more effective than any other form of expression. If a high-performing team or a team member has accomplished something, you must offer them public recognition and speak up a few words about their achievements in team meetings or by taking out time. You can also write about the achievement in your newsletter. 

• Create regular events- You must organise events weekly or monthly, to congratulate the best or the most hard-working employees. You can set up designations such as “employee of the month” to appreciate your employees whenever they put in extra effort or bring in more business. 

• Offer financial incentives- Apart from mere words, you can also offer financial incentives to the high-performing team members who have made significant achievements for the firm. After all, it will be just a small cut of your profit, but it will have a huge impact as it will motivate all the employees to work harder.  

Final Words

Employee appreciation and a culture of recognition is not a difficult or demanding task if done strategically. It can offer amazing benefits for the organisation and requires only a little input from the managers. Lack of recognition can be harmful to employee performance, and thus every awesome employee must be recognised and appreciated. Therefore, start appreciating your employees today if you haven’t already, and witness the change in the attitude and productivity of your employees! \

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 FAQs

1. How can you appreciate our employees?

Ans- You can appreciate your employees through words of acknowledgement, gestures and tokens of thanks every now and then, especially when they perform a good job. 

2. Why is employee appreciation necessary?

Employee appreciation is essential to keep the employees engaged and motivated in the company culture. 

3. When is employee appreciation day?

The 3rd of March every year is celebrated as employee appreciation day in the United States.