7 Employee Appreciation Ideas They Will Truly Value

Showing your employees you appreciate their hard work or willingness to go “above and beyond” is more than merely a nice gesture. It also boosts employees’ motivation and productivity and improves retention rates.

How can you show employees appreciation in ways they’ll truly value – and that won’t break your company’s budget? Here are seven ideas:

  1. Keep a “good book.” A “good book” is a book in which any staff member can record a good deed, successful accomplishment, or other positive task another employee undertook. The book is available for staff to review at their leisure, and can be read aloud at weekly meetings to provide positive peer recognition and encourage everyone to do their best.
  2. Give people time for their passions. Make time in every workweek for employees to work on a project they’re passionate about, whether or not it relates to their job description – or even to the work your company does. When you give people space to do what they love, they feel appreciated and understood, and they respond with a greater investment in their work.
  3. Recognize employees on social media. Don’t keep employee appreciation inside the company: Take photos and make announcements on social media as well. You’ll spread the word about the great work being done at your company and position your organization as one that cares about its people – which can give you a great recruitment boost.
  4. Make recognition a daily habit. Employee appreciation feels like it should be a “special event,” but pushing recognition off until the weekly meeting or the annual banquet is a recipe for missing the everyday miracles your staff pulls off. Instead, make it a habit to recognize great work as it occurs. You’ll “catch people doing well,” which will encourage them to do better.
  5. Don’t take employee recognition too seriously. While items like certificates and plaques can be valued, employees may also enjoy more “fun” items, like candy or small toys – for instance, a superhero action figure for a team member who gave “heroic” effort on the latest project.
  6. Make it a game. Using items like “experience points,” “leveling up,” and rewards for completing certain tasks can make it more fun for employees to go the extra mile.
  7. Ask employees how they’d like to be recognized. Recognizing employees in ways that feel awkward or gratuitous to them is akin to not recognizing them at all. Ask your team what forms of recognition mean the most to them in order to give them recognition they will truly value.

At THE RIGHT STAFF, our experienced recruiters can help you find and keep the best talent available in the Minnesota and Wisconsin. Contact us today to learn more.

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