Struggling with Employee Recognition? Try Reimagining Appreciation Instead.

Employee appreciation isn’t about pizza parties in the break room or giving a pat on the back. Sure, hosting fun events and compliments are great ways to appreciate and engage your employees. But effective employee engagement is about charting a path to further success for your employees and creating opportunities for their futures so they stay with you and flourish.

And so your small business will flourish, too.

The ROI on employee engagement is clear:

• Organizations with high engagement have 50% higher productivity, 44% higher profits, and 50% higher customer satisfaction.
• Organizations with employee recognition programs have 23.4% less turnover than organizations without.
• The cost of turnover is at least 20% of an employee’s salary and often much higher.
• Engaged employees are less likely to overextend vacation and sick days, reducing absenteeism (unearned PTO) by 41%.
• Engaged companies outperform disengaged companies by 5X.

So how do you reimagine employee appreciation and recognition?

Here are a few of our favorite ways.

1. Give Effective Feedback
   Be specific with your praise and recognition. Let your employee know exactly why he or she did an outstanding job or did the right thing. Also, let your employee know why their performance matters to the company and will help support the company’s goals.

2. Provide Public and Private Appreciation
   Show your employees appreciation privately and publicly.

Privately: in your next one-on-one with the employee, or in the moment the employee demonstrates great performance.

Publicly: recognizing the outstanding employee among their peers.

Both forms of employee recognition help to reinforce great behavior and increase engagement. Use both public and private appreciation often to maintain a great culture and keep those great employees!

1. Offer Timely Encouragement

Acknowledging an employee in the moment for a job well done lets your employee know you are noticing and you care. In other words, don’t wait until the annual review to let your employees know you care and appreciate them! On-the-spot feedback is essential for employee appreciation and retention.

2. Be Candid

Being candid doesn’t mean being brash or catching your employee off guard. It means being direct, open, and clear with your appreciation. Too often, managers and leaders avoid showing appreciation to employees because they don’t know what to say. You might fumble your words, but what your employee will hear is that you care enough to show appreciation.

3. Create a Culture of Noticing Great Work

Encourage and reward your employees to recognize each other when they do great work or go above and beyond. This is the opposite of some companies that encourage “tattletales.” When employees know they are being watched and rewarded for excellence, they tend to do better.

4. Commit to Starting a Real Employee Recognition Program

Employee recognition programs are proven to be essential for engagement, retention, and building a thriving culture. They also require effort to get off the ground. We recommend starting now and taking steps to create or improve your employee recognition program. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You don’t need to stand up a program overnight. But take steps in the right direction. Your employees will reward you for it, and you’ll see the ROI.

5. Enhance Your Employee Development Programs

These days, businesses are doing all they can to retain great talent. One of the best ways to do this is by fostering continuous learning and development programs. Help your employees to grow and create a ladder for future promotions and opportunities within your company. Look out for hidden skills that can be very valuable to your company and help your employees to cultivate those skills and potential.

6. Be Proactive With Remote Workers

In the office, it’s often easy to remember to show appreciation because you see your employees. But with your remote employees, out of sight, unfortunately, is often out of mind. Be intentional and proactive with letting your remote employees know you see them and appreciate them.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Reimagining employee appreciation ultimately comes down to being kind to your employees, helping them to grow, chart a path to future opportunities and prosperity in your company. Yes, it’s hard work. And yes, it’s worth it.

Interested in other current employment trends? Click the link to view the recent blog: Interested in other current employment trends? Click the link to view the recent blog: Why the Best Small Business Employee Handbooks Are Never Done or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits. or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.