10 Employee Appreciation Ideas Your Staff Will Love!
Employee appreciation day should never be limited to March 3rd. Over the years and across many employee appreciation days, organizations have come up with various terms and methods to discuss the simple concept of employee appreciation.
Whether you’re calling it employee kudos, praise, or the far more common employee recognition, the simple fact remains that if your employees feel they are being appreciated, there will be some immense benefits.
What are the benefits of employee appreciation? One doesn’t need to be a behavioral psychologist to assume that if employees feel they are being appreciated for all the hard work they are putting in, then they will be far more likely to feel engaged.
As we’ve discussed in our article “Why is employee engagement important? “, an engaged employee is a productive employee. Employee engagement is one of the leading employee performance metrics that should be tracked. It also plays a massive part as an employee retention metric !
Simply cutting to the chase: If you appreciate your employees, then they will appreciate your effort right back at you. That being said, showing just how much someone means to us isn’t always the easiest thing in life. That is no different in the workplace.
Finding effective ways to show employee appreciation can end up being a chore. Guess what? We took care of it for ya! Here are 23 ways to show employee appreciation!
23 ways to show employee appreciation
1. Use specific examples in your recognition
It’s easy to say “good job,” but it means a lot more when you can point to a specific project or task that they excelled at. While we all love a decent pat on the back, it simply doesn’t cut it anymore when it comes to employee praise. It is important to remember that every single recognition you give to someone has a story behind it. Storys have power. Use it!
Instead of simply saying “good job”, tell the story behind the job that was so good that it warranted recognition from the higher-ups! As you keep appreciating the stories of your employees, you will start to realize that you are a frequent positive character within those stories.
2. Employee Recognition Software
Making use of employee recognition software can be one of the best ways to show employee appreciation. Especially while working in remote models where recognition can’t be a simple pat on the back.
We highlighted some of the best recognition software available to consumers currently right here: Top Employee Recognition Software of 2024
That being said, if your organization uses Microsoft Teams on a day-to-day basis, then the best employee appreciation tool for you is Teamflect.
Teamflect is an all-in-one performance management software, designed specifically to be fully integrated into Microsoft Teams and it has the most comprehensive rewards and recognition module in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Including features such as:
Teamflect can help you implement a rewards and recognition program in your organization in a matter of minutes!
You can try Teamflect for absolutely free with full functionality, without having to create an account by clicking the link below!
3. Get personal with your appreciation
Speaking of stories; Call us sentimental all you want but we stand by our old-fashionedness when necessary. Nobody puts pen to paper anymore! A thoughtful note or small gift can go a long way in showing your employees that you value their hard work.
We just talked about how important the story behind each recognition is. If you take the time to appreciate just how unique each of those stories is, you’ll get to know your team on a much higher level.
If your employee praise or recognition truly feels genuine and unique to your employee, then you can rest assured you’ll be seeing that effort return to you 10-fold in terms of productivity and employee engagement .
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4. Give a public shoutout!
And finally, putting a neat little bow on the whole “Story” angle we had going on in this list: Every story needs a bard! We told you to focus on the full story and we told you to make your recognition unique and genuine.
Our third suggestion to you is to make it public. Everyone loves a bit of recognition in front of their peers. Plus, it’s a great way to build a positive team culture.
5. Create a “Wall of Fame”
Create a display where you can showcase your employees’ achievements. It’s a fun way to keep track of everyone’s accomplishments and encourage healthy competition.
You can have a lot of fun with this by not only using the wall of fame as a display but also as an active, ongoing leaderboard with challenges and rewards up for grabs! Healthy competition is a great employee engagement tool . If you follow that up with a dash of gamification, you end up with pure magic.
6. Encourage open communication
Let your employees know that their opinions and ideas are valued. Encourage them to speak up and provide feedback to help improve the workplace. Does this need further explanation? Every member of your team has a voice and an opinion that matters. If they didn’t, they never would’ve made it past the recruitment process anyway.
Giving your employees a platform to express their opinions and ideas shows just how much you appreciate them and lets managers spot employees with great ideas and leadership potential. A great way to hear your employees out is to make use of pulse surveys .
There is a wide array of tools available to leaders who wish to conduct pulse surveys within their organizations. You can find them here: Top Employee Pulse Survey Software .
7. Provide opportunities for team-building activities
Whether it’s a company retreat or a team outing, bonding and having fun with colleagues can help improve teamwork and communication. We put together a list of some of the best team-building activities for remote teams right here: Top 10 Virtual Teambuilding Activities .
8. Professional Development Opportunities
Whether it’s a conference or a training program, investing in your employee’s growth and development can show them that you value their skills and want to see them succeed. More often than not, employees have the sense that their organizations don’t invest nearly as much in them as they are investing in their organization. That is a straight path to having disengaged employees .
A great way to show that you are investing in your employees is through employee development opportunities. If your employees feel that you are seeing a future in them, then you can rest assured that they will start seeing a future in you.
9. Give your employees the gift of time.
If there is one perk you can offer that can compete with cold hard cash, it is time. It is the single most valuable commodity we humans possess and we spend a massive amount of it at work. Whether it’s a surprise day off or a flexible work schedule, giving your employees some extra time to relax and recharge can help improve their job satisfaction and motivation.
10. Create rituals
Weekly check-ins are underrated! We will stand by them until the day this blog crashes down! Using them to create rituals around the workweek. These rituals can vary anywhere from simple coffee hours to full-on trivia nights. No matter which direction you take, having this small nugget of excitement in the middle of the workday is always a welcome surprise.