While some managers might already show appreciation to team members, it helps to have dedicated appreciation and incentive programs in place. These programs ensure that if work gets stressful, the core value of appreciating your team remains in place.
Here are a few ways to make your employees feel appreciated, from small changes in how you give feedback to organization-wide reward programs.
Personalized recognition and rewards
One way to strengthen your employee recognition is through personalization. Each employee has different priorities and desires. One team member might want an extra vacation day while another wants a cash bonus or the ability to work on specific projects.
There are multiple ways to identify the types of rewards your employees want. You can survey team members or you can simply offer them multiple options when they receive recognition.
Regular feedback and communication
Team leaders within your organization can take steps to improve feedback opportunities. Instead of waiting for annual employee review meetings, develop fast feedback habits where you share observations and ideas with team members on a weekly or even daily basis.
Consistent, constructive feedback proves that you are keeping an eye on your team members and notice their hard work. Regular feedback can also help team members improve so they don’t make the same mistakes.
Take steps to evaluate your feedback methods. For example, morning meetings can help teams get on the same page for the day and share peer feedback within their departments. Weekly or monthly one-on-one meetings with managers can create space for employees to ask questions and share concerns.
You can’t expect your employees to improve without clear communication and feedback on how you would like them to change.
Professional development opportunities
Show your appreciation to your employees by investing in their futures. A recent survey found that 84% of employees want training and education opportunities. Not only will training better prepare employees to step into advanced roles, but it will help in their current jobs.
Your company can invest in several different development opportunities, from on-the-job training to mentorship programs. You can also create a budget for employees to attend external seminars each year, giving them fresh information to better do their jobs.
Employee involvement in decision-making
There are several benefits of involving your employees in the decision-making process. The first refers to team morale. Your staff can feel like their ideas matter and they will have more buy-in to projects because they have a say in the work. Bringing team members into the decision-making process can also create opportunities to hear fresh ideas and solutions to problems. Your company as a whole can be stronger.
You can embrace multiple strategies to foster a culture of idea-sharing. Have open-door policies or a suggestion system where people can share feedback. You can also create a culture where all levels of employees can ask questions and learn how the company works. Laying a foundation for learning can prepare employees for training and development so they are ready to step into more advanced roles in the future.
Work-life balance initiatives
Another key to employee happiness is to respect that they are human with lives and families outside of the workplace. Every manager can respect the work-life balance of employees by refraining from calling them outside of work hours and encouraging them to use their paid time off. Modern technology allows employers to reach employees at any day or time, which has become so toxic that some European countries have actually banned off-hours communication.
Some employers can also offer work-life balance incentives like remote work and flexible hours. An employee can briefly clock out to pick their kids up from school and then resume work once everyone is home.
Work-life balance initiatives prove that you value your team members while creating a great place for your staff to work. These policies can reduce turnover rates and make your workplace more desirable, helping you recruit top talent.
Public recognition and appreciation
Another zero-cost way to support employees is to publicly recognize their good work. You can highlight valuable team members during all-hands meetings or in company emails. This recognition shows that you notice their hard work and care about their contributions.
You can also develop awards that come with gifts or other perks to recognize your employees. These include employee of the month awards or performance-based awards.
Keep in mind that not every employee wants to be publicly lauded. Some workers will be overwhelmed by the hoopla and fanfare that comes with awards. Know your workers and identify team members who would prefer quiet appreciation instead, which will be just as meaningful to them.
Measuring the impact of employee recognition efforts
Now that you have an idea of how to make employees feel appreciated, take steps to implement these policies and track their success. Knowing that your efforts are paying off can help you further invest in them while measuring positive changes within your organization.
You can collect feedback on recognition initiatives in the same way that you give and receive insights on other company policies. Let team members share what works and what doesn’t with incentive programs. Keep an open channel for new ideas.
You don’t need to immediately develop a perfect recognition system as long as you are willing to improve on the one you have.
Effective tools for tracking employee performance
Before you can roll out a recognition system, you need plans in place for tracking employee performance. It’s impossible to see if employees are improving if you don’t know where they started.
Identify relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) that objectively measure employee performance. These measurements should be made transparent across your teams so employees know what to work toward. For example, KPIs could track the number of errors employees make or the number of jobs they complete each week.
Once you start tracking key metrics, recognize and reward employees for hitting valuable milestones. Employees will know that there are always opportunities to grow.
Utilizing performance management software
One of the easiest ways to track KPIs is with performance management software. This allows apps and tools to track performance so you don’t have to. You and your team can then review key metrics to make sure everyone is working as they should.
The features you look for in performance management tools will depend on your industry. For example, a company looking to improve its fleet management will track different KPIs than a marketing agency or manufacturing facility. You also might want features that provide context to the metrics. Using the fleet management example again, a company could look at video recordings of incidents to better understand outliers in data.
Employee recognition doesn’t need to be expensive or time-consuming. Performance management software allows managers to track team metrics while informal feedback and formal reward systems can keep employees engaged. Implement some of the ideas discussed here and see how they improve your workflows.
