We’ve all heard the horror stories of those jobs where someone’s underappreciated and undervalued. When you’re the boss, you don’t want to be the cautionary tale. You need to make employees feel appreciated and valued and that their work’s being noticed.
Meanwhile, ensuring them they’re not in the cross hairs and ready to be replaced.
As an employer, you have to ensure you make employees feel appreciated and valued in their workplace. There are lots of reasons for this. Most obviously, because it will make your employees enjoy coming into work, feel comfortable at work and allows them to produce their best work.
By doing this, there’s many things that can be done on behalf of the employer. Because at the end of the day, much of the aim is to create a culture that supports your employees. All the while giving the ability to produce great work. The best part about this, is that it doesn’t have to cost lots, it doesn’t have to be timely. Really, all that’s needed is good communication. After all, business is surely a relationship economy.
At the end of the day this is what both you and your employee want. So to help both of you meet these goals of great work and feeling valued, we’ve come up with six great tips to ensure your staff feel appreciated.
Leave a surprise Post-it Note
Optimises the ‘small gesture’ that can mean a lot. Leaving a small post-it note not only pleasantly surprises, but also shows you value them. Quickly writing a “great job!” or a simple “Thank you!” and sticking it to an employee’s desk or monitor really goes a long way. It effectively makes your employees feel appreciated and valued on a personal level.
Photo: Tim Gouw, Unsplash
Remembering the small details
Remember that quote from Steve Jobs’ Stanford University commencement speech in 2005, “sweat the small stuff”? Well, you should. Because, as it turns out, he was onto something. The common thought is to not sweat the small stuff. Yet as the world moves forward, it’s the details that are becoming more and more important.
When you remember and discuss the small details with your employees from a conversation you’ve had. Or a detail from some of their work, it will give them a greater feeling of appreciation as they know you actually listen to them.
This is a powerful tool, as many people don’t do it. Whether it be because they think its menial, embarrassing or whatever other reason. But it can be a great tool to bridge gaps and enhance relationships.
Spend time with your employees
Sure, employees can gain a great deal of satisfaction from a simple “thank you”, a bonus or pay rise. However, they feel valued the most when time is spent with the boss in a somewhat less conventional way. For example, taking an employee out for lunch or out for a coffee can be more than enough to motivate them and make your employees feel appreciated.
It can even be as easy as sitting down with them and discussing in depth their thoughts on the job. Or reviewing their performance in a personal manner and giving them some deserved feedback.
Photo: Unsplash
Public appreciation
Show your employees some deserved PDA, Public Displays of Appreciation. It’s been well documented that sometimes a simple gesture can often mean the most. The simplest being a “Thank you”. Do it at their desk so everyone can see/hear it, or publically at a team meeting.
Employees that are doing great work can be the people who need the recognition the most. So make employees feel appreciated by showing them your appreciation.
Encourage growth
Investing in your team can shows that you value them, while also showing that you want them with the company for the future. There are many great ways to do this. From paying for up-skilling courses, sending them on business trips or participating in conferences. If you want to keep the growth internal, tell them that you want them to take on more responsibility and provide them the means to succeed within the role.
Showing you care through these means can at times be costly if done externally from the office. However, can often be very rewarding for the company and the individual.
Be intentional with everyday conversations
A big part to make employees feel appreciated and in building relationships with your team is through effective and supportive communication. So when you speak to employees, make sure they realise that they bring something to the company that nobody else can.
It can be done in everyday conversations and can be an effective tool to build rapport. Go beyond the average “Here’s your next brief” and instead highlight their values within the company. For example, “You did a great job on your last project, here’s a new brief that I think you’ll be perfect for.”
Remember, the more you recognise your employees’ precise contributions to the ream, the more irreplaceable they’ll feel.
In Summary
To make employees feel appreciated can be difficult. Especially since, as an employer, you never really know what they’re thinking. However there are some great ways to give yourself and your business an edge through small gestures that will build rapport, improve motivation and ultimately make them feel valued.
Each person has different reasons as to why they get up in the morning. So by that logic, not everyone needs the same gesture to feel appreciated. From speaking on a personal level, rewarding them with growth opportunities or merely a “thank you”. There are many ways to show you appreciate an employee. Remember that it’s OK to single out an employee for doing something great. You’re not ostracising the rest of the team, merely rewarding and showing appreciation for someone who’s gone above and succeeded.
