Today marks Employee Appreciation Day and, with the year we’ve all, it comes well deserved.
However, it isn’t just a once a year event. Employees should be shown appreciation all year round.
By showing your employees how much they mean to you, you can raise morale and increase productivity. But it shouldn’t just be about boosting numbers. Your employees are people with lives and goals outside of work, and its important to appreciate that too.
Make sure their Work is Meaningful
Making sure that your employees know that the work they do for you is meaningful. This is an excellent way of showing your appreciation for them. Giving feedback on projects and how they’ve helped the company can help give meaning to the work your employees do. Updating spreadsheets and filing reports might feel mundane to some people, but if you show them how their work impacts clients and other employees, it can feel all the more meaningful.
Be Understanding in the Current Circumstances
In the age of remote working and the home office, keeping productive can be hard for even the most regimented among us.
Seeing a dip in productivity may be alarming but is to be expected under these stressful times.
Working from home brings distractions and new challenges that can be unexpected and hard to get along with at first.
Being flexible with deadlines and understanding the pressures of the current situation is a great way to show employee appreciation.
Physical Treats are Nice, but Don’t Substitute for Real Appreciation
Many people will suggest that the best way to appreciate your employees is to buy cakes and treats on the day.
On the surface, this may seem like a great idea, but it doesn’t substitute for real appreciation throughout the year and may end up seeming disingenuous and transparent.
Putting in real effort with your employees throughout the year is a much better way of keeping employees happy, rather than just giving them a nice cake once a year.
Of course, that doesn’t mean actual treats won’t be appreciated (who doesn’t love to receive a surprise box of brownies?) but they definitely don’t substitute for the real thing.
Say Thank You
It may seem simple but thanking employees for the things they do is a simple daily way of showing your appreciation to your employees.
Being kind and courteous is a great way to make someone feel appreciated for their time and effort. By sharing your thanks to your employees, you also encourage a culture of kindness within the office and in turn will help employees show appreciation for one another.
Respect their Time Outside of Work
It may be tempting to send work emails on the weekend or ask a simple favour to be done out of the office, but a great way of appreciating your employees is by respecting their time outside of work.
With everyone working from home, it’s become harder to keep a sustainable work-life balance but respecting employees time away from the office is one of the best ways to show appreciation for the work they do at the home office.
Keeping employee satisfaction high can be a tough balancing act, but EffectiveHRM is here to help. If you feel like you need help showing appreciation or just want to make sure you’re doing enough, contact us for help and advice.