Easy Ways To Show Appreciation to Your Employees

Showing appreciation to your employees is vital to maintaining a healthy and productive workplace. When team members feel appreciated and recognized, their likelihood of seeking new employment decreases significantly; 63% of frequently recognized team members are much less likely to search for a new job.

Recognizing your employees’ efforts and achievements can improve worker engagement, team morale, job satisfaction, and retention. In this guide, we’ll share some easy and creative ways to show employee appreciation, including verbal and non-verbal communication, personal gestures of gratitude, and creating a culture of staff appreciation within the company.

Communicate appreciation verbally

Want to show someone you appreciate their hard work? One of the easiest ways is just to say it. Verbal communication is a straightforward and effective way to show appreciation to your team members. This section explores several ways to express employee recognition verbally.

Say thank you

Workers who receive thanks are twice as likely to be highly engaged in their work, with an engagement rate of 60% compared to only 32% among those who do not receive appreciation.

The simple act of saying thank you to a team member can make a significant impact. Expressing gratitude for their hard work and dedication can boost employee morale and provide them with a sense of fulfillment in their job.

Praise publicly

Giving public praise or shout-outs to staff members for their hard work or achievements can be a powerful way to demonstrate appreciation. It shows that you value their contributions and can motivate other team members to work harder and strive for excellence in a positive work environment.

Public praise does not need to be elaborate, and should be tailored to accommodate introverts or people with social anxieties. Managers can offer public praise during team meetings to acknowledge an employee’s exceptional performance on a recent project, highlighting specific tasks or skills they excelled at. Or they can catch someone while they’re with a few peers and offer the same praise in what might be a less stressful setting.

Give constructive feedback

Constructive feedback can help employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Constructive feedback should always be given alongside positive feedback to prevent team members from feeling discouraged.

For example, when giving feedback, managers could highlight specific instances where the worker excelled and provide specific examples of their exceptional performance. After acknowledging their strengths, the manager could provide constructive feedback on areas where improvement is needed while offering actionable suggestions for achieving these improvements.

Be specific with compliments

When giving compliments or recognition, be specific about a team member’s accomplishments to make a more significant impact. Specific praise shows you pay attention to their work and value their contributions. Simply telling an employee they did good work without specifying the praise comes off as contrite and offers no direction for further talent development.

An example of specific praise would be a manager saying, “I was impressed with how you handled the difficult situation in yesterday’s meeting. You demonstrated excellent communication skills, and your solution was effective and efficient.”

Specific compliments provide team members with feedback they can use to improve their work. It gives them a better understanding of what they’re doing well so they can continue to use those skills and be successful in their roles.

Non-verbal ways to show appreciation

It’s one thing for your boss to say they appreciate you — it’s another for them to show you that appreciation. There are many non-verbal ways to show you appreciate your employees’ hard work. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Recognize achievements

Employees who experience appreciation and recognition are three times more likely to believe their work has significance and purpose. One way to help team members feel more appreciated is to recognize their achievements formally. Examples of hard work you can recognize include exceeding sales goals, demonstrating exceptional leadership or teamwork, completing a challenging project on time, obtaining a new certification or degree, or delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Recognition can be as simple as an appreciation gift like a certificate or plaque or as elaborate as celebrating Employee Appreciation day with a special team lunch or happy hour outing. Other ideas for recognition include extra time off, pay bonuses, Employee of the Month programs, and professional growth and development opportunities. The key is to find a form of recognition that is proportionate to the hard work that has been done.

Offer flexibility

Flexibility is one employee appreciation idea that’s seriously underrated. Remote work has been shown to increase employee happiness by as much as 20%. To show appreciation for great work, offer your team flexible work arrangements like remote work or day-off options to accommodate appointments and personal obligations. Having flexibility built into your business can also help with employee retention. Nearly 30% of remote workers say they would quit if they could no longer work remotely.

Celebrate milestones

Celebrating a worker’s personal milestones, such as birthdays, weddings, or a new child, can show you care about them as a person, not just an employee. You could recognize these special occasions with a personalized card, a small gift, or a team celebration in the break room.

If personal milestones are too tricky to track, aim to keep up with professional milestones like a work anniversary, special certification, or promotion. Recognizing loyalty shows new employees their hard work and commitment are valued and appreciated.

Provide perks and incentives

Offering perks and incentives is a great way to show appreciation to workers and improve their job satisfaction. For example, health and wellness benefits like gym memberships, fitness classes, or partial reimbursement for exercise equipment show that the company values team member health and well-being.

Other ideas for perks and incentives include:

• Featuring team members on social media
• Professional development opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Training or certification programs
• Continuing education conferences
• Paid time off
• Extra personal days
• Vacations

Give personal gestures of appreciation

‍

Personal gestures of appreciation show that you value and appreciate your workers as individuals. Here are some thoughtful and personal gestures you can show.

Write personalized notes

Handwritten notes or messages expressing gratitude and appreciation can be a thoughtful way to show your team members that you care. A thank you note detailing a job well done is a simple way to show appreciation. For remote employees, you can send personalized messages via email, Slack, or good old-fashioned snail mail.

Give small gifts

While tokens of appreciation should be commensurate with the effort being recognized, not every gesture needs to be grand. Small gifts are a great way to frequently show employee appreciation.

Here are a few of our favorite small gifts ideas:

• Gift cards to a local coffee shop, restaurant, or store
• Bringing in food for a team lunch in the break room
• Gift baskets filled with snacks, office supplies, or other small items
• Company swag like water bottles, notebooks, or tote bags

Provide growth opportunities

Career development is key to team member satisfaction and retention; 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if the company invested in their career development. Growth opportunities are an investment in your team that can pay off through increased productivity and job satisfaction.

The following are a few ways employers can provide and encourage growth opportunities.

• Send employees to conferences. Sending workers to industry conferences is an excellent way to learn new skills, network with peers, and gain exposure to new ideas and trends. The company should cover the cost of the conference registration, travel, and lodging.
• Enroll employees in online courses. Online courses are a flexible and cost-effective way for team members to learn new skills or gain knowledge in their field. Employers can provide access to online courses or even create a customized training program that meets their specific needs.
• Offer tuition reimbursement. Many companies offer tuition reimbursement programs to benefit their employees. This allows employees to pursue higher education or professional certifications that will benefit the worker and the company. Employers can limit the reimbursement amount or require the employee to maintain a certain GPA or pass rate.
• Provide on-the-job training. On-the-job training can be helpful for workers to learn new skills or gain experience in different company areas. Employers can assign mentors or provide job shadowing opportunities to help new employees learn from experienced colleagues.
• Encourage employees to seek out growth opportunities. Employers can encourage team members to seek growth opportunities by creating a culture of continuous learning. This can include providing resources such as books or articles, hosting lunch and learns, or allowing workers to attend external training sessions.

Creating a culture of appreciation

Almost half of all workers who feel recognized and appreciated for their work are happy in their job (47%), compared to just 11% of workers who don’t feel appreciated. Creating a culture of appreciation is crucial to ensuring that all team members feel valued, happy, fulfilled, and motivated. Here are some tips to help encourage this culture in your company.

Set the tone at the top

Management should set the tone for company culture. To create a culture of appreciation, management and company leaders should demonstrate and promote workplace recognition. This includes creating a work environment that celebrates appreciation and regularly recognizes team members for their contributions and achievements.

Encourage company leaders to express appreciation and recognition in both private and public employee interactions. Have leaders ask for feedback from their team members on how they can improve their recognition and appreciation efforts. This can help identify areas for improvement, ensure leaders are meeting their team’s needs and expectations, and demonstrate effective appreciation in the workplace for other team members to emulate.

Encourage peer recognition

Encouraging peer recognition is a powerful way to foster a culture of appreciation within an organization, department, or team. We’ve already outlined many employee appreciation ideas, but how do you encourage staff members to continue recognition efforts and make it a part of your company culture?

Here are some ideas for how managers can encourage more peer recognition.

• Communicate the importance of peer recognition. Managers can communicate to their teams the value of peer recognition. Explain how it contributes to a positive workplace culture, builds team relationships, and increases worker engagement.

• Implement employee recognition programs. Employee recognition programs, like Bonusly, can be used to encourage peer recognition. These programs allow team members to give points or rewards to their coworkers for a job well done.
• Create opportunities for peer recognition. Managers can create opportunities for peer recognition by creating a recognition board or setting aside time during team meetings for team members to recognize one another’s exceptional work.

Check in regularly

Employee burnout is a common problem in the workplace and can lead to decreased productivity, engagement, and overall job satisfaction. Nearly 3 in 5 workers report work-related stress and burnout, citing a lack of interest, motivation, or energy.

Employers should regularly check in with their team members to prevent burnout and show appreciation for worker well-being. Checking in regularly can help managers identify potential burnout early on and take steps to address it.

Regular check-ins can be informal, such as a quick conversation before a meeting or during a coffee break. They can also be more formal, like scheduled one-on-one meetings or performance reviews.

During these check-ins, managers should ask workers how they are doing, if they feel overwhelmed or stressed, and if they need more support. Managers can also discuss workload, deadlines, and priorities to ensure team members aren’t taking on too much and can manage their workload effectively.

Incorporate appreciation into company values

Incorporating appreciation as a company value can help create a workplace culture of gratitude and recognition. Business leaders can incorporate appreciation as a standard in their workplace by making it a part of their company values. This can be done through a mission statement emphasizing appreciation and recognition.

Leadership can also incorporate appreciation into performance evaluations by adding a section that specifically focuses on positive feedback and recognition. Leaders can implement a company-wide recognition program to encourage team members to recognize each other for their hard work and accomplishments. This can be done through a point system, regular company-wide emails, social media, or peer recognition.

Hire great employees with Upwork

Looking to implement employee recognition programs and initiatives in your company but need some help getting started? Consider hiring an employee relations specialist on Upwork.

An employee relations specialist is a professional experienced in managing and improving relationships between workers and employers. They can help you design and implement employee recognition programs, develop employee engagement strategies, and build a positive workplace culture.

When hiring an employee relations specialist, look for someone with experience in your industry and a track record of success in developing employee recognition programs and initiatives. They should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a deep understanding of employee engagement and motivation.

With Upwork’s global network of freelancers, you can find the perfect specialist for your company, no matter where you’re located. Hire an employee relations specialist on Upwork today and take the first step toward creating a more engaged, motivated, and successful workforce.