I was talking to someone the other day about showing appreciation – and how the smallest gesture can really mean a lot to someone.  As we fast approach the silly season, it’s easy to forget the little things and concentrate on giving your staff a great end of year party or a present to thank them for a great year.  Now I’m not saying don’t do those things (I’m sure many would be annoyed should my post be taken this way!) what I’m saying is, don’t forget about the gestures that you can do regularly for your staff to make them feel valued and go a long way to increasing engagement, retention, productivity, and enhancing your workplace culture.  

A study by Gallup shows highly engaged teams are responsible for a 23% increase in profitability, with a 81% difference in absenteeism, 18% difference in turnover and a 14% difference in productivity - What more could you want?

1. Just say ‘thank you’ – sometimes we forget why this is so important.  As simple at it is, a thank you goes a long way to show your appreciation.  Be specific about what you are thanking someone for, and why you appreciated it.
2. Listen and pay attention – put your phone down, turn away from your screen and listen to what someone is sharing with you.  It is super validating and goes a long way to strengthening relationships, creating trust and psychological safety.
3. Be real – recognise that people have lives outside the office.  Find out about personal interests and chat to your staff with genuine interest about their family, hobbies, weekends, or special events.  Then follow up and ask questions about these things to show you care about them.
4. Give someone a ‘shout-out’ or special mention for a job well done in a team meeting or all-staff communication – or even on your company socials.  Again, being specific about what it was that is deserving of appreciation.
5. Involve them in important discussions – let all the voices be heard when it comes to discussing changes or new people practices at work. There is no better way to make someone feel valued than when their thoughts and feedback is genuinely considered.
6. Create an employee recognition programme – set up a program that allows staff to recognise each other for a job well done on a daily basis.  Consult with your team to figure out what type of recognition programme would be most attractive to them.
7. Celebrate moments that matter – anniversaries, milestones, babies, graduations – find out what is important to your people and celebrate moments that matter when they happen.
8. Do what you say you are going to do – if you tell someone you are going to do something, do it.  It seems basic, but make sure you follow through.  “Forgetting” to do these things can make someone feel really undervalued.  Hold yourself accountable for things you promise your staff you’ll do.
9. Ask for and give feedback – this final point is so important.  Ensure you and your people managers are well trained in giving frequent feedback to the team and asking for it in return.  Check-in with your people, make sure you are doing regular 1:1s to keep on top of sentiment and morale.  And most importantly – make sure you act on feedback by implementing change (if you don’t act, you’ll be unlikely to get it again).

Without happy people that feel valued and respected, who is going to run your business?  It all sounds pretty simple, but you need to make sure you keep up the momentum by showing your appreciation regularly.  Creating a culture at work that places importance on appreciation will not only feel good, but it will also result in increased engagement, retention, higher performance, and a healthier profit margin.

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