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“I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers, and that people flourish when they are praised.” – Richard Branson
Today is Employee Appreciation Day. As a good boss it is absolutely imperative to show your colleagues how much you value them. Here are 5 ways to show your appreciation more at work, today and everyday…
One of the best ways to show your appreciation as a boss is to cultivate your employees by providing them with opportunities for career growth. This could mean implementing new resources to expand their horizons or offering free tuition to courses. For instance, UX (User Experience) courses for online marketing firms allows employees to expand their knowledge and adds value to the company. Courses such as these can, therefore, present a direction for employees. It will show that you believe in their natural talent and want to enhance this, supporting them in taking opportunities to explore projects outside the scope of their usual duties. Career growth opportunities truly demonstrate that you recognise the potential of your employees.
“The role of the CEO is to enable people to excel, help them discover their own wisdom, engage themselves entirely in their work, and accept responsibility for making change.” – Vineet Nayar, Author
It is well known that creating a supportive healthy workplace is becoming increasingly important. In fact, a recent study led by the World Health Organisation estimates that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year in lost productivity. But, supporting the health and well-being of your employees is also a vital way to prove that you appreciate them. With this, it highlights that you and the company recognize their life outside of the job. After all, a happy worker is the most productive.
Consequently, as the boss you should implement a wellness program that rewards employees for healthy activities. This will encourage a healthy lifestyle and inspire a level of self-improvement. However, a wellness program should also include flexible scheduling with working hours, enabling people to execute a work-life balance. This allows employees to spend time with their family, be involved in charities and exercise self-care. So, show that you appreciate your employees by cultivating a space which encourages health and well-being.
When your day is incredibly busy, sometimes it can be difficult to slow down and acknowledge the work of those around you. Nevertheless, acknowledging the hard work of others is a fruitful way of showing your appreciation. Congratulate them on a job well done but chiefly, really recognise exactly what has been done well. Give your compliment direction and then, say thank you. Consistently expressing gratitude establishes a positive environment to bolster employees. A prime example of how to do this well is Badger Maps where founder and CEO Steven Benson, revealed they schedule in time to give “props to each other”. In order to properly recognize co-workers for their accomplishments, they all set aside some time at the end of every Friday. In this meeting, anyone “on the team can give ‘props’ to anyone else on the team, which fosters an atmosphere of appreciation, respect and teamwork.” Certainly it seems like a winning formula.
“When a manager recognizes an employee’s behavior, personally and sincerely, both feel proud, gratified, and happy. There’s a human connection that transcends the immediate culture to create a shared bond. The power of this bond is stronger than you might think; indeed, it’s the power that holds together great organizational cultures.” – Erik Mosley and Derek Irvine, Authors
It is crucial to give your employees a voice, a stake in the company, if they are to feel appreciated. This means creating an environment to encourage people to speak up is important to sustainable success. It can support creativity and ensures people have responsibility within the company. If you wish to formalize this, then a quarterly anonymous feedback form can be a powerful way to afford your employees a space to voice their ideas and even concerns. Otherwise, simply asking someone’s opinion on a topic or issue in an informal setting highlights that you value their point of view.
Building a team environment is a crucial way to show appreciation at work. It is paramount to cultivate relationships and share memories together. As such, hosting events for everyone is key. This does not have to be a weekly or even monthly large occasion, all that is required is a quarterly or biannual event. At Maxwell-Scott, we always have a summer and Christmas party, as well as smaller gatherings like special lunches in the office for someone’s birthday. This way we are able to spend time together without talking about work itself. Hosting events for the whole company then, is a wonderful way to show your appreciation more at work and develop strong bonds.
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
If you want to show your appreciation in a more tangible way, our corporate gifting programme can provide gifts tailored to your company.