5 simple ways to show employees appreciation

Have you ever been in a workplace where the job satisfaction and morale of employees is low, often resulting in rumours, tense attitudes, difficulty in concentration and eventually high turnover? Research has shown that by simply showing your appreciation to employees that the overall engagement and productivity of workplace will increase dramatically!

Employees that feel appreciated and valued by their employers feel more motivated to go the extra mile for the company, and deliver on results and targets. In addition, they feel happy with their roles and will be more inclined to stay long-term with the business.  This brings you reduced costs in resolving conflict and delays that may potentially be the result of employee dissatisfaction, and increased performance all round!

So, here are 5 simple ways that any employer can show their employees real and effective appreciation:

1. Be transparent and clear

When giving feedback and comments on the work of employees, give them the honest and direct truth. By being vague and protecting them from reality, you will let them continue to make the same inaccurate assumptions and mistakes, reducing the quality of work output in your company. Apart from mistakes, be sure to always bring up even small successes and positive achievements with your staff, and articulate that even if their achievement was small, it can have much larger connotations for the business. This will re-establish an important ongoing positive feeling that their role has a larger influence than they may think.

2. Provide opportunities for new experiences

When your employees show interest in an area that is different to the one they usually work in, pay attention so you can provide them an opportunity to broaden their skill set. If you don’t have a task for them that suits their growing interest straight away, be sure to ask them more questions to see if there’s something similar, and take note of what they’d like to work on. This will not only give employees the chance to continuously improve their skill set, but will allow for flexibility in the workplace when changes occur in projects or overall staff size.

3. Reward performance appropriately

For example, if a team has successfully secured a deal with a difficult client, or fixed a large problem, you can take employees to a group lunch as a reward or sign of appreciation. Becoming more formal with rewards such as group emails or ‘employee of the month’ systems is another idea, but be sure to keep competition friendly and engaging rather than ‘us vs. them’.

Other easy ideas include:

• Leaving notes written work with what you liked and why you think it will have positive outcomes
• Encouraging staff  to leave on time or early if they’ve really been pushing themselves
• Let staff know what new projects or benefits await them upon achieving certain targets, and DELIVER!

4. Don’t act like you don’t care, relate to your staff

Refrain from being cold and unapproachable, instead, show that you care for the wellbeing of your employees. Acknowledge staff member’s birthdays with a simple happy birthday wish, or a morning tea to show that you care for them; not only professionally but also at a personal level.  Keep an open door policy and give your staff time, even if it has to be quick. If your employee has a problem, empathise and take time to talk to them about it. You can share your similar situation that you’ve experienced and how you overcame that situation. By putting yourself on their level and showing your imperfections or vulnerabilities, you can help them face their challenges and enjoy the benefits of leading by example.

5. Be creative and set yourself apart

A high salary is not the only thing that attracts a potential employee; job perks and benefits are also taken into consideration when deciding to work with a company. The benefits and perks don’t have to be costly; they just have to show that you appreciate the effort they’ve put in.  A good example is a personal trainer that comes to the workplace twice a week and does a boot camp. This promotes the health of employees and gives them the chance to get to know other co-workers during boot camp. Other uncostly ideas include being flexible with work times right after a busy period, encouraging everyone to bring food to share, or simply encourage friendly activities outside of work hours.

Getting delegation right

When done right, delegating tasks to staff can increase productivity within the organisation while offering opportunities for employees to further develop new knowledge and skills. However, inappropriately delegating tasks to unsuitable employees can be both time-consuming and ineffective. Here are a few tips to improve the delegation process:

 Assess and pick the right employee

Successful delegating requires an understanding of your employee’s capabilities and their readiness to accept more responsibilities. Ensure that the requirements of the task are aligned with your employees’ abilities and interests.

Include employees in the delegation process 

Collaborating with employees during the delegation and decision-making process can encourage them to commit to the decisions made. Discuss with your employee what the task involves, how it should be done, and the reasons why it needs to be done.

Clearly define the outcomes of the task 

To ensure that the employee completes the task effectively, you should outline the objectives and standards for the task. By having a clear understanding of what is required, employees have better opportunities to be creative in finding ways to complete the delegated tasks.

Articulate performance outcomes 

Ensure that employees understand the importance of the delegated work and the outcomes of completing the task for both you and the employee. Understanding the rewards and consequences of completing the delegated task can act as an incentive for employees to effectively and efficiently complete it.

Have employees recommend solutions when there are problems arising from the task 

By encouraging employees to find solutions, this prevents any prospect of upward delegation (i.e., employees turning to you to solve every problem they encounter when completing the delegated task). In addition, it encourages employees to be more creative and innovative in solving problems.

Whilst effective delegating requires time, it is worth the effort. By delegating effectively, you will provide opportunities for your staff to engage in important and challenging work while at the same time clearing your schedule to work on more important projects. Over time you will notice less 'operational' questions or a reliance on your decisions, and a pick up of when things should be completed by and what quality is acceptable.

 Need assistance managing your leaders?

Psych Press has several options available, such as quick and cost effective online assessment, face to face coaching to identify which performance areas need development, and working with the strengths and weaknesses of the individual to form a long term plan of how your workers can better meet organisational goals through effective delegation.
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