Your employees are, by far, your most valuable asset. You understand the importance of providing development opportunities through training and workshops. After all, when employees are given the space to grow, they are more likely to grow within your organization, rather than looking for employment elsewhere.
While this personal and professional development is incredibly important to keep employees happy, there’s another piece to the equation. How seriously do you take appreciation and recognition within your organization? Do employees know how much you value them or has this aspect been overlooked?
As humans, we all crave appreciation and recognition to some degree. While a paycheck is nice (and necessary), your employees want to know that you care about them, appreciate the effort and energy they put in every day, and value the skills and gifts they bring to the table. A simple, “I am so grateful you’re a part of this team” can mean the world to a stressed, overworked employee. It can be the difference between them showing up for work the next day, refreshed and eager to tackle their responsibilities, and them calling in sick and perusing job postings on LinkedIn.
When employers do not acknowledge their team members, employees are likely to feel dissatisfied in their roles, resentful of management, and disloyal to the organization. When this happens, the culture suffers and, eventually, you’ll see increasing turnover rates as employees quit and head for more appreciative pastures.
The great news is that employee recognition and team appreciation is easy to incorporate into your work culture. We’ll discuss why this is so important and then give some practical suggestions that you can start using today.
Now that you’re beginning to see how appreciation and recognition are important to your employees and your organization, let’s dive into what those terms actually mean.
Recognition is about giving positive feedback based on performance. You may recognize employees with a public announcement, a thank you note, a token gift, a raise, or a combination of many.
While closely tied to recognition, appreciation is less about a specific project, event, or accomplishment, and more about what the employee brings to the table. You are showing appreciation for who they are as opposed to a specific thing they’ve done.
These two concepts go hand in hand and are essential for creating a culture of mutual respect, both between management and workers and from one employee to the next.
As a leader, learning how to properly appreciate and recognize your team members may be the most important skill you ever build. The power of recognition may astound you and, when you see it in action, you’ll be hooked! Not only that, as appreciation and recognition are intrinsic motivators for humans, you’ll see a compounding effect as employees receive this positive feedback, internalize it, and then create their own motivation with work affirmations.
When employees are appreciated, you’ll see a variety of benefits including:
If the only feedback an employee receives is negative, nitpicky, and pointing out all the ways they could be better at their jobs, they’ll begin to disengage. Their attention will suffer so that mistakes become more likely. Without any hope of kind words, their desire to perform well will decrease and their productivity will take a nosedive.
However, when an employee receives appreciation and recognition from management and from their teammates, they will do everything in their power to receive more, becoming a more productive and highly engaged employee.
No employer wants to see a “Who cares anyway?” attitude among their employees. Rather, you want to foster improved job satisfaction which leads to happier (and healthier) employees.
As we mentioned earlier, appreciation and recognition are intrinsic motivators. Employees receive positive feedback from external sources, and they quickly internalize that, fueling their own positive feelings and building satisfaction in their performance. While they’ll still need regular input from you, they’ll be able to create their own internal appreciation for their hard work.
Imagine a group of bank employees who have been gathered for a meeting with the district manager. The manager proceeds to stand up and let the branch employees know that they are interchangeable, easily replaceable, and bring nothing to the table as individuals.
Shocking as it may be, this conversation actually happened. Now, put yourself in the employees’ shoes. Do you think they planned their future around working for that bank? Or more likely, that they jumped ship at the very first opportunity?
When you don’t show appreciation and loyalty to your employees, there’s no reason to expect them to show it to you. However, when you let your team members know that they are a valued part of the organization and their hard work and positivity are appreciated, they’ll be loyal to you.
Now that you grasp why you need to incorporate this into your company culture, we can discuss how to do that.
At Rapport, we believe that you must: "Intentionally reward team members with genuine support that aligns with the purpose of your business. Connect individual contributions to the purpose of the organization and needs of the client."
What does this mean? Well, first, you must understand who you are as an organization and what you stand for. This begins with your core values. Maybe you value sticking to processes to ensure a predictable and consistent outcome. Or perhaps, you value creativity and ingenuity, and are constantly looking to improve upon the past. The values you choose to uphold are the same values you will show appreciation and recognition for when your employees exhibit them.
Your employees will be happier and more productive, and as it will serve as a positive reinforcement tool as well, they will repeat the behaviors for their own benefit and the benefit of the team, the organization, and the client.
Your employees are the lifeblood of your organization and it’s time to let them know that! When employees are appreciated and recognized, they will bend over backward for your organization. They will be happier, more productive, more loyal, and they will live out the values you identify and communicate.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to develop a recognition and appreciation plan for your organization. If you already have one, now is a great time to take a close look and see if there’s anything more you can do to show your employees how much you care about them and value them. Sign up for the Rapport U Recognition and Appreciation Course today. Your investment will provide returns for years to come.
Revamping your company culture takes time. As you embark on this journey of appreciation and recognition, you will likely need some support. That’s why Rapport created the Recognition and Appreciation course on Rapport U.
Learners will first better understand the difference between recognition and appreciation, and how the two work in concert with one another to help you reach your goals. Then, learners see examples of how these two aspects can drive positive results and improve the workplace culture. Finally, they discover the best practices for recognizing and appreciating team members.
This course will provide you or your employees with the tools to deepen the conversation and create a meaningful connection with your employees. Learn more and register.