Large companies manage a tremendous number of goals and priorities throughout the year. To achieve so many objectives, businesses need both the right solutions and a team of engaged, dedicated employees.
Team member’s capabilities can be limited by how appreciated employees feel, even among the most talented, versatile workers. To help them achieve their best, modern businesses need to create a culture centered around ongoing recognition of employee contributions.
The Importance of RecogniSing Your Employees
An employee’s paycheck isn’t necessarily a sufficient recognition of their accomplishments. While it’s true that employees are hired to fulfill certain obligations, long-term business success requires building relationships that surpass a strict exchange of services.
Take the time to create a positive work environment – making the effort to recognise employee contributions can significantly benefit both the employee and the business.
Some of these benefits include:
Increases Motivation
Employee motivation is strongly linked to emotional well-being in the workplace. Teams that feel undervalued or unappreciated may not want to push beyond the minimum requirements of their roles.
Luckily, when employers demonstrate appreciation for their employees’ contributions, team members often feel more motivated, resulting in better outputs and increased operational efficiency.
Encourages More Creativity
A work environment that encourages creativity and rewards out-of-the-box thinking helps improve employee performance. When team members are valued and respected for their individuality, they can focus on work without the negative feelings underappreciation inspires.
Builds Stronger Teams
Team members who feel acknowledged and appreciated are more likely to recognise their colleagues. This can result in a more collaborative environment where employees freely share ideas, support each other, and work together towards common goals.
Reduces Stress
Employees who know their hard work is valued feel more secure in their roles. This assurance can inspire a sense of purpose and belonging with positive impacts on employee mental health. Team members who know they’re moving in the right direction experience less stress and anxiety, which helps them avoid burnout.
Effective Tips for Creating a Positive Company Culture
Creating a company culture where hard work and respect go hand in hand is a significant undertaking. Nothing happens by magic or overnight – and a deliberate, thoughtful strategy is essential.
With dedication and the right approach, you can build a workplace where everyone feels valued. Here’s how to make it happen:
Sharing Helpful Feedback
Employees need clear feedback on their strengths and the impact of their contributions in order to grow.
When delivering suggestions or praise, avoid generic compliments like “good job.” Instead, offer detailed insights about focused areas of their work and how this work positively influences the department or organisation as a whole.
By providing specific feedback, leaders can help employees accelerate their professional development. This means employee feedback shouldn’t be confined only to annual performance reviews. Instead, share insights throughout the year viain-person check-ins, over video chat, or through email.
Making Acknowledgment Public
Employee contributions warrant public acknowledgement. This can be done by allocating time during team meetings to recognise various team accomplishments.
Leaders should also showcase employee achievements throughout the year. You could do this by highlighting recent project successes in internal newsletters or making a point to discuss them as part of company-wide meetings.
Sharing team victories on company social media platforms and blogs is another excellent way to recognise employees. This helps to boost team morale – it also shows current and potential customers the value your employees bring to the organisation.
Designing Recognition ProgramMEs
Encouraging employees to acknowledge one another is just as important as acknowledgement from supervisors. A good way to promote this is by implementing a peer-to-peer recognition programme. These initiatives help motivate team members to express gratitude for their colleagues’ contributions.
A “kudos” platform can help companies get started, used either physically in an office setting or virtually on a shared forum. These shared spaces let team members openly acknowledge one another and express gratitude. Public kudos help ensure everyone in the organisation recognises the hard work of their coworkers and no one gets missed.
Alternatively, a dedicated communication channel – specifically for commendations or positive feedback – is another way employees can gain recognition.
Celebrating Important Milestones
Celebrating work anniversaries, promotions, or achievements outside of work, like marriages or graduations, shows that you care about the employee as a whole person. This can be done through small gestures like a personalised card, small gift, or team lunch.
While verbal compliments and public acknowledgment are valuable, offering employees tangible rewards for what they accomplish can be especially significant.. These rewards serve as reminders of a team member’s dedication and also help motivate other employees to work hard for the same commendations.
Companies can reward employees with gift cards for popular retailers or restaurants, which almost everyone will appreciate. For employees who might value non-monetary rewards, you could offer extra vacation days or the opportunity to participate in a tradeshow or workshop. Find the form of acknowledgement each employee is likely to appreciate most. The more thoughtful and personalised you make rewards, the more likely they are to leave a lasting impact.
Creating a Workplace Where Your Employees Thrive
A company’s achievements are determined by the dedication and performance of its workforce. By working to create a positive and supportive working environment, leaders can create an atmosphere designed to help your employees – and your organisation – thrive.
Author: Cindy Mielke – Sr. Director, Product Management, Blackhawk Network, and Certified Professional of Incentive Management
Photo credit: Pixabay
