The Art of Appreciating Your Employees

Welcome Readers,

This page is dedicated to the many ways we can show appreciation to our employees. Though this may sound simple enough it is amazing how often appreciation is neglected.

Showing your employees they are valued increases their sense of self worth, improves work quality and attendance as well as increasing their loyalty to you and their company.

Some of these ideas will be familiar, possibly you have already used some of them, or obvious. The idea is to get your creative juices flowing so you can run with an idea and make it your own or you can just pick and choose the ideas you like.

Please be sure to visit this page often as I will be adding to the list periodically.

Be sure to check with your company policy and guidelines before using any of the ideas on this page.

May you set an example of management excellence!

Sincerely,

Michelle Yvette

Note: For background information please see my hub page titled 'Improve Your Management Skills: Rise Above the Ranks.

Gathering Useful Information

As you are getting to know your employees it is helpful to keep a small spiral notebook and pen in your pocket. As you hear or learn personal information regarding your employees jot them down. Examples would be: favorite color, flower, beverage, food, music, jewelry, humor style, animals, favorite charities, etc...

You can also make out a Personal Profile sheet asking the same questions as above and have your employees fill them out. When you receive them back jot their birth date in one of the corners as well as their address and hire date.

1. Have an easel, bulletin board or dry erase board welcoming new employees. Place near the front door where they will see it upon arrival. This will make them feel welcome and more at ease.

2. Provide new employees with a Welcome Bag which may contain things they will need for their new job. Make it special by including a Welcome card signed by all of the staff as well as management and a coffee mug with the company logo. You can include hand sanitizer, plain lip balm, unscented hand lotion, ink pen grips, etc...

3. Keep a nice assortment of thank you, congratulation, sympathy, birthday, employment anniversary, and blank cards on hand. You will always be prepared for whatever the situation.

4. Request the company to invest in a digital camera or keep disposable cameras on hand. Take candid pictures of staff at work, during special events etc.., then make a collage to hang in the office. Make sure you have taken a picture of everyone, don't leave anyone out. Replace periodically to keep up to date with new employees.

5. For special events such as birthdays, promotions and employment anniversaries, tie balloons (in the employees favorite colors) to their office chair. Have a card, signed by everyone, waiting for them at their work station.

6. Same as #5 but decorate the outside of their locker. Tape the card and balloons to the locker as well as anything else that will celebrate the occasion.

7.For special events as in #5, write a personal message for the easel, bulletin board or dry erase board. Place at the entrance where the employee will see it upon arrival. You can tape balloons and the card to the board.

8. You can also use the easel, bulletin board or dry erase board to thank employees for a job or project well done. This puts the spotlight on the individual employee or group of employees. Soon everyone will look forward to seeing their name on the board when they walk in.

9. Have a frame made with an "Employee of the Month" plate. Have criteria set up for an individual to be honored. They can be voted as employee of the month by management or by their peers. Make sure it is a fair voting system. Once voted, take the employees picture for the frame then place in a prominent location where employees as well as visitors will be sure to see.

10. Bring donuts in for everyone. If you have a 2nd and/or 3rd shift possibly have pizza delivered, or deliver it yourself (this would be much more personal).

11. Provide beverages and snacks at your staff meetings.

12. Set aside at least 15 minutes at the end of your staff meeting to thank employees who have done something special. Award them with a flower, beverage, certificate of appreciation (refer to your employee Personal Profiles).

13. Make a donation to the charity of choice in the employees name. Present the employee with a certificate recognizing the donation in their name and why (what did they do for this award).

14. Send a card to the Parents or Spouse of an employee. Express how much you appreciate their son or daughter or their husband or wife and why. Make sure you do this only for employees you're sure would appreciate this type of acknowledgement. This type of acknowledgement is so personal because you are sharing the value of this employee with the people they love.

15. Make an index card for each employee by writing their name at the top. At a staff meeting pass around one index card at a time asking each person to write a one word positive description of that employee. The staff are not to sign their description and the index card skips the person it is about. As the cards come back to you keep them and tell the staff it will be a surprise for them at a later date. Take the index cards and type them out for each individual under a heading something like 'How My Peers See Me' and put their name under the heading. Print them off on nice stationary paper and then frame them. By retyping the index cards you can edit anything that may be negative (hopefully the staff will not be petty) and replace it with a positive already stated or one you may have about the employee. At a future staff meeting hand out these framed positive sentiments to your employees. This is a wonderful gift your employees will appreciate. Note: Make a copy (the edited version) and keep in each employee file. Use this at evaluation time to help you score specific areas. Shred original index cards.

16. When an employee retires, is promoted out of your building or makes a lateral move out of your building do something special. Make a digital visual / audio recording of each peer saying something positive about the employee who is leaving and why they will be missed. Management should also participate in this. Burn this to a DVD and send it by mail to the employees home. What a wonderful farewell gift.

17. Bring individual employees to your office and share with them what it is you appreciate about them. Ask them if they have anything they would like to talk about. This will let them know they are valued. If the employee needs something be sure to take care of it ASAP or they will see it as insincere and the value of the meeting will bottom out.

18. Take a different employee to lunch once a month, on you. They will appreciate the one on one time with you and you will get to know them on a more personal level. (again this would be a tax write off)

19. Have an open door policy. Staff should not feel intimidated when having to approach your office to share a positive or a concern. When your door is consistently closed this gives the impression that you are unapproachable and a good manager does not want to be seen in this light.

20. Have an employee appreciation day annually. Hand out certificates of merit to everyone. If it is in the budget take them all out to dinner or have a pot luck (from the managers) in the office. Do it after office hours if at all possible to avoid the daily interruptions. Decorate, make a toast, make it special!

21. Have a family day at an area park. Invite everyone from the company and their families. Have games and prizes for the kids. Make it a pot luck with everyone contributing the side dishes. The company should provide the meat or main course. Do not conduct any business during this time however a positive statement about the employees in general would be nice. The family members will find pleasure in knowing their loved one is appreciated. Make it a point to mingle with everyone, meet the families of your employees.

22. Make your employees laugh. Nothing relieves tension and stress like a good belly laugh. (I was the COO of the company when the owner buzzed my office and asked me to come to her office. Well I grabbed my legal pad and pen and hustled right over, tapped on her door and walked in. Sitting behind her desk was a stout elderly man with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. I stumbled backward out of her office, mumbling my apologies and closing her door. I heard such a roar of laughter within that my curiosity got the best of me so I cracked the door and peeked in. There was the old man laughing and sounding so like the owner of the company. I watched as he lifted a beautifully manicured hand (pink polish and all) and pulled a mask off to reveal the owner laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. She then had me call one employee up at a time and she pulled the same joke with each of them. She was a real hoot!)