Questions to Ask Before You Begin an Employee Appreciation Program

Motivated employees feel appreciated. Weaving employee appreciation into your company’s culture is an important task for any business. If you are designing a program from scratch you should start by asking some simple questions.

How do you show employee appreciation?

At the foundation of any good appreciation program is the recognition of your employee’s contribution and their importance to the company. Your goal is to make them feel valued. Your words, policies, benefits, and special appreciation initiatives can help show your commitment to the goal. If you don’t know how your employees feel, seeking feedback on the issues important to them is your first step.

Why is Employee Appreciation important?

Employees who feel appreciated are more productive and more inclined to remain on your team. They’re also more efficient and effective. Those who don’t feel a connection may leave. Losing a valued employee can impact more than just workloads and project deadlines. A departure can create lingering morale issues. If you value an employee, they need to know it.

What does employee appreciation mean to you?

Employee appreciation is the fundamental recognition of the value one produces. Most people work hard, make sacrifices, and give their waking hours in service to their employers. They can do that anywhere, so their focus and loyalty go beyond a need for mere job security. If we like our jobs and our efforts are acknowledged, our workplaces can become a happy part of our lives.

How do you show staff appreciation on a budget?

You don’t have to have a huge budget to make people feel like they are part of the team. Kind words of praise don’t cost a cent. Money is always a motivation but most satisfaction is non-financial. Regular listening sessions can identify very simple pain points. One company’s outreach effort revealed a lingering desire for cushioned pads to stand on at workstations. After years of failed requests, employees quit asking. New management discovered this concern and made the minor investment in the pads. The employees felt heard and appreciated.

What are some good incentives for employees?

Financial rewards and perks are almost always appreciated, but sometimes you have to read the room to design incentive programs with broader appeal. Entry-level employees may desire more connection and mentorship from senior personnel. Senior employees may want wellness initiatives designed to support good health. A dance class or sponsored company hike can combine the goals of both segments and bring teams together. Good incentives align with a company’s strategic goals and provide motivation by giving employees something they want.

How do you show appreciation to colleagues?

Beyond a formal program don’t forget little things matter to the people around you. Handwritten thank-you notes are meaningful. It doesn’t take much to acknowledge birthdays, anniversaries, or other family events but the effort goes a long way.

Assembly is a peer to peer employee recognition platform where coworkers can easily recognize each other with meaningful messages and rewards and companies can manage culture spend with a positive and justifiable ROI. Assembly has a 95% employee engagement and can be easily integrated with Slack. Grow and sustain your culture with Assembly. For more detail please visit Assembly.

About the Author, Charles Gillis
Charles Gillis is a business leader with more than twenty-five years of experience in business
management and law firm administration. Prior to launching his Dallas-based firm Northside HumanStrategies, he held leadership positions at statewide, national, and international law firms. He is afrequent speaker and contributor to numerous business publications. His articles have appeared inCanadian Lawyer, the American Bar Association's Student Lawyer Magazine, and numerous other legal industry publications. He is the author of the book The Seven Year Trap; Back Office Observations of the Business of Law & the Path to Partnership.