The Power Of Appreciation – Creating Happy Employees
You're A Star From The Best To You
It is said the largest desire shared by most people is the desire to feel appreciated! In these fast paced, hectic times, we may not be acknowledging each hard working member of our team as much as we should. How happy and loyal an employee is, may often be directly related to how appreciated he or she feels! There are many different ways to show appreciation. Here are a few.
Frequent verbal acknowledgments. There should be frequent words of encouragement such as: “Great job on that last project!” “You sounded great on that sales call just now!” “Our client just commented on your great customer service!” or just “Have I told you how much I appreciate you and what a great job you are doing?”
A written acknowledgment.
- A thank you card that greets them in the morning after completion of a project that was well done is a nice gesture.
- Surprising them with an occasional gift card to Starbucks is fun and the message could say “You sure deserve a break! Have a cup of coffee on me.”
- A memo of appreciation to an employee who just went the extra mile and didn’t think it was noticed.
Frequent celebrations! Celebrate the whole team when the company gets a large new client, a new product is launched, A client gives a raving testimonial, The company is featured in a news story, a group project is completed, a challenge was met, etc.
- Surprise them with a breakfast basket filled with muffins, cheese and fruit danish, croissants, apple strudels , to start off their day if it is a morning celebration.
- Or an Office Party basket filled with a sweet and savory assortment for an impromptu afternoon celebration.
- Another idea would be fresh baked cookies or a tray of decadent chocolate truffles.
- It builds morale and a team spirit to celebrate wins together! These celebrations are often a great way to start a staff meeting, also.
Employee Gifts. It is customary to give a valued employee a gift during certain occasions. The most popular occasions are:
- The employee’s birthday,
- to celebrate a company anniversary,
- new baby,
- get well,
- sympathy if the employee has a death in the family,
- Holiday time,
- and Administrative Professional’s week (April 20 to 24th).
Many people feel The best gifts are the ones that are customized to match the hobbies or interests of the employee. Examples would be a baseball themed basket for the baseball fan, A leatherette wine caddy for the wine enthusiast, A beach themed picnic bag for the surfer, and so on. Others prefer to give each employee a smaller token of appreciation and include a gift certificate inside. Examples of this would be a large latte mug filled with biscotti, coffee, chocolates, cookies and a Starbucks card, or a Movie Themed popcorn bowl filled with cokes, snacks, microwave popcorn and a Blockbuster certificate.
Other popular employee gifts include: A cool lunch tote filled with goodies, stacking boxes filled with surprises, a coffee tote with thermous, mugs and accessories, cookie bouquets, fresh fruit, a relaxation CD, coffee table books, pampering bath products, snacks they can share and chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!
