
It's very important for organizations to show employee appreciation in the right way. If you want your employees' efforts to be recognized, show them you care with these wonderful ways to show appreciation.
An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager. ~ Bob Nelson
Appreciation gifts are nothing but gifts given to employees, to tell them that you appreciate the effort they put in their work, and that you are happy to have such employees working for you. Some companies have a separate ’employee appreciation week or day’, where they celebrate, and give away gifts to help increase employee motivation.
The sole motive of these gestures, is to improve the working environment, to motivate an employee to perform better, and last but not the least, to take a small, ‘well-deserved’ break from work. Remember, the sole motive of doing this, is to make your employee(s) feel valued.
Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Employees
Certification + Personal Note
When was the last time you received a certificate for some great work you did? In school? Well, you might just get one now, at work.
A gift certificate which says that the employee has achieved more than his/her targets, and is excelling in his/her work, can make perfect recognition gift. Certificates somewhat lose their worth once you enter the professional world. Make sure your organization is different.
Personalized Gifts
Though you might perceive these as common gifts, you can make them uncommon in different ways. For instance, instead of just having the logo of your company on the gift, have the name of the employee too.
If possible, also include a small line of appreciation like ‘Well Done!’ or something. Go out of your way and make these gifts something that the employees will like, and not just some ordinary gifts.
Appreciation Services
Why not gift them an entire month with no targets? Another one would be to work as much as they want to during the ’employee recognition week or day’.
Apart from this, another service you can provide them is for them to learn something new. Keep a few free workshops or seminars and let your employees have fun learning these new skills.
Wall of Fame
Build a small wall of fame in your office and appreciate your employees by putting up photographs of them and their achievements on that wall. If possible, click group photographs, to show the success of a team.
Each employee will like it if he/she has a small, permanent mark on this wall, wouldn’t they? Besides that, you can also put up a small list of employees who have exceeded expectations in that year/month etc.
You can do this by keeping a continuous check on the employee performance. If you are an organization exceeding 100 employees, have only the best employees mentioned on this wall.
Education
Another important thing you can gift your employees is education. Once people finish their basic education, they take up jobs, thinking studying further would require another few years. Saving for further education as we all know, takes a lot of time.
Thus, you can start a scholarship program or something, where one employee, every year, would get to complete a long-distance program s/he wants to. This way, you don’t only increase the employee’s loyalty towards your organization, but also help in enhancing his/her skills.
Good Old Incentives
Last but not the least, are the incentives. Nothing motivates employees more than an increased pay. Increase incentives of employees who truly deserve it.
This will be a long-term gift, and will always remind the employee how you rewarded him/her for good work. Since this is a long-term plan, don’t increase it a lot. The employee will strive for a better reward the next time and will work harder.
Recreational Gifts
Who doesn’t like to relax after a long day/week at office? We all do, don’t we? There are a lot of ways in which you can ensure your employees are stress-free once they’re done working for you.
Reward them with spa/gym/hospitality vouchers or memberships. If the achievement isn’t huge enough to deserve these, gift them food coupons, library memberships, movie club admissions, etc. This way, the employees are happy they’re working for you and are rejuvenated to work better!
Employee appreciation and motivation go hand in hand. The most basic practice you must follow, is to talk to your employees. You can also give a small dinner or plan a small trip with your entire staff. This will not only make the employees happy, but will also help you to bond with them, which is very necessary for team work.