All business are susceptible to morale issues at some point or another, but small businesses often feel the effects of low energy faster than larger corporations. Keep your energy and positivity up in the workplace this holiday season, with a few ways to acknowledge more gratitude to your hardest workers!
Any Time Of Year Is A Good Time To Show Employee Appreciation
- Give gifts based on their effort – While not all companies have the budget for large gifts, don’t just wait until the holidays to dish out the same gift to everyone. Take a more personalized approach with your most valued employees, and truly take time to think about a gift they’d enjoy. Some examples may be to allow them to take an extra Friday off during the month, or a housekeeper to help them relieve some stress when they leave the office. Each gift should be unique to who you are giving it to.
- Handwrite your appreciation – We get emails every day, so even a thank you in email form is not as meaningful as a card. When you take to time to handwrite or compose a thank you letter, the recipient and employee will know you took sincere time out of your day to show your appreciation for their efforts.
- Don’t dismiss immeasurable milestones – Sales numbers and quotas are an easy way to find the top employees, but we all know there are other aspects to a business that are not as measurable, but valued. For example, maybe one of your employees volunteered some of their time to another team members difficult project. Remember to thank them for their hard work, and that their extra mile was noticed.
- Recognize employees outside of performance reviews –Don’t wait until the end of the year to let someone at your company know how much you value them. For example, many companies set up an employee of the month promotion, but it could be as often as weekly. Additionally, acknowledging good deeds when they happen, rather than later on, will create more momentum for those who deserved the attention.
- Always say thank you- While this may be the obvious statement, you may not realize that you’re not actually “thanking” your employees. Those meetings and conversations you have with management often don’t reach your other staff members, but the good things said about them should. Positive energy and gratitude is contagious so keep it up daily!
How do you keep morale up at your company? Let us know what has shown impressive results for your business in the comments!
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