The Power of Employee Appreciation Recognition
Updated May 2023
Let’s explore why employee appreciation recognition is so important and why you should be embedding it into the fabric of your culture.
The challenges of winning employee engagement are, of course, universal. #EmployeeAppreciationDay, which is an awareness day held on the 1st Friday of March each year, is an opportunity to highlight employee appreciation, give praise and increase the trust between employee and employer.
According to a recent survey by Glassdoor, 81% of employees will work harder for a boss who shows appreciation for them. 53% Of employees admitted they would stay longer at their company if they felt more appreciation from their boss.
Download our Guide: Employee Appreciation Survey with 11 questions you should be asking, how they are can be structured and why.
Recognition from management
Give your staff a voice
5 Simple ways to show employee appreciation
- Begin by surveying your staff and get a feel for the mood and ask the question – do they feel appreciated by management? Then you will have a benchmark by which to measure progress from.
- Send a postcard or letter of thanks via the postman, old school really does get noticed and demonstrates it’s a thoughtful gesture!
- Virtual water-cooler moments – set aside some time to just meet and chat on a weekly basis, grab a coffee or host a lunch. This helps boost engagement and reduce burnout among employees. Celebrate the little things like just getting through another day, showing up and a chance to talk about anything other than work!
- If budget permits, reward with some time off – a half day on a Friday, lunch takeaway voucher from local restaurant (support local businesses where you can) or similar perk.
- And lastly, just say thank you – might sound obvious but you’d be surprised just how little it is actually said to people. Pick up the phone and have that conversation.
Employee Appreciation Day should be every day!
A one-off event won’t shift mindsets, and the more cynical employees may even think of the day as a token gesture. A powerful move on your part, use Employee Appreciation Day as a motivator to ask for opinions from staff, talk to staff more, praise them when they do a good job and embed a wider culture of staff engagement.
The most important element in a successful employee engagement programme is staff input.
Visit our Resource Hub for employee engagement tools, free downloadable ebooks on, employee voice and staff retention which you can use to create a company culture that embraces appreciation, respect and higher productivity. Employee appreciation is all about redefining how to connect, engage, protect and communicate with your employees.
