How to make employees feel valued

Successful organisations depend on their workforce being engaged and motivated to deliver high performance levels. A key mechanism for unlocking this is through recognising and appreciating individuals within the team. Each employee will prefer a different form of recognition so understanding what an individual responds to best is essential.

Highlight achievements

Most people like to be praised so it is important to recognise high quality work with the team. The praise can be via a newsletter, all employee emails, a team meeting / all employee meeting or on a work WhatsApp group. The recognition and gratitude can be shared with external parties using your social media platforms. Many employees value recognition from colleagues as well as from their senior management so it helps to create a culture and provide tools that enable peer-to-peer recognition too.

Employee feedback

Actively seek out employee ideas, suggestions and feedback. Show that their voices are being heard by acting on them. Publicise your action through newsletters, “you said, we did” noticeboards, all staff emails and at team meetings. Consider holding round table meetings with a cross-section of team members or conduct employee surveys. These steps will show you are listening, and by acting on the feedback you can improve your organisation overall.

Enable growth

Research tells us that 92% of UK employees want their employer to provide training opportunities and a route for career progression. Although the initial response might be to send team members on relevant external courses do not forget the value of internal training especially cross team training that enables employees to learn from each other.

Recognise anniversaries

Recognising an employee’s commitment to your organisation by celebrating their work anniversary is often a quick and easy way to make an individual feel valued. You can recognise anniversaries in newsletters, team meetings and all employee emails. You can also add a financial element by giving a voucher or gift at bigger milestones such as 5 or 10 years of service.

Reward through extra time off

Granting team members extra time off is a strong way to demonstrate appreciation and make individuals feel valued. Additional leave for long service or granting the days between Christmas and New Year each year as paid leave are options to consider. Other options can include half-day Fridays each August and paid sabbaticals.

Social events

Organising events for your employees to enjoy is another way to show appreciation. Events can help the wider team to strengthen their relationships and boost overall contentment in the workplace.

Events can range from team lunches, a weekend walk, dragon boat racing or a trip to the races. All of which can happen alongside the annual Christmas party.