5 Employee Appreciation Ideas That Work

If you’re a business owner, you probably already know that your employees are your most valuable asset. However, if you want them to perform at their best and make a real contribution to the company, you need to keep them happy. This doesn’t only include paying them on time and allowing them enough time to focus on their private life. Instead, it’s your job to show them just how important they are to the firm. In case you’re stuck on ideas about how to do this, here are five employee recognition ideas that work.

Celebrate your employees’ birthdays

A birthday is an important occasion for every person out there and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t celebrate your employees’ birthdays in the office. Throwing an office party is a guaranteed way to give everyone a chance to get their mind off work and relax. Moreover, it shows your team members that you care. The best way to acknowledge an employee’s birthday is to spread the word by sending a company-wide email. Order food, play some good music and there’s no doubt everyone in the office will have fun. Don’t forget about remote workers and send them a custom mug or a hand-illustrated card.

Take your staff out to lunch

Sometimes, heading out with your employees can do wonders for office morale. Your employees want to discuss topics other than work, but they don’t always have a chance to do that. Even when they do, it’s just not the same as sitting across the table over a burger and some fries. Taking your staff out to lunch won’t only give your team members an opportunity to spend more time together, but it’ll also show them that you want to spend time with them outside the office. This is also a perfect opportunity to discuss work-related topics in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Give gift cards

Buying a present sure is a great way to reward your employees for all the hard work they put in. However, getting everyone’s present right is almost impossible. In order to be able to do this, you need to know exactly what your employees like, want and already have. Luckily, you can get them a prepaid Visa gift card and have them use it for whatever they want. These little things are constantly becoming more popular and the number of stores your employees can use them in keeps rising.

Write thank-you notes

Who said thank-you notes are old-fashioned? Even though we live in a world where you can text a person from another side of the world in a matter of seconds, writing a thank-you note has a lot more value. Actually taking the time to buy a card and write something shows your employees just how important they are to you. Use every opportunity to write these notes and remind your employees of how important their role in your company is. The best time to write these is upon the completion of a big project.

Try to be a mentor

One thing’s for sure – your employees care about their careers. While they strive to help your business succeed, they also want to learn as much as possible and take their career to a new level. To show them that you really want them to achieve success in their career, doing everything you can to help them is a must. This means you should try to be a mentor to your team members and pass your knowledge to them. Use your expertise to help them improve their skills and assign them tasks that take more responsibility. This is actually a win-win situation as you’ll get better employees while your team members will improve their skills.

To sum up

Don’t forget to remind your employees that your business cares about them and keep looking for new ways to do so. Have the five ideas mentioned earlier in mind and putting a smile on your employees’ faces will be a breeze.