13 Ways to Appreciate Employees for Great Work

13 Ways to Appreciate Employees for Great Work

Good work should never go unnoticed. When you appreciate good work, it encourages employees and makes them feel valued. This leads to a higher retention rate and company ratings.  There are so many ways that you can show appreciation, and you don’t have to pick just one. If you’re looking for ideas to appreciate employees, here I have listed some of my favorites.

Send an Appreciation and Recognition Note

Being able to read a note of gratitude is heartwarming. A handwritten letter of recognition is one way to appreciate employees for good work. A letter of recognition doesn't only have to come after big accomplishments. You can write them for your employees even to recognize their effort in coming to work each day. These notes are effective at letting employees know that their work is being noticed.

Notes of recognition can be a surprise for both in-office employees and those who work from home. For those who work from home, you can have the letter mailed to their house. If that's not possible, you can always send an email too. Although handwritten messages are always meaningful, emails can be too. For employees who are in the office, you can leave their note on their desk or in their office mailbox.

Examples of a Recognition Letter

If you need advice on what to write in a recognition message, you’re in the right place. Although examples can help you figure out what you want to say, you should not copy them word for word. Recognition letters should be genuine and not copied and pasted. You should make sure you are personalizing them and writing something unique. 

In this letter, you can recognize recent accomplishments or write a  note of gratitude. An accomplishment can be anything worthwhile, even something small. 

Here are some great recognition messages to inspire your own: 

• We are consistently amazed by your performance. Keep up the great work! Companies dream of hiring employees like you. Thank you for all your hard work. It’s incredible to see you consistently pushing the bar. You’re an inspiration to us all! Your outstanding performance helped push up our company revenues to greater heights. Thank you! We’d like to congratulate and acknowledge the tremendous success you’ve achieved! The results you have achieved are impressive. We are so grateful to have someone like you on our team who is willing to go above and beyond to achieve such great success for our team.
• Thank you for bringing a smile to everyone on the team; it always boosts our spirits when we need it most. Your consistent positive attitude has made a huge difference in our team. Thank you for being you. Thank you for always being the first to volunteer a helping hand. We couldn’t do it without you. We wanted to let you know that having you on our team makes all the difference. Thanks for all you do. Employees like you make the organization what it is today. Thank you for bringing your best to work every single day.
• Thank you for always bringing new ideas to the table. You’re willing to speak up and share our ideas to help bring out the best in our team and our work to the next level! I want to thank you for always being willing to go the extra mile to deliver impeccable work. You are always proactive, accountable for your work, and willing to support those around you when needed. Your work ethic is unsurpassed. Your passion and ambition are infectious, and your willingness to go the extra mile rubs off on the entire team and has a tangible impact on our results. Thank you!

Honor Birthdays and Milestones

Remembering employees' birthdays is meaningful and memorable to them. Pictured Silver Fortune Cookie Locket (Signature)

Make Your Company Sweeter with Weekly Dessert

Treating your employees once a week has never been sweeter. Show appreciation with a weekly dessert for all the enjoy. This can even be something that your employees help take part in! You can have a weekly rotation of who brings in the dessert so that everyone can enjoy and take part.

Bonus - set aside time for everyone to take a break from work and get a treat. This way, it’s a company-wide time of bonding and getting to know each other. It’s a great break from the work day and employees will feel as if they’re recognized for their hard work. It gives them something to look forward to each week. It is also an opportunity to meet those that they wouldn’t normally interact with.

Try to incorporate new desserts each week. Have a theme for the week or try to see if the person in charge of the desserts for the week can make something from their childhood. Anything that can make each week different and highlight the individuals who make up the company.

Talk About Team Wins at Meetings

Monthly and/or weekly meetings don’t only have to be about the company as a whole. You can take time out of the meeting to honor the achievements of the different teams. This ensures that the focus is on all the departments that make up the company and not only one singular team. Make it a goal to mention different teams each week/month. This way, everyone is getting the recognition they deserve at some point. Some accomplishments that you can mention are if a team makes a sale or completes a long-term project.

When you acknowledge team wins, you show employees that their success is important to the company. Whatever goal they completed is positively benefiting everyone. This also shows that you’re proud of all the work they put in. Employees become encouraged to work harder and complete everything on their plate.

Adapt a Fun Employee Reward System

A fun reward system is a great way to get everyone involved. This allows for compliments between employees and motivation. It’s a way to give back to those who work hard and to make sure their work gets recognized - even the small moments! 

There are many different reward systems to pick from - such as Bonusly. Employees of a company can praise and “gift” each other with points. These points are given out when someone has done outstanding work. This can range from leading a meeting to creating a new company logo. There are endless possibilities! Points can then be saved up and used to redeem at different stores.

There should also be a focus on co-workers recognizing and appreciating each other. This creates a healthy work environment that is encouraging. In order for a business to run smoothly, there must be a sense of community within. I will talk about this more in the next section.

Encourage Peer-to-Peer Recognition 

Peer-to-Peer recognition is crucial when it comes to appreciating employees for good work. The appreciation doesn’t always have to come from higher-ups. It can also come from someone on the same level as them. Instead of encouraging competition, stress the importance of working together. Also, set an example for employees to point out moments when someone is doing a good job.

Provide Extra Time Off

Sometimes everyone needs an extra day off. Whether it is because something unexpected popped up or because they need a day to rest. By providing extra time off, you show that your employee’s well-being means something to you. You know that they have a life outside of work and it can’t be all work all the time. Extra time off makes sure that they are taking care of themselves and getting enough rest. In order to do their best at work, they must be in a good mindset. By providing extra days off, you're making sure that they aren't burning themselves out.

Extra time off should be given sparingly and not taken advantage of, but it shouldn’t be unheard of. Appreciating your employees is giving them adequate time off and understanding when they need that extra day. It's important to remember that your employees are people also.

Provide Self-Care Activities at the Office

Self-care shouldn’t end once an employee is out their front door. The office should actively be hosting and encouraging participation in self-care activities. Whether it’s once a week or hosting a guest speaker who can teach meditation, it's crucial to have self-care. These activities are beneficial and a great way for the company to bond.

Self-care activities don't always have to be a big event either. It can be taking a walk outside or taking a lunch break outside. Did you know that drinking tea is considered a self-care? You can even do something as simple as having tea readily available in your office.

Support Team Growth and Development 

Everyone has room to grow and develop new skills. No matter if you are a new employee or one that has been there for numerous years. In order for your employees to grow, there must be support. They cannot grow alone, so make sure that you provide an office where they can do so. Listen to their concerns, ideas, and thoughts. 

By supporting team growth and development you are appreciating your employees. This means that you’re giving them the skills they need to advance their careers. You want to see them succeed and you are giving them all the resources necessary in order to do so.

Without guidance, employees may feel lost or undervalued. They will think that their work is not getting noticed. Criticism is a good thing, it helps employees grow.

Send a Surprise Gift Box

Everyone loves to get gifts in the mail. A surprise gift box is a very generous way to appreciate employees. You should send gifts when something very significant happens. Events such as important life/career milestones or birthdays are perfect times.  

When sending gift boxes, make sure that the employee receiving the box is getting something practical. Also, make sure it is something that they will like! You should take their preferences into mind. If you’re sending anything food related, make sure that you are aware of any food allergies or intolerances. You should make sure that you’re sending your employee something that shows them they are appreciated. It should not be something that is impersonal.

If you’re looking for items to place inside a surprise gift box, check out our personalized lockets. You can tell your employee’s story with one of our Secret Diary Book Lockets. It's a great way to honor them personally, while still incorporating their time at the company.

Enhance their Workspace 

An employee will not feel valued and appreciated if their workspace is small, unclean, or unpractical. Workspaces should be a place where employees have adequate room to work. They should also feel comfortable in their space. In order to go the extra mile for employees, enhance their workspace. 

Some different enhancements that you can add are comfortable chairs, a water cooler, and even a mini refrigerator. These are all items that will make the work day much more luxurious for an employee. They will be able to make their office a home away from home.

Host Company Events

Company events are a great way for everyone to unwind and have a good time. If there have been a lot of recent accomplishments in the company, it may be time for a company event. 

Depending on the size of your company, you can do anything from an outing to a dinner. At this event, you can celebrate all of your employee's hard work. This leaves them feeling rewarded and appreciated.

Personal Communication

In a day where everything is so virtual, personal communication is very important and necessary. It shows that you value your employees and their thoughts. Face-to-face conversations allow for stronger conversations and active listening. 

When communicating virtually, it is easy to not pay full attention or forget to reply to messages through direct messages. Personal communication leads to good work, as it ensures directions are clear and employees feel like members of a team.

Why is it Important to Recognize Your Team?

In order to make sure that your employees are inspired and feel valued, you must recognize your team. They deserve to feel as if they are contributing to something big. Because they are. They are the minds and faces behind the company and the work it's producing. 

If you aren’t recognizing your team, this can lead to a toxic workplace and low employee retention. If employees are putting in hard work but are not being recognized, they won’t feel as if their time and effort are appreciated.

Conclusion

Overall, appreciating employees for their good work promotes a healthy workplace culture. Employees feel better about themselves and have more motivation throughout the work week. 

With so many ways to appreciate your employees - both big and small - you can make sure that your employees are always being reminded of how important they are. Even the smallest moments of recognition can go a long way.

For more corporate blog posts, check out...

• How to Support Work from Home Employees