Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

One of the best ways to keep great employees and to get them engaged in the purpose of the company is to learn numerous ways to show them recognition and appreciation.

As we talked about recently, "It's a thousand little things, it's in the details." Yet it's not drudgery, boring or just another thing to do. It can be great fun and satisfying. 

David Sturt, executive vice president of O.C. Tanner says that "It's simple, employers stand to lose employees. Research shows that the number one reason people leave their jobs is because they don't feel appreciated." 

He also added that "It's everyone's responsibility to show appreciation," said Sturt. "It is up to everyone from managers to employees, employees to managers and peers to peers. The little things employees do every day are the ingredients to a company's success, and therefore, effective, ongoing motivation for employees is critical."

There are two things I can think of from my experience to think about here:

1. Keep in mind when you give out appreciation gifts, recognition or thanks, that it also recognizes employees that day in and day out perform at consistently good levels.

2. Make sure that you don't pass out too many things that the appreciation efforts become a commodity within the company to the point where it's expected rather than truly meaningful to those receiving it.

I remember one company I worked with where the manager created an award program for the company and he handed out rewards to every department. When the end of the year came every department came up for their reward that was handed out monthly.

The result was that everyone considered it a joke and it backfired. The company was afraid to hand out rewards to those who performed well without including everybody, so it cheapened the experience. There was anger and frustration, along with discouragement for the way it was handled.

When thanks and appreciation are handed out, make sure that it is truly deserved, and that the workers understand why it is being done. This will go a long way to retaining employees and making your business a place where people want to work.