Employee Appreciation
Every year on the first Friday of the month in March, across the UK, USA and Canada we have Employee Appreciation Day. And while many companies may already have a special team lunch or early finish lined up for the occasion, it's a good opportunity for leaders to reflect on how appreciation can improve their employee retention.
According to a recent survey from Workhuman, an employee recognition and human capital management company, nearly half (46.4%) of all employees only feel "somewhat valued" at work, with over 10% sharing that they don't feel valued at all. Employees of color were more likely to report feeling somewhat valued than the average (49.3%), as were women (48.8 %).
For leaders, this should sound an alarm. When the feeling of being valued is lost in the workplace, it's difficult to expect people to work with passion and purpose and want to stay.
Employee Appreciation Day is a great day for leaders to work toward incorporating more appreciation and gratitude into their company culture, but efforts can’t be made just over 1 day a year. Employee appreciate should be all year round, and here’s how;
Invest in well-being
New mental health research from Deloitte has revealed that the cost to employers of poor mental health has increased, to up to £56bn in 2020-21 compared to £45bn in 2019.* And continues to rise in 2022.
Whilst a CIPD report for 2022 confirmed that nearly one in five (19%) are not currently doing anything to improve employee health and well-being.
THE best way to show your appreciation is to look after your employee’s well-being.
And there are many ways to improve your employee’s well-being, including:
Education
Providing training, talks and workshop giving employees the information and the tools to help themselves with their own well-being in and out of the workplace. From burnout, stress management, financial well-being, to sharing the simple tools and techniques to sleep better, stay hydrated, move more.
Be flexible
55% of employees find flexibility more important than salary when job searching. Wherever possible, giving employees a little more wiggle room in their schedules can be beneficial in reducing stress, especially if they're making time for doctor's appointments and therapy or are trying to re-set their scales with their work:life balance.
Wellness Apps
Health care professionals recommend wellness and self-care apps as a supplement to encouraging a healthy lifestyle. However, if offering such subscriptions is not feasible, open it up to your employees to share how the company can best help mitigate stress and support their health and wellness. At BIYE we are proud to be partnering with some of those listed as great health and well-being apps to use, including; Headspace, Virgin Pulse & Paradym. We offer our clients discount with these partners with every well-being event booked. Showing in another way how investing in your team can can give you something back.
Lead by example
If you want to cultivate a culture of appreciation and gratitude in the workplace, you need to lead by example. It’s one thing putting strategies in place, amending contracts to give ‘digital detox’ whilst on holidays, but if this is not common practice from the top down, how can we expect our employees to feel comfortable to implement this themselves.
Celebrate you employees, collectively and individually. Workers will emulate leadership's behaviour, and when they see you thanking others for their hard work or celebrating someone's accomplishments, they'll be more likely to do the same for their colleagues.
Be more human
In such a fast paced way of life, heavily reliant on technology to run any business, we can be in danger of losing that human to human connection. And almost need to ‘ramp it up’ to even get this on any kind of even keel with the virtual/hybrid way of life.
Time is a great gift for any employee, real conversation is a breath of fresh air and authenticity can feel like your hand lifting the heavy load off their shoulders. Listen to your employees, have real conversations and glance away from the textbook for a moment, encourage and grant your employees the freedom to bring their authentic selves to work on a daily basis.
Listen & action
On average we spend 1,795 hours per year at work. That’s a lot of time to be spending somewhere you perhaps don’t’ feel valued or heard. As an employee you must have your say and as an employer you must create a safe space for them to do so. Without your people there is no company culture, without their impute there is no wellness way to your strategies.
When leaders voice opinions and concerns, it's expected that employees take action. Alternatively, the same is expected from leaders, and taking action based on feedback is one of the best ways to show employees they're valued and heard. Before making changes to your well-being policies, ask your employees what they want. Before talking at your employees abut the changes you’d like to bring, listen to what they have to say.
Employees need to feel empowered to give feedback in the first place. Create a culture of accountability by asking for feedback regularly and offering employees multiple ways to share their thoughts. A combination of frequent employee surveys, check-ins with managers, and even technology platforms can give leaders a regular and accurate pulse on employee sentiment. These measures enormously benefit employees; 52 % of employees stated that regular meetings with their managers could reduce their feelings of impostor syndrome, and the same Workhuman survey showed that 30 percent of workers would feel more supported in general if they had more frequent check-ins.
Whatever your plans are for Employee Appreciation Day, as the annual occasion approaches, now is the time to assess how and where you can be more appreciative of your employees today and everyday.