Happy employees are productive employees, and showing appreciation for your team can encourage them to go the extra mile in their daily roles. Despite the strong business case for valuing your employees, one in five Australians feel underappreciated at work, according to research conducted by Employsure in partnership with Roy Morgan. The same survey showed that more than half of the group surveyed were dissatisfied with the level of appreciation their employer showed them.
So how can you get better at rewarding your team members? Some simple ways include expressing your gratitude publicly, treating your staff with regular incentives or rewards, and encouraging employee feedback.
Express your gratitude publicly
Whether it’s a shoutout in a team meeting or a social media post, expressing your gratitude publicly builds loyalty and employee engagement. Margaret Rutherford, Senior Employment Relations Adviser at Employsure, says social media is a particularly effective tool for reaching a millennial workforce.
“For the growing population of millennial employees, a social recognition platform is highly recommended and relatively inexpensive,” Rutherford says.
“They’re accustomed to immediate feedback, “likes,” and status updates, and if they’re praised, they want to be able to share the event with friends. You’ll build loyalty among this group of workers because these rewards are magnified when posted on personal and professional networks.”
Treat your employees regularly
Whether it’s a a team lunch, free breakfasts or the occasional Friday afternoon drink, it’s important to treat your team on a regular basis – not just for reaching specific goals.
For Raeleen Kaesehagen of online booking platform mudputty, treating staff to flexible working arrangements is an effective way to show her appreciation every day.
“It is one of the most powerful ways to say we appreciate you, we realise life is more than work and we are happy to make sure you can do both,” she says.
Kaesehagen says regularly rewarding her staff has made a real difference to employee longevity, with programmers staying on average seven years at the business.
“Rewards don’t need to be a lot of extra work. If they are built in to what you do, they are just another part of your process,” she says.
Listen to employee feedback
Beyond monetary rewards, perks and incentives, listening to and actioning employee feedback means your workers feel heard, acknowledged and valued.
Framing this feedback as an opportunity for a two-way conversation means employees will feel like they’re making valued contributions to the future of your business.
“Continually communicating the visions and goals of your business is critical,” Rutherford says. “Effective communication is the basis for a high-performing team to stay well-informed, up-to-date and on track.”
Bring employees on the journey
Reminding employees of the crucial role they play in achieving your business’ goals is another way to encourage high performance. Showing employees they’re important to the future of your operations gives them buy-in and responsibility for their day to day roles.
“People need to understand how their work impacts others and what their role is in achieving goals,” Rutherford explains.
“To promote real collaboration and teamwork, first show employees the destination. One of the most effective ways to achieve a desired outcome is to establish common goals that every team member can work toward.”
Australia has one of the most difficult workplace relations systems in the world. Employsure is here to help employers navigate the complexity. Employsure is the largest provider of employment relations and work health and safety services in Australia — servicing more than 24,000 clients nationally. More than 300 advisers and consultants provide independent advice to business owners on their workplace relations and health and safety obligations. Every day Employsure gives business owners the confidence that their workplaces are safe, fair and compliant.
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