Celebrate Employees to Grow

Since the ramp up from the new year excitement has probably worn off a bit, this is a good time to show employees a little love and express how valued they are to keep the energy high. It can rejuvenate their professional and personal happiness and continue fostering a positive relationship.

Employees may be experiencing an emotional dip after all the holiday cheer and paying all their holiday bills. That makes February, the month of love ❤️, a great time to show employees how much you care and appreciate them.

Appreciation, respect, trust and commitment are often two-way streets. You have to give a little to get a little. A study by ProofHub showed that 58% of employees would be more engaged if they were recognized by leaders and 69% of employees would work harder if they felt their efforts were better appreciated.

When employees feel valued and appreciated, it helps build trust and commitment between them and the company. This often leads to greater contributions and stronger motivation.

Celebrate Employees and Create a High-Performance Culture

Expressing appreciation, recognizing employees and providing a culture that allows employees to grow and improve is critical. Turnover is expensive and an unmotivated group of static employees won’t help your company grow or improve. Consider incorporating a bit more love into your company culture.

• Public recognition like a party, award, newsletter or congratulatory announcement can be motivational for the right employees, but others may find it embarrassing. Know your team members and what makes them happy.
• Personal recognition from leaders may be a better sentiment for some. Consider an in-person thank you, a small gift, an email or a note of appreciation for a job well done.
• Peer recognition is also important and provides a way that employees can appreciate and recognize one another. It helps encourage the thankful culture that’s being built.
• Training programs with succession plans help employees become better at their jobs and improve their skills while providing a plan to grow within the company. Employees want growth and training and as the world moves faster and technology changes daily, improving the skills of the workforce is increasingly important. If the company lacks an official training and advancement policy, provide external learning and professional development opportunities for your team. Allow employees to attend industry conferences and join professional associations so they can continue to learn and grow.
• Bonus programs allow employees to have a stake in the company’s success. Programs should be clear, achievable and transparent. If employees don’t understand how they can receive bonuses or how to improve their stake, they will be less engaged. Bonuses can be used for employee referrals, profit sharing, achieving goals, education or training rewards, expanding business, innovative ideas, business savings, or any ways that reward behaviors that are beneficial to the company.

Appreciation is Important

If appreciation is absent, employees tend to pull away, become distant and feel less connected to the company and its goals. You wouldn’t have a business without your employees, so it’s important to express that appreciation to them.

Let the month of love be an inspiration for every month, and every day of the year. Take the time to acknowledge the importance of your team, recognize them, thank them for their contributions, help them grow and reward them. It will not only make a huge impact on the morale of employees, but it can also benefit the company, its culture, performance and growth.