How Appreciating Employees Can Increase Employee Retention
by Abdul Aziz Mondal Management 29 September 2022
Employee retention is a big challenge for many companies. And in a stressful economy where unemployment rates are at an all-time low and job seekers have more options than ever before, it’s easy to see why employees are so quick to jump ship. According to a survey on employee retention, it costs an astounding 33% of an employee’s annual compensation to replace them.
One way or another, your company is going to lose employees at some point in its life cycle. There are certain things every employer should be doing regardless of who they’re hiring or how long they’ve been around: having regular meetings with staff members (and actually following through on them), making sure everyone feels heard and respected within their team structure and culture; fostering an environment where people feel like their voices matter – these are just some examples of the basics that any employee would expect from any job when it comes to giving your employees appreciation.
It is important for corporates to show the employees how much they appreciate them by thanking them for their hard work on specific projects or milestones; giving them special items as rewards for success; even just saying thank you out loud during weekly meetings instead of always talking about deadlines and budgets. It is always the little things that add up over time into something bigger, which will create happier employees who feel valued by both themselves as well as their superiors.
Acknowledge Accomplishments
Acknowledge accomplishments. Many employees feel as if they’re never being noticed or appreciated for the work they do. In contrast to just 12.4% of employees who feel appreciated for their work, 21.5% of those who don’t feel appreciated have interviewed for a job in the past three months.
You can change this perception by consistently recognizing and appreciating your team members for their contributions—even small ones. When you acknowledge an employee for a job well done, it shows that you care about them and notice their hard work. This will, in turn, motivate them to be more productive, show up every day with positive energy, and help build trust in the workplace.
Offer Career Development Opportunities
A career development opportunity is a chance for employees to learn and grow. It could be a training program, workshops, mentoring, or networking events. Employees can also use these opportunities to develop new skills, find ways to improve their performance, gain employment in different industries and grow their networks.
Offering career development opportunities show that you value the members of your team and want them to succeed in their job role as well as move on into other roles with your company or elsewhere down the road.
Celebrate Traditions
Traditions are a great way to build a positive culture, and they serve as a reminder that we’re all connected in some way. If you run an office where people have been working together for years, they may already have their own personal holiday celebration traditions—like having cake on the last day of the year or decorating the door with tinsel during holidays. While these kinds of celebrations are fun and festive, they also help bring people together by reminding them that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. It’s easy to feel isolated when you work at home or in an office by yourself all day, but when everyone comes together around certain shared experiences (like meeting at lunchtime), it helps employees feel like they’re part of something more than just another job.”
Let Your Employee Choose
Let your employee choose what they would like to do. It’s a simple gesture, but it can make all the difference. Your employees will appreciate it more if they feel as though they are being trusted and allowed to take on more responsibility. This could be something as small as giving them the option of choosing their own tasks for the day or assigning them a project that aligns with their interests and strengths.
You can use this technique for more than just choosing projects: letting them choose where they want to go for lunch or dinner is also an effective tool for building trust, especially if you work in an office environment where everyone has access to food from different restaurants around town.
Provide Recognition of Milestones
Recognition should be given for all milestones, including anniversaries, birthdays, and other personal achievements. The recognition should take place publicly. It may sound obvious, but it’s worth repeating: the more people who see your appreciation, the more effective it will be at motivating your employee to keep up their good work.
It’s always best if recognition comes from the manager or supervisor, but if you don’t have one on your team yet, that’s okay too. In fact, sometimes it can be more meaningful for an employee’s peers to celebrate them rather than someone who reports directly to them. If possible (and appropriate), make sure that this type of celebration is a part of company policy, so employees know they’ll get some sort of acknowledgment no matter what happens in their lives during the year ahead.
Support Team Members During Difficult Times
It’s not always easy to be an employee, especially when you are going through a difficult time. If a team member is struggling with something personal or professional, it’s important that you let them know you can be there for them. This will show your employees that you care about their well-being and want to support them during challenging times.
You can do this in a few ways:
- Listen – When someone shares their struggles with you, listen attentively and make sure they know that what they’re going through is important to you. This will let the person know that what they’re feeling isn’t wrong or weird; it’s normal. People sometimes feel like there’s no one who understands how they feel. Listening to them that there is someone who does understand their situation – and even better than expected by showing empathy towards this other person.
- Offer help – If the person doesn’t want advice right away but just wants someone else around who understands what they are going through as well as is ready whenever needed, then offering help would be great too (if possible). For example, giving an hour off work so they can have some time alone while feeling supported by others at work instead of being alone all day long while everyone else works around them without understanding why self-care means so much during hard times.”
Don’t Knock the Wall of Fame
If you have a wall of fame, use it to celebrate your employees. It’s a great way for employees to feel appreciated and recognized for their efforts. Beyond that, it can also be a motivator. If your team sees how their work is rewarded with recognition on the wall, they’re more likely to want their efforts recognized as well. Even if you don’t have a wall of fame yet, this practice is worth getting started: You can make one by hanging some poster board or cardboard in an area where everyone can see it. According to studies, 79% of workers who leave their jobs do so due to a “lack of appreciation.” Employees naturally look for jobs elsewhere when they devote a lot of time and energy to the company, but management doesn’t recognize or appreciate their efforts.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to feel appreciated. You can promote these small changes in your business by thinking about what your employees value most and rewarding those things. By recognizing their hard work with rewards that matter to them, like career development opportunities or celebrations of their anniversaries and birthdays, you’ll show them how much they mean to your company and boost morale at the same time.
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