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Do you remember the last time you felt truly appreciated? You might think we don’t need to hear words of appreciation, but psychologist and physician William James said, “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” Giving and receiving feelings of gratitude and appreciation can elevate dopamine levels increasing motivation, focus, and mood.
When a team member puts extra effort into a project, and it goes unnoticed it can leave them feeling flat. A simple thank you can go a long way but putting extra effort into giving a creative show of appreciation can be even more meaningful. The first Friday in March is Employee Appreciation Day, which falls on March 1st for 2019. Below are some creative ways to show your appreciation for your team members:
Create Categories of Appreciation. Share your appreciation publicly on social media and internally. For example, at Actualize Consulting, we are thanking our team members in various consulting categories to include:
Give Star Player Awards. Allow team members to recognize their co-workers for exceptional performance. Employees may nominate anyone within the firm for any act or initiative that they feel should be recognized and celebrated. This can be an ingenious solution to a problem or simply exceptional teamwork.
Assist with Career Planning. Include career planning as part of your team’s goal setting process. Having a goals document ensures each supervisor is discovering the aspirations that will light up their personnel. Other benefits of career planning are that each person feels they are being listened to and supported on their career aspirations. If we know someone wants to be promoted, we can guide them to success.
Encourage Team Connection. Getting together as a firm helps to reduce stress and build closer relationships, which in turn promotes better teamwork and greater work satisfaction. Survey your team on what activities they would like to do outside of work both for fun and cause-related. For example, in the pictures above we got together to play ping pong, make sandwiches for the homeless, and paint. The team that plays together, stays together.
Handwritten and verbal appreciation go a long way and benefit all parties involved - it simply makes you feel good. Positive, appreciative energy is a great boost for the organization, improving collaboration, communication, and overall performance. How can you show your appreciation to your team?
When a team member puts extra effort into a project, and it goes unnoticed it can leave them feeling flat. A simple thank you can go a long way but putting extra effort into giving a creative show of appreciation can be even more meaningful. The first Friday in March is Employee Appreciation Day, which falls on March 1st for 2019. Below are some creative ways to show your appreciation for your team members:
Create Categories of Appreciation. Share your appreciation publicly on social media and internally. For example, at Actualize Consulting, we are thanking our team members in various consulting categories to include:
- Expert: for those with tenure over 10 years.
- Pro: for tenure of less than 10 years.
- International: for our consultants traveling abroad.
- Inventive: for team members that have helped to develop a product.
Give Star Player Awards. Allow team members to recognize their co-workers for exceptional performance. Employees may nominate anyone within the firm for any act or initiative that they feel should be recognized and celebrated. This can be an ingenious solution to a problem or simply exceptional teamwork.
Assist with Career Planning. Include career planning as part of your team’s goal setting process. Having a goals document ensures each supervisor is discovering the aspirations that will light up their personnel. Other benefits of career planning are that each person feels they are being listened to and supported on their career aspirations. If we know someone wants to be promoted, we can guide them to success.
Encourage Team Connection. Getting together as a firm helps to reduce stress and build closer relationships, which in turn promotes better teamwork and greater work satisfaction. Survey your team on what activities they would like to do outside of work both for fun and cause-related. For example, in the pictures above we got together to play ping pong, make sandwiches for the homeless, and paint. The team that plays together, stays together.
Handwritten and verbal appreciation go a long way and benefit all parties involved - it simply makes you feel good. Positive, appreciative energy is a great boost for the organization, improving collaboration, communication, and overall performance. How can you show your appreciation to your team?
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