The Job Shop
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2 min read

Boost Employee Engagement by Showing Appreciation

If you think that a monthly pay check is all that it takes to keep your employees engaged at work, then I’m afraid you need a bit of a reality check. It takes an awful lot more than money to motivate staff and if your workforce are becoming disengaged, it’s time to assess the reasons behind it, before it has damaging consequences.

So what does it really take to keep your employees satisfied and driven in their jobs? Praise and recognition, that’s what!

Employees want to feel valued and know that they are appreciated within the business. If their hard work goes unnoticed time after time, it can become incredibly disheartening; not to mention that it can feel like a bit of a waste of time and effort. So if you want to build a happy and productive workforce, it is essential that you recognise and praise good work from your staff.

Cake HR explained some of the key reasons why employee recognition is essential for building an engaged workforce and a few simple ideas about how you can praise and reward your employees.

What is employee appreciation?

Employee engagement is the appreciative acknowledgement of a person or a team’s efforts, that exceed the expectations of their role, or behaviors that benefit the success of the business. This can be done formally or informally, as long as the employee feels valued.

Does employee appreciation matter?

The top reasons that employees leave their job is that they don’t feel appreciated.
Companies who have a strategic employee recognition program in place report 71%+ higher engagement levels among their staff, than companies without a program.
Disengaged workers cost the economy $300 billion a year.

What are the benefits of employee appreciation?

1) Motivation –

60% of best-in-class organizations reported that employee recognition drives individual work performance. Motivated workers put more time and effort into their work, as they feel they have a purpose and play an important role in the company meeting its goals.

2) Improved work culture –

Employee appreciation creates an environment that employees want to work in and make a difference to their business.

4) Employee retention –

Companies scoring in the top 20% for employee appreciation have a 31% lower turnover of staff. Well appreciated staff stay at the organization longer.

5) Better teamwork –

Employees work better not only when they feel appreciated by their employer, but also from their peers.

6) Improved customer satisfaction –

Customers are 41% more likely to stay loyal to a company if they experience and good attitude from the staff.

How can you show employee appreciation?

1) Instead of employee of the month awards, recognize all staff when they deserve it.

David Brown, founder of Datotel replaced gift cards and “employee of the month” with hand-written notes and direct praise for commendable behavior.

2) Focus on peer to peer recognition

Peer to peer appreciation seems more genuine as colleagues are better acquainted with personal efforts than supervisors.

3) Public praise is more effective than monetary rewards

40% of surveyed felt that increased salaries and bonuses were ineffective in reducing employee turnover.