Value and Appreciation – Tonya Sowles

The focus of many of my social media posts recently has been adding value for your staff and customers. In this trying time as the costs for health insurance increases with renewal, businesses are having to reevaluate what benefits they can offer to their employees. Monetary rewards through benefits and compensation are not always easy to supply. The good news when employees feel valued and appreciated, they are much more likely to weather the financial storms.

Inc magazine published a great article on little things that businesses can do to show their appreciation. You can find the article here: https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/9-easy-ways-to-show-your-employees-you-value-them.html

Leaders who take time to connect with their team, earn more long term loyalty and dedication. In addition, team members who feel more appreciated are more likely to go above and beyond for the customer and organization. They also hold themselves accountable to higher standards, instead of just doing the bare minimum to get by.

Here are some easy no-cost or low-cost ways to show your appreciation:

Write a handwritten note of appreciation, or short email of encouragement. Make sure it is specific to the employee and their actions, not just a general “Good Job”. Recognize when they when above and beyond for a client or saved the company through a new system or vendor. The little note will have a big impact.
Create new opportunities for your staff. Offering to pay for conference or allowing them to lead a major project demonstrates your confidence in their abilities.
Demonstrate you trust your employees. Constantly looking over their shoulders shows the employees you do not believe they can do their job to your specifications. Showing you trust them will encourage them to find new ways to improve and succeed for your company.
Providing your staff with the needed resources, technology and equipment to succeed shows them the priority is to do the job right. Improving office infrastructures or taking suggestions for improvement to employee spaces will make a huge impact for staff.
Be honest and transparent with your staff. Sharing the good news as well as the tough news with staff in another way employees know you value and trust them.

When employees know they are a trusted appreciated part of your organization, they will transfer that into value for your customers or clients. The author, Lolly Daskal, states “Once your employees know how much you value them, there’s nothing they won’t work to accomplish for you and the team.”