Everyone likes to feel appreciated for their hard work, especially employees. Despite this, acknowledgement and appreciation seem to be lacking in the workplace. In fact, according to one survey, 37% of employees confess that more personal recognition would encourage them to be more productive.

What can we learn from this? Well for one, that many employees feel underappreciated at work, and two, that when you go out of your way to recognize employees for their efforts, their productivity rises.

But how can you create a culture of appreciation that drives engagement and ultimately improves productivity? That’s precisely what we discussed in today’s blog post.

Why Employee Appreciation Matters

Before we get into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why”: why should every company, including those in the financial sector, find ways to appreciate and recognize its employees? Because when done right, the benefits are numerous and significant.

  • Increased employee engagement,
  • Improved productivity,
  • Enhanced customer satisfaction,
  • Higher likelihood of attracting top talent,
  • Better retention rates,
  • And as a result of all this, increased profits.

In short, employee appreciation and recognition make your team feel better while making your company operate more efficiently.

But which makes the most difference: appreciation vs recognition? So appreciation is about acknowledging the value someone brings to your team on a personal level, while recognition is more formal as it’s about recognizing the hard work an individual or a team has done for your company. 

While these are two different things in theory, in practice, they’re similar and often go hand in hand, and so both matter for employee satisfaction and retention. This is because appreciation makes your employees feel valued as individuals, and helps foster a sense of belonging and loyalty. Recognition, meanwhile, reinforces desired behaviours and motivates employees to continue performing at their best.

Practical Ways to Show Appreciation

With that out of the way, let’s talk about some practical ways to put these concepts into action.

Personalized Thank-You Notes

If you want a simple, completely free, but highly effective way to show appreciation and gratitude to your employees, write a personalized thank-you note to each person deserving of one.

Why is this an effective way to show employee appreciation? One, because in this increasingly digital world, it’s a tangible token of gratitude so it’s bound to mean more than a generic email. Two, because taking time to write a personalized little card adds a heartfelt touch to the occasion and shows that you genuinely value your employee(s)’ efforts.

Employee of the Month Awards

Want to celebrate excellent work and reinforce positive behaviour? Implement an employee of the month program. While pretty simple, this can ensure you keep your best people on the team, plus help create an environment where other people feel inspired to excel at their roles.

Who should get employee of the month awards? This depends on your company and what you want to encourage. For example, you can nominate employees with exceptional work ethic or those with the most innovative ideas. 

Then, you recognize the winners publicly during team meetings or company-wide announcements and highlight their achievements while thanking them for their hard work. Rewards can include things like gift cards, extra time off, or even a reserved parking spot to add excitement to the program.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Long hours and tight deadlines are more common than not in the finance industry, so why not offer flexible work arrangements to your top performers as a way to show you respect their autonomy? This can greatly improve their work-life balance and job satisfaction, which is something you absolutely should want to nurture in your top people.

So, what are some of your options here? If possible, you can allow your employees to work remotely part-time when it suits them. You can also offer them flexible work hours to accommodate their commitments or preferences. 

This way, you show appreciation for your team’s individual needs and responsibilities outside of work, and as a bonus, you may also boost your team’s overall productivity – some research shows that employees with flexible work arrangements experience the highest productivity.

Customized Gifts and Incentives

Finally, giving gifts or bonuses is a surefire way to show appreciation for your employee’s hard work – but you don’t want to give your top performers generic fruit baskets or tiny bonuses. No, what your employees want, and you should therefore give, are personalized or customized gifts that are meaningful and relevant to them. That, or hefty bonuses – they always seem to work.

On a more serious note, personalization is important because it adds, well, a personal touch, and shows that you value your employees’ unique contributions to the team. Alongside gifts, consider offering monetary bonuses or incentives when your top talent achieves specific goals or milestones.