Every person communicates differently and learning to speak our employees’ individual modes of language, expressions, and vernaculars means communicating more clearly. When it comes to employee recognition, it’s important to communicate your appreciation of your employees in a way that speaks directly to them. Many employees say they feel unappreciated and it’s often one of the top reasons employees leave their jobs.
And yet, employers spend 46 billion a year on employee recognition. The cost averages 1-2% of an employer’s payroll. That’s not a small amount to sniffle at. So, why do many employees still feel underappreciated?
Too often, the message of recognition gets lost. In some cases, it may come down to managers communicating in a way that employees don’t see, hear, or feel. A recognition program that only throws gifts and money at an employee who values praise and words of recognition will fall on deaf ears.
Gary Chapman revolutionized the language of relationships with his book The 5 Love Languages. He stated that each person has a primary 1-2 language of communication that makes them feel appreciated, valued, and loved. While his original book was intended for couples, it has a strong application to employee appreciation and the workplace.
Let’s cover how managers can alter their recognition programs and make sure to communicate their appreciation of employees in a manner that helps employees to feel appreciated.
Recognition Through Words of Affirmation
Recognizing employees through words of affirmation is easier and simpler than it may seem. Even if you aren’t a verbal person, try saying; “Thank you” to express sincere appreciation. Too often, employers pay for big expensive benefits to show employees they value them, but then fail to actually express gratitude to employees.
This can backfire because employees can start to feel entitled to the perks of the job, but still feel unappreciated and unengaged. Yes, awards, events, celebrations are important aspects of recognition, just don’t forget to express it in words also.
There are several ways to recognize employees through words of affirmation. Check out 13 Written Ways to Show Employees Appreciation, which contains unique and effective methods of communication through words of affirmation. Notes, emails, and ecards can also be effective methods of recognizing an employee for a great job. In the Thanks platform, you can send notes, publicly recognize an employee, or nominate them for an award.
Employees who are strong in words of affirmation may also enjoy being praised in front of colleagues. The few moments of being told how they shone in front of peers can be an effective method for recognizing and engaging that employee.
Peer recognition becomes a catalyst for even better performance because “words of affirmation” employees feel that connection and responsibility to their team. Peer recognition has been shown to dramatically increase employee engagement. Words of affirmation employees often express appreciation both verbally and in written form to their peers. They are quick to verbalize the things they appreciate about others.
Valuing Employees Through Quality Time
Other employees may feel appreciated the most when you give them quality time. When these employees feel like their managers and peers have time for them, they feel more valued and recognized. Time is a valuable commodity and often managers can feel overwhelmed with the endless items that need to be done. But, spending even small amounts of time with your team can really communicate to the quality time employees.
These employees will feel valued when they are mentored. They appreciated annual reviews and look forward to discussions. Spending one-on-one time with them to discuss their career path and investing in their professional development speaks volumes to these employees. Encouraging your team to meet to brainstorm, discuss, and work out workplace obstacles is critical for quality-time employees.
Recognition celebrations are valuable to quality time employees because of the time spent. They appreciate a lunch celebration, a party, or a team activity. Employers can load experiences such as “lunch with manager name” into Thanks for employees to redeem. Loading experiences into the company store gives employees who value quality time to redeem their rewards for experiences they value the most.
Employees who value quality time are often employees who take a few minutes to check in with their teams, invite peers to activities outside of work, and enjoy taking lunches with colleagues.
Showing Appreciation Through Gifts
Employees who feel appreciated through recognition gifts are often the employees that recognition speaks to the most. Many recognition programs focus on bonuses, prizes, awards, and rewards. These perks are great for employees who “hear” best through gifts.
One word of caution: You may be inclined to throw bonuses at employees who accomplish certain tasks. But, money is not viewed by employees as being the same as gifts and can have a detrimental effect on performance.
Employees who “hear” praise best through recognition gifts enjoy giving and receiving Give Thanks Awards. They value employee benefits and extra perks. These employees enjoy a lunch celebration because of the gift of food.
To show appreciation for gift employees, consider picking up an extra latte or juice drink when you grab yours. A “Thank You!” also works well for gift receiving employees because it provides a tangible item of appreciation. Thanks allows managers and peers to give gift points that the receiving employee can redeem for gift cards.
Employee Recognition Through Acts of Service
Chances are, you have at least one employee on your team that goes out of their way to help others. They are willing to answer questions, help a new team member, or go the extra mile. Sometimes acts of service employees appear to get distracted because they are willing to stop and help, even when they are very busy. It’s important to recognize them for their efforts. You can show appreciation to service-oriented employees through little acts of service. Stopping to get them the resources they need or taking over a menial task of theirs shows them how much you value them.
Managers who take the time to mentor, assist, and provide problem-solving help “speak” to these employees. Another way to recognize employees through acts of service is to provide altruistic recognition to employees.
Celebrating With Employees Through Physical Touch
Physical touch in the workplace is often a dangerous path to go. Even so, one study found that physical touch among teammates in the NBA also had higher winscores and superior team performance. Obviously, most of the touch allowed in basketball is off-limits in the workplace.
But, you can show appreciation to physical-touch employees through high-fives and fist bumps. Even a congratulations handshake can be used to recognize employees after a big “win.” There are few other appropriate ways to give physical touch to employees.
But, don’t despair. You can still connect and speak to those employees. Employees whose primary connection language is physical touch usually have a secondary language. In the workplace, the key is finding that secondary language and speaking it to those employees.
If you aren’t sure what your employees’ secondary language is, continue using the other four love languages to recognize your employees. Here are a few unique ways to recognize employees.
- Give them more control over their workspaces
- Celebrate failure to inspire employees to go outside job “norms”
Conclusion
You may not initially know which of these languages your employee best communicates in, but observation can help identify which language each employee uses the most. If you are uncertain, utilizing all of these recognition methods will help you speak recognition better to your employees.
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.