The Little Things That Make Employees Feel Appreciated

People feel more productive when they experience gratitude from their manager. 

Teams perform better when their members believe that their colleagues respect and appreciate them.

But managers struggle to make employees feel that their talent and contributions are valued and noticed. managers feel that it is challenging to show their staff appreciation, the employees feel it is very simple.

There are notable differences between managers and employees perceptions. 

First, there were stark differences between how much the managers appreciated the employee and how appreciated the employee felt. managers incorrectly assumed employees knew how they felt about them. {Illusin of transparency - a tendency to overestimate how visible their emotions are to others}

Second, managers feel communicating appreciation is very complicated. Some had trouble balancing it with development feedback while some felt it would become routine and seem to be routine and impersonal. Employees, on the other hand, felt it was how manager quicky and clearly expressed their appreciation. 

These are what the managers need to do:

Talk to employees often. Take time to say hello to employees and check in with them make the employees feel wanted and prebent them from feeling invisible. It allows employees to share stories about what they are doing and stay in the loop about what is happening.

Give balanced feedback  Employees what to know how they are doing and where they can improve. Receiving only critical feedback makes them give up and feel they could never get anything right.

The trick is not to give both types of feedback immediately. Be sure to separate positive feedback from developmental feedback.

Address growth opportunities. Employees want to know what their future holds for them. When managers take time to express clearly the growth opportunities, employees fell they are valued. 

Offer flexibility, When employees are offered flexibility to work they feel trusted and appreciated. 

Make it a habit. Simply taking a few minutes to tell your employee that they value the contributions has a tremendous impact. 

MISTAKES TO AVOID

Expressions that are inauthentic and very general. Appreciation should be specific and genuine. It should be timely, relevant and sincere and not sound hollow. However, be watchful for the fact that in a group, all may not have contributed and this may make the high performers feel alienated.

Neglecting company procedures. Many managers may not follow the requirements of monthly check-ins, quarterly reviews or an annual scorecard as they may feel it is a waste of time. Employees may feel that they are not valued and the inaction is a statement about them.

Letting employees feel isolated.  For a manager, it is easy to see how each contribution fits into the overall work but the employee may not have that view. When managers explain how their work fits in with others work then they feel includes and understand how they are contributing.

Sudden changes in appreciation practice. If you haven't spent time showing your appreciation, talk to them and understand their preferences and do not overdo it.

Making appreciation easy and contagious.

Appreciation ifs free, contagious and doesn't take much time. At the end of the day expressing appreciation comes down to a set of common practices: 

Not taking people for granted. 

Remember to say thank you in a personal and sincere way.

Making it clear that you are interested in employee's growth and as individuals.

The Little Things That Make Employees Feel Appreciated

by Kerry Roberts Gibson, Kate O'Leary, and Joseph R. Weintraub

HBR January 23, 2020