Many managers think that staff members value recognition and thoughtfulness over bigger benefits, like an increased salary or time off. They don’t. Those will always be the priorities for most people who are employed, for obvious reasons.
That being said, while it’s good to know small tokens won’t paper over what really matters, they can certainly do a huge amount of good in expanding morale and making people stay at your firm. That goes double if you’re the kind of employer and manager who will pay attention to who they are as individuals rather than just viewing them as productivity units.
As such, knowing what connects the people you hire to the job you’ve hired them to do, and in the small ways showing you care, is one of the better management priorities out there. Let’s explore some helpful tips and steps below to understand what gestures do staff most appreciate.
Accurate Time Tracking Shows Real Respect
Getting paid accurately for every minute worked might seem like a basic expectation, but you’d be surprised how many organizations still round down hours or use systems that don’t capture time precisely. If you show your staff that proper time and expense software that tracks wages down to the minute matters to you, it showcases a certain amount of respect for employees’ time and effort, especially for hourly workers who depend on every bit of their earned income.
Of course, that’s just as important for employees who do overtime, because knowing that their employer values their time enough to track and pay for it exactly is an effort their past employers might not have bothered with.
Appreciating & Remembering Them As people
Staff members talk about how much it means when supervisors or colleagues remember small personal details about their lives outside of work. We’ve had this at work, where we might ask about a child’s football game that was mentioned weeks earlier, remember someone was anxious about a medical appointment, or quietly celebrate milestones like anniversaries or graduations, letting them know we’re genuinely happy for them. These gestures do staff most appreciate.
As a manager you can arrange a small surprise or a mutual card, but just the act of listening during casual conversations and caring enough to follow up later is usually a good thing to remember. If a staff member asked ahead of time if they could book off a few days for an important date to them, it’s good to try and prioritize it and to ask how it went. Most employees will say that feeling known as a person as opposed to just a job title will of course make them more invested in their work and more likely to stay with the company long term.
Being As Flexible As You Can
Your employees are hired on a contract with specific terms. That much is very true, and you’re not asking beyond your station for your hired staff to do what they signed up to do. That being said, life happens to everyone. This is precisely why gestures do staff most appreciate: workplaces that understand this reality without making them jump through hoops every time they need a small accommodation or caveat. A flexible and empathetic approach to unforeseen circumstances can significantly boost employee morale and loyalty.
For example, you may allow someone to start work thirty minutes late twice a week so they can drop their child at daycare (provided they meet their hours on other days), or let people swap shifts without requiring manager approval for every change, or be understanding about personal phone calls during work hours if required.
Ultimately, you have to trust and treat your staff like adults. Almost all employees will say they feel most valued when they can handle smaller life admin or that they can always come to you with an issue. It’s not hard to see why.
Timely Recognition
It’s easy to just give general praise but people won’t believe it if you shower it on anyone around. In fact, they might even see it as an artificial means of “bonding” and feel put off by the affair. That’s why your employees will respond much better to recognition that shows someone actually noticed what they did and understood why it mattered to the team or organization. A crucial element that many workplaces overlook. This genuine acknowledgment of effort is among the gestures do staff most appreciate.
Though remember that this recognition works best if it happens close to the actual achievement rather than just annual reviews or an award show you host each year. A quick message or memo showing that someone handled a difficult customer situation well or stayed late to help a colleague, and even having employee of the month or other reward structures can help you show timely recognition is appreciated and rewarded.
Comfort Is Acceptable
Physical comfort can sometimes be thought of as laziness, but don’t worry, you don’t have to bring bean bags into the office to make it a little more relaxing to be there. You can achieve a nicer office ambience if you provide better lighting in workspaces, or ensure break rooms have comfortable utilities like standing desks or lumbar-supporting chairs. Also make certain to keep restrooms well stocked with quality supplies, or make sure the office temperature stays reasonable throughout the day with air filters that help long shifts at a desk or station feel doable.
These seemingly obvious basics are often overlooked, yet they are among the gestures do staff most appreciate. For instance, it could do with some investment. These little trimmings show you care about their experience in the workplace and staff will respond in kind, looking to keep up an area they’ve learned to really respect.
With this advice, we hope you can see the little gestures staff appreciate, which will undoubtedly, and almost routinely build up and benefit you in time. It might take a little effort or alteration to get there, but if you listen to staff, focus on any developmental issues they’ve brough up, and don’t think a gesture is a bad token of support, you’ll be surprised at the results.
If you notice any that work or work for certain people, you can always use that knowledge in the future to maximize such benefits.
