Appreciation promotes collaboration, trust, and dedication

Three keys to employee appreciation from my book The Servant Manager:

1. Catch your employees doing something right and thank them for it – at least once a week and for something specific. Appreciate and acknowledge people directly for something they have done. Don’t offer just a “thanks” or an “attaboy”, but rather mention something that you have observed, something you have heard from their peer or your peer or from a client/customer, or something that you found out about some other way. You may have found that your employee helped someone, or that they demonstrated care and kindness, or that they delivered services, or conducted research, or composed written works, exceeded individual expectations, or consistently proved reliable in assigned tasks. This “above and beyond” can be pointed out and appreciated in recognition that can be public or personal – but is always genuine and specific.

1. Get your employees the tools, training, and resources they need – not only from your perspective but also from their perspective. The second point is to work with employees to determine their needs. Their needs may include technical equipment, a suitable workspace, timely interaction with you, personally developmental assignments, mentoring, meeting clients, training, enhancing soft skills, and a host of other things. You may need to ask them, and then observe how they are doing, and work with your employees to develop a plan that demonstrates that you truly care about them and their development. If you do, you will likely have a very loyal and dedicated employee, and you will be able to see them develop going forward. They may also become one of your best recruiters.

1. Give your employees a chance to shine in leadership and accomplishment – because everybody likes to feel like a “winner”. The third point is to give your employees a chance to expand their skill set by giving them acting assignments or opportunities to explore roles outside of their current role. These expanded roles can be technical or managerial in nature. Let them experiment with expanded activities to see if they are something they want to do. You can also ask them what they would like to do where you may be able to help. This can be additional training.

I once asked a grain elevator supervisor what he does to give employees a chance to shine in leadership or accomplishment, and he told me of an employee who likes to speak with 4th graders each year about what they do at the grain elevator and have fun with the students. That activity meant a lot to that employee, and his employer let him do this outreach activity on company time.

Why appreciation

It has been found that appreciation helps both the manager expressing appreciation and those who receive their appreciation. Expressions of appreciation or gratitude can improve relationships, mental and physical health, and well-being. People experience enhanced moods when other people like what they are doing. Being “liked” reduces stress. People sleep better. They feel better about themselves and tend to take better care of themselves. Trust is enhanced. People are more dedicated to the job. They watch out for each other. When conflicts arise, they tend to look for the good in others and navigate the conflict better, listening to different perspectives and working to find ways to collaborate. Generally, they tend to be more optimistic, are more generous with their time with others, and are grateful for what they have.

In short, when people appreciate others and others appreciate them, they tend to provide better customer service, drive up employee satisfaction, and help the bottom line. It is not that business results are the driver, but better business results are the result when appreciation is part of the overall culture. For further reading on this topic, check out The Importance of Showing Appreciation: 10 Good Reasons to Show Appreciation and a Forbes article entitled 10 Reasons You Need To Show Appreciation Daily.  The commentary above and these articles clearly articulate why appreciation should be part of daily interaction with others.

Further Reading

In my book The Servant Manager, appreciation is mentioned many times across a number of chapters and in a number of different “tips” learned from the best places to work in America. 

Here are a few of the “whys” and the “hows” (the reasons and the ways) we show appreciation:

• By emphasizing appreciation, culture can be enhanced, and positive efforts can be reinforced
• Employees appreciate recognition for quality efforts being recognized
• Appreciation in front of peers can be a very proud moment for an employee
• Ask the employee how they would like to be appreciated
• Ask the employee how much appreciation means to them during a midyear or annual review with other elements. For example, which of these is most important, from 1 to 10, and then discuss the top three and bottom three of what the employee identified and how you are doing on each. Should you be doing more, less, the same, something different?

• Form an appreciation committee to come up with ways to show appreciation
• Move to team rather than individual appreciation recognition
• Promote teams over individual appreciation
• Appreciate when employees ask questions

Another good source is Appreciation at Work. They blog weekly with excellent insights on various aspects of appreciation. Here are just a few examples:

What Do I Do if I Really Don’t Appreciate A Coworker? The blog suggests you don’t try to fake it. Do some self-reflection. Consider characteristics not directly related to work performance. Please get to know them a little better.

A Blast From the Past – Appreciation Isn’t a New Idea. Here, the tract comments back to 1000 BCE and, more recently (1930), focuses on Dale Carnegie’s course on How to Win Friends and Influence People. The blog provides a series of excerpts from the book such as:

“The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere… One is selfish; the other is not.”

“Remember that a person’s name, to that person, is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

“Abilities wither under criticism; they blossom under encouragement.”

“Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.”

He quotes Henry Ford as saying, “If there is one secret to success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as your own.”

He quotes Charles Shwab as saying, “the way to develop the best in in a person by appreciation and encouragement.”

Take what is presented here and see if you can apply something to others at work and/or in life. Start small. Notice the impact and consider what you might want to do after learning from that experience. For additional reading check out these additional resources to learn more about collaboration, conflict resolution, or enhancing your servant manager skills.