Creatively Incorporating Employee Appreciation into Your Corporate Culture During COVID-19

Even in the midst of the current business climate, building a corporate culture that boosts employee morale, employee appreciation, and employee satisfaction can assist in improving employee retention. Whether you incorporate an Employee Appreciation Day or find unique ways to integrate employee morale boosters and improve office culture.  Here are some creative ways to incorporate employee appreciation into your corporate culture.

Recognize your employees’ efforts. Whether it’s a shoutout to a particular employee or an entire team, recognizing a job well done is always appreciated by employees. If you have a weekly meeting, make a point to recognize an employee in each meeting. It’s also just as important to open the floor to employees to acknowledge their colleagues’ achievements. This helps build, a positive work environment that includes peer-to-peer appreciation, respect, and collaboration.

Acknowledging milestones. From birthdays and work anniversaries to meeting company goals and non-work-related achievements should be acknowledged. It shows an appreciation for the employees’ hard work and support for their outside efforts. You have a great group of employees, so take the opportunity to brag a little on a public platform like the company website and social media outlets to showcase their achievements.

Encouraging feedback. No company or business model is perfect. One important detail business owners and supervising managers forget is that it is okay to ask what employees would like. If employees are hesitant to provide feedback, perhaps incorporating an anonymous suggestion box would be the best approach. This way, you can utilize the feedback you are receiving and make strides to improve the workplace without compromising your employees’ trust and respect. Another great approach may be to let an employee or even a team be the leader for the day. This can help your employees gain insight into the day-to-day operations they may not be aware of. It could also open the door for a solution to a problem you face in your workflow processes.

Offer rewards. There are two ways for which you can offer rewards: individual interest and career-related rewards. Individual interest rewards might focus on a new company shirt, a contribution to a hobby activity, a paid lunch, or offering additional time off. There are plenty of ways to get creative with rewarding your employees and you know them best, so when it comes to personalizing the reward, think outside the box. Career-related rewards might be geared towards elevating career paths, such as paying or financially assisting with continuing education courses or certificates, investing in a parking garage or commute-related fees, contributing to organizations that your employees volunteer at, or creating a mentorship program to assist employees in advancing their careers.

As small businesses continue navigating uncharted territory in uncertain times, maintaining a positive company culture becomes a great way to boost employee morale and improve retention.

Written by Alex Campos. Have you read?

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