When was the last time you felt valued as an employee? Or when was the last time you really told employees you valued them?
66% of employees in the U.S. are not engaged in their jobs.
When you’re disengaged in a task, you don’t do your best work. You don’t have a positive attitude. You’re not motivated to go above and beyond.
Think about the impact of 2 out of 3 people in the workplace behaving this way. It leads to more turnover, less productivity, and weaker ties within teams.
Showing employees you care is a great way to increase engagement in the workplace.
Here are a few ways you can show your employees you care:
1. Say Thank You
Saying thank you to employees consists of more than giving them fair compensation. Let employees know you appreciate their energy, effort, and attitude.
Show your employees you care by being grateful for them:
- Thank employees for their efforts before the results arrive. Don’t wait until the end of a project to thank employees for the work they did. There are thousands of little things that add up to a successful project. Each one of these things presents an opportunity to say thank you.
- Recognize the bright spots along the way even for projects that fail.
- Send a few thank you emails at the end of each day. People appreciate that special touch.
- Start an employee of the week or the month tradition.
- Shine a light on employees who put others first.
- Celebrate a successful project before rushing onto the next one.
- Say thanks on Employee Appreciation Day!
Limeade says thanks with a monthly Make Others Great award. The winner gets to showcase a big green shoe on her desk during the month.
2. Help Them Grow
When you care about someone, you’re willing to lend a helping hand. You want to help him or her reach their goals.
Show your employees you care by helping them grow:
- Provide proper training to employees that are new to the company.
- Provide consistent feedback to your employees. Let them know how they can get better. Don’t forget to notice what they’re doing well though.
- Take time to understand the hopes and dreams of your employees. How do they want to develop? What’s the next role they want? Where do they want to be in five years?
- Help your employees get the experience and skills they need to level-up to where they want to go. Give them projects that develop this skill set. Look for opportunities across the company for them when they’re ready to do more.
Author Simon Sinek puts it best, “A star wants to see himself rise to the top. A leader wants to see those around him or her rise to the top.”
3. Support Them
When you care about someone, you pick them up when they’re down. You nudge them along the right path for them.
You encourage them. You guide them. You support them every step of the way. Show your employees you care by supporting them:
- Pair new employees with mentors to help them progress through the learning curve of the new role.
- Boost your employees’ health by promoting work-life balance, offering wellness activities, and encouraging health screenings.
- Don’t throw employees under the bus when things go wrong. Instead, use these situations as opportunities for them to learn from their mistakes.
- Don’t view employees as expenses on the balance sheet or resources to drive more profit. Treat them like people you want to see succeed. After all, if they excel in their jobs, the company succeeds as well.
Starbucks pays tuition costs for part-time and full-time employees.
4. Value Their Input
When you care about someone, you don’t talk at them. You listen to them.
You try to understand their viewpoint. You want their honest feedback.
Show your employees you care by encouraging them to speak up:
- Build a culture where the best idea wins, whether it comes from the boss or the analyst.
- Get feedback about processes and systems from the people that know them best. They have the best grasp of the issues, problems, and opportunities for improvements.
- Don’t stop at asking for feedback. Adopt great ideas. Give credit to the person who made the suggestion.
- Don’t make employees wait for management to create an initiative for change. Empower employees to run with their ideas about how to make things better. Give them the autonomy to make improvements.
- Create environments where people feel safe to open up and share creative, interesting, and different ideas. This encourages employees to collaborate.
Google innovates by getting everyone involved. They hold brainstorming sessions and build prototypes of the most promising ideas.
5. Make It Enjoyable
You have fun with the people you care about. You laugh together. You enjoy their company.
Show your employees you care by lifting their spirits and making it fun:
- Coordinate fun events during work hours once a quarter. Organize a team Happy Hour, an outing to a baseball game, or another team-building event.
- Let the employees out early on Fridays during the summer so they can maximize the weekend.
- You don’t need to leave the office to have fun. Share laughs with your co-workers at work. The workplace doesn’t have to be a drag and a grind. It can be the place where you collaborate with people you trust, respect, and like.
- Highlight a successful project with a case study. The team can share challenges, wins, and lessons learned along the journey. Make it relaxed and enjoyable by buying lunch for the department.
Startup companies gained fame for perks like ping-pong tables in the break room and dog-friendly offices. This shows that making it fun doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day
All employees can celebrate their co-workers. It’s not just the job of the CEO and managers.
It’s also not an activity that only takes place once a year on Employee Appreciation Day. It should be a year-round exercise. It will increase engagement, strengthen bonds between co-workers, and develop trust and loyalty.
After celebrating your co-workers, check out our resources for patients to find more information about our services and facilities.