Five ways to show appreciation for your employees

The first Friday in March is National Employee Appreciation Day, a chance to recognise the contribution your temporary and permanent staff make to your business. While it may be tempting to go all out with a catered lunch or one-off celebration, we’d argue the best way to show your employees you care is by implementing long-term solutions that allow them to do their best work. Best of all, it usually doesn’t require a big budget.

Develop a culture of gratitude

Every person working for you wants to feel like they are being noticed and appreciated, so it’s time to start communicating this. Whether it’s a simple thank you, or introducing a section on your company’s intranet that celebrates employee achievements every month, a little recognition goes a long way.

Trial flexible working

Flexible working is increasingly becoming a necessity for most employees – a study by Timewise found that 87% of employees say that they work flexibly or would like to. Therefore, why not trial some sort of flexible working scheme within your business? It could be as simple as offering the chance to come in early so they can leave early, or work from home every now and then. It shows that you trust them to get their work done and recognise that they have a life outside of work.

Invest in learning

Research conducted by totaljobs in 2018 revealed that 9 in 10 employees want their employer to offer more training courses, while 68% of employees have changed jobs because of a lack of learning and development opportunities.² Therefore, why not show your employees you care by hosting lunchtime learning sessions, or allowing time during the working week to catch up on training initiatives? Encouraging an ethos of learning will make employees comfortable and enthusiastic about taking control of their career progression within the working day.

These programmes can also help with attracting new talent – when hiring an executive assistant or recruiting a PA, offering learning and development opportunities can be a huge plus.

Allow for internal mobility

It’s not just a case for onwards and upwards – sometimes, employees will look to their company for help in changing careers. For example, an office manager may be looking to move into HR, or a PA might find they are interested in corporate social responsibility. Whatever the shift, you can show support by welcoming this change and providing the resources wherever possible.

Review your internal communication strategies

People don’t want to feel excluded from decisions that directly relate to them, so if you haven’t already, now is the time to consider a regular internal communications scheme. Maintaining a transparent approach on business performance, goals and future plans will allow your employees to see how they fit into the grand scheme of things and in return, encourage buy-in. They’ll feel more valued if they know what’s going on, and are given the opportunity to express their wins, concerns or gratitude.

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When embedded into your culture, these strategies can also assist with your recruitment strategies. If you are looking for help with PA recruitment or secretarial recruitment in London, Tiger can help. Get in touch today!

1. https://timewise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Flexible_working_Talent_-Imperative.pdf
2. http://www.onrec.com/news/news-archive/two-in-three-workers-quit-due-to-a-lack-of-learning-and-development-opportunities

Author Tiger Contributor Tiger Recruitment Team