Why is everyone talking about… employee appreciation?

Do your employees feel appreciated for their work? According to the latest data from the platform Reward Gateway | Edenred, employees in the UK lag behind their American and Australian counterparts when it comes to feeling appreciated – by a score of 61.8 compared to 66.3 (US) and 66.8 (Australia).

To better understand the importance of appreciation, we need to consider both the positive and negative knock-on effects. On one hand, data from Gallup found that employees who felt recognized in their work were 45% more likely to stay with their employer. 

On the other, the latest research from Mental Health UK revealed how instances of burnout are climbing and younger generations are feeling it the most. Appreciation hinges on trust, and when that trust is strained or broken, it can cause increases in things like workplace stress and burnout.

Nebel Crowhurst, Chief People Officer and Chief Appreciation Officer of Reward Gateway, offered the following to HR Magazine: “To drive up appreciation within our organisations, we need to consider the differing needs of our diverse workforces through the personalisation of people solutions and employee benefits in order to meet the unique needs of our people.”

(If you want to see Nebel’s Personio Masterclass on the topic of total reward and how to ultimately build a culture of appreciation, you can click this link)

Our own research on trust found that 42% of employees say that positive feedback and appreciation of the work they do from managers would motivate them to work harder. To help foster a deeper sense of appreciation, consider these starting points: 

• Host informal recognition events: Organise regular team meetings or informal gatherings where employees can share successes and express appreciation for each other's efforts. This can be as simple as a monthly coffee break dedicated to recognising achievements.

• Activate peer-to-peer recognition: Encourage employees to acknowledge and thank each other through simple handwritten notes or shout-outs in team meetings. This fosters a culture of appreciation without requiring any additional resources.

• Create a recognition wall: Set up a physical or digital space where employees can post notes of appreciation for their colleagues. This could be a bulletin board in the office or a shared online document where team members can write messages of thanks and recognition.

• Employee reward and recognition: Building a rewarding programme

• Retaining top talent with a competitive reward strategy

• 14 types of feedback: The collected guide

That's all for this week's edition of Personio Pulse: This Week in HR. Check back next week as we continue to dissect the latest trends impacting the ways we work. 

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