Appreciation = Respect, Gratitude and Valuing Employee Contributions

One of the first lessons that children learn is the importance of saying “thank you”. It is such a basic lesson and yet it amazes me how many adults have not learned to show genuine appreciation.

Managers and that recognize when an employee has gone the extra mile, has stayed late to finish a task, or completed a job with excellence need to say, “thank you”. It costs very little and has incredible impact in making the employee feel more engaged and committed to their job.

People are an organization’s most important resource. It is so important to let them know they are important!

Appreciation has been described as “a sense of feeling valued and involved”. Notice the subjective emphasis here. Employees need to be involved (the influence side of the equation) AND feel that they are vital contributors. We all need to feel significant, to feel respected, and to feel that our efforts matter. In fact, Robinson et al. at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) claim that appreciation is the most significant factor in employee engagement.

Encarta includes the following in its definition of appreciation:

~a feeling or expression of gratitude

~a favorable opinion of something

~valuing something highly

~a statement of praise

~a full understanding of the meaning and importance of something

~an increase in value, especially over time

Employee appreciation incorporates all of these meanings. It may be worth considering that the value of an employee appreciates the more they are appreciated!

Mark DeVolder is a truly motivational speaker who will equip your team to improve individual and organizational effectiveness with the tools, inspiration and momentum to accelerate performance!