Making sure your employees feel valued is instrumental in keeping them productive and enthusiastic about remaining at your company. Employees are the lifeblood of almost every company on this planet, and they want to feel like they’re part of a larger, group effort to accomplish your company’s mission.
As such, there are a variety of tactics and strategies you can use to make your employees feel more wanted and valued. So, in case you’re an HR professional, someone in charge of hiring, or a manager of employees, let’s look at 5 surefire ways to make your employees feel like they have real value at your company.
1. Have Intentional Conversations.
A lot of the conversations you have with your employees likely revolve around you giving them their next assignments and general instructions. And, while this is fine for the most part, you should take the opportunity to spice it up when you can. That means offering any feedback you have on their work and taking more of an interest in what they think they’re capable of doing.
Ask them if they feel comfortable working on what you’ve given them and if they’re interested in other types of assignments. These intentional and specific conversations make employees feel included and valued.
2. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.
If you want to know how to make employees feel valued, don’t sweat the small stuff. If a normally punctual person is running a bit late or lagging in their productivity lately, give them time to get back up to speed.
Most people want to please and are well aware of when they’ve missed a step, so give them a chance to self-correct without intervention before you have a heart-to-heart with them. You turning a blind eye to small indiscretions does not go unnoticed and will likely make your employees that much more willing to please their forgiving higher-ups.
3. Pass it On.
When you get the opportunity to show employees positive things that others have said about them, use it to your full advantage. Positive feedback from clients can be used to show them that not just their managers, but the clients themselves are getting real value from their efforts. Bonus points if you pass along this feedback during a group meeting where other employees can see it too.
4. Offer Challenges.
One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is the opportunity to make themself feel truly useful and uniquely needed. For instance, offer your employees a more difficult task that’s specific to their talents every now and then. This can make them feel singled out and responsible in a good way.
“For most people, failing to meet someone else’s positive expectations for them hurts more than just failing to meet their own expectations. Ask them if they’d be up for a challenge, chances are they’ll relish the opportunity to get away from their everyday tasks for a moment.” – Sam Willis, business writer from Raincatcher.
5. Celebrate Anniversaries.
When a person has been working with you for a long time, a little recognition of their long-term investment in your company can go a long way. Celebrate those yearly anniversaries and maybe even offer a bonus or reward to go along with it. These can be important benefits to employees and they make a company feel more like a family than a workplace.
Little Things Make All the Difference to Employee Morale
Employees likely need your job to pay their bills and support their families, so they already have intrinsic motivation to show up and produce. Therefore, it should be that much easier for you to make them feel valued.
Offering positive feedback, publicly praising them, celebrating yearly work anniversaries, taking a specific interest in their abilities, and letting small indiscretions slide without mention are all highly effective ways to keep your employees feeling valued and motivated to please.
