More work SHOULD mean more rewards!

Everything has been crazy at our company, just like it probably is at yours. In the face of the recession, everyone is working harder than ever. It seems like no one has just one area of responsibility any more...all of us are wearing so many different hats.

Now for the big question...are you rewarding your employees for all they're doing? Are you even saying thank you, or is it more of a "Consider yourself lucky you have a job" find of thing? Be honest. Because you're not fooling anyone, least of all your employees. And the wrong choice will come back to bite you, sooner than you might think!

Here's the bottom line, 'cause I know you're busy.

1) People (read: employees, but it's nice to be reminded once in awhile that they ARE people!) work better and harder and more effectively when they feel

• Appreciated
  
• Needed
  
• Noticed

It's that simple. So what about your employees? Are they being told how essential they are to your company's success -- even its survival? Are they being told how much their hard work is appreciated? Or even more to the point,

ARE THEY APPRECIATED???????

Here are a few more simple facts:

• Unappreciated employees have more accidents, take more sick days, work less effectively and are less creative. These are the people who are most likely have a resume at the ready at all times. In other words, given a half decent opportunity, they, and their expertise and contacts and information will be out the door. Woosh! Gone!
  
  
• Employees who feel unneeded, especially in this economy, are spending far more hours worrying about that pink slip than they are worrying about your bottom line.
  
  
• Employees who come to the conclusion, correctly or incorrectly, that they are not noticed...that their work is not noticed...stop trying and start coasting. And if the differential rewards are nil, who can blame them?

So what do you have to do?

Thank you for asking, because the answers are just as simple as the facts!

• Know where real productivity lies. Realize, deep down in your managerial heart that as much as you would like to believe that it all depends on you, that it REALLY all depends on those sales associates and telephone help desk people and order processors and everyone else who handles the day to day making, selling, services and explaining your product or service. THEY ARE YOUR COMPANY'S LIFEBLOOD!
  
  
• Pay attention to what they do every day. Instead of focusing on yet another tool to catch and bash people for being 10 minutes late, start looking at what good stuff they are doing every single day. Helping that annoying customer calmly. Getting that order out the door against all odds. Getting another 100 people to look at your website today. It all counts, so start acknowledging it.
  
  
• Figure out ways to say thank you. And don't tell me you can't afford to say thank you. A simple "Hey, great job!" card or jar of candy for their desk or SOMETHING will be a HUGE leap from nothing! And it's cheap! REALLY, REALLY cheap, especially when you consider that your company depends on every employee doing their stuff in harmony and well and consistently.

Don't let Employee Appreciation Day pass without employee appreciation!

March 6th is comin' up fast, people...do your employees feel appreciated?

Let's be honest. Are they feeling like essential members of the team, critical factors in your company's success?

Or are they living under the constant threat of layoffs, wondering when their name will come up on the pink slip list? Or worse yet, under constant scrutiny lest they make a mistake and the discipline notices begin?

Countless studies have proven that employees who feel under appreciated and under the gun perform more poorly, have more accidents and provide lower quality customer service. And yet some companies never learn.

How is your company doing on employee appreciation? Could your company culture stand some improvement? Here are some tips for making real and lasting changes in the way your employees feel at work...and Employee Appreciation Day is the perfect day to start!

Here are some ideas for Employee Appreciation Day, and then some more for the rest of the year:

For March 6th, if you haven't already planned something, it's not too late to put together a little celebration:

Celebrate together. Order a cake, decorate the lunch rooms or break rooms and say thank you to everyone with an impromptu party.

Give everyone a thank you card with a small gift card inside. Do not give a gift card to your company's business -- go for a local grocery store, gas station or fast food restaurant. Make sure the card tells employees that they are most important asset your company has. And mean it.

Use March 6th to announce a new employee appreciation policy. Make each employee's birthday a paid holiday for them. Or make some days a "Bring-Your-Dog-To-Work-Day. Whatever your new policy is, the cost will be small compared to the value you'll gain from committed employees.

And from March 6th onward, make some real changes to show your staff that employee appreciation isn't just a day, it's a policy.

Send each employee a personally signed birthday card. And an employment anniversary card. Let them know that they are recognized and appreciated as individuals

Share information instead of letting them drown in rumors. Coming to work every day afraid of being RIF'd is no way to work. Let employees know exactly what's going on, and provide on-going feedback about their job security. If they're in line to be let go, let them know a month in advance so they can start a job search.

Provide training and job enrichment. One way to let employees know you appreciate them is to provide them with training and new ways to use their skills, talents and interests. Training is a powerful way to keep your employees motivated and add to the quality of your company at the same time.

Make saying thank you a company policy. A sincere thank you for a job well done, a heroic effort or just a helping hand goes a long way towards building employee satisfaction. make it a company policy to reward employees with a genuine thank you, in writing if possible. And let encourage supervisors and managers to file a copy in the employee's file, too. Knowing that those thank you's will be remembered at review time is an employee appreciation tool everyone will love.