8 Easy (and Effective) Ways to Make Your Employees Feel Valued at Work

The salary and benefits your employees receive are important but just as important is a sense of being valued. You could pay your employees a six-figure salary, but if they don’t feel valued, they likely won’t be your employee for long.

Showing your employees that they are valued at work helps build a strong workplace culture that keeps people with your company for the long term. This is important because employee turnover costs companies a lot of money.

If you are struggling to make your employees feel valued at work, you’re in the right place. Read on for our tips on how to make sure that your employees are feeling appreciated and valued at work.

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   Provide Professional Development Opportunities

Happiness is related to life-long learning. When employers recognize this and provide opportunities for learning and development to their employees, they are giving them opportunities to develop themselves, learn new skills, and use them at their existing company.

Most people don’t want to do the same job every day for decades. People want to learn and grow and take on new challenges, but to do this, many will need opportunities for professional development and advanced training. By providing these opportunities, you are showing that you value your employees and their development and want them to stick around and use those new skills in your organization.

2. Show Them That They Are Valued Every Day

Many organizations have yearly awards or “employee of the month” programs but what about showing your employees how much you value them on a daily basis?

Think about the conversations you have with your employees. Do you just hand them a task and send them on their way without much explanation as to why you picked them for the certain task or why you think they are up to the challenge of a new project or assignment?

You don’t need to be over-the-top, but be intentional with your employees when you speak to them and give them things to work on. Telling them how well they did on something and as a result, you think they’ll do great at the new task will go far to make them feel valued and also may motivate them to go above and beyond.

3. Provide Individual Recognition

Think about the recognition options you have for your employees. Do you buy lunch for everyone after a particularly good quarter? Or throw a summer barbecue to recognize all award winners for the year?

While it’s great to have events for the whole team, individual contributions may get lost in the celebrations if there is no recognition of individuals and their contributions. Perhaps you could single out individual award winners at these events so everyone on the team can see who is excelling at their job.

This makes them feel like a valuable and irreplaceable part of your team.

4. Prioritize Well-Being

If it was all about surviving 2020, 2021 is about prioritizing things that fell by the wayside last year. As an employer, you can help promote the well-being of your employees in many ways.

Wellbeing includes both physical and mental health, so things like virtual and in-person wellness events, yoga, fitness, or meditation classes (these can be held virtually or in-person, or both), online seminars, and access to employee assistance programs that provide wellness benefits are all ways to demonstrate your commitment to their wellness.

5. Demonstrate Your Commitment to Work-Life Balance

Part of wellbeing is work-life balance. Many organizations and managers say they prioritize this, but don’t demonstrate this on a regular basis. Lip service isn’t enough.

Work-life balance could include things like urging employees to use vacation time, having a clear policy that employees should not be contacted or check in on vacation, limit any emails or contact with employees after work hours and on the weekends, and make sure they have the ability to take flex time for things like doctor or dentist appointments, to attend events for kids or other family members, and can take time off when they are feeling overwhelmed and overworked.

6. Plan Volunteer Events

Volunteer opportunities can help build camaraderie among your employees, gives your employees a sense of purpose, and gives them the opportunity to use their skills and abilities outside of your organization.

You can also incorporate a match program where your organization will match employee donations up to a certain amount each year. This demonstrates your commitment to the community and the value that your employees have within your organization.

7. Provide Top-Notch Benefits

Don’t underestimate the importance of employee benefits. Research has found that nearly 80% of employees are more likely to stay with an employer because of their benefits.

• Benefits that employees want include:
• Generous paid time off (you may even consider unlimited PTO)
• Flexible work options (such as flexible schedules and remote work opportunities)
• Health care
• Paid family leave
• Professional development
• Financial planning
• Retirement benefits

Great benefits along with a competitive salary are two tools to show your employees their value and keep them loyal to your organization.

8. Provide Meaningful Rewards

Many companies will praise employees, give rewards, recognize their talents, and then reward them with…nothing. Not all rewards need to have a high cost, but providing thoughtful, meaningful, and useful gifts will be greatly appreciated by your employees.

For example, a company swag store can be a place where they can pick out branded items as a reward for high performance. The Axomo swag platform can handle everything for you.

Make Sure Your Employees Feel Valued at Work

Making your employees feel valued at work doesn’t take much of your time or money, but can go a long way in retaining good employees. Employees who recognize their value will be more productive, more engaged, and more loyal. Start implementing some of these ideas right away and see how well your employees respond.

If you found these tips useful, be sure to check out some of our other management and business articles