Do you know the #1 reason why people quit their jobs? According to OC Tanner research, "79 percent of employees who quit their jobs claim that a lack of appreciation was a major reason for leaving."
Early in my career as a manager, I vividly recall discovering this Gallup research: employees who receive recognition and appreciation at least once a week are significantly more productive and engaged, and less likely to leave their organizations. While I understood the importance of appreciation, I was surprised by just how frequently it needs to occur.
Appreciating our team members for their hard work isn't just the right thing to do for them as valuable contributors; it also makes strategic sense for anyone concerned with team impact. Regular appreciation reduces turnover, boosts productivity, and benefits those who express appreciation.
For nearly two decades, I've been deeply engaged in workplace appreciation. Through leading workshops, retreats for teams, and coaching executives on recognizing their teams, I've gathered valuable strategies to help integrate appreciation into everyday work.
Start simple, and dream big too.
Fair compensation and genuine time off are crucial for team well-being. Appreciation shouldn't replace fair wages or healthy workplace practices—if these issues exist, they must be addressed promptly. However, don't delay building a culture of appreciation while tackling more significant systemic changes. Send a quick text or Slack message right now to thank someone for their work on a project. Begin your next meeting with a round of shout-outs. You can start fostering appreciation today alongside your broader goals.
Make it specific so that it is meaningful.
Appreciation has to be more than "Hey, thanks!" or "Great job on the budget presentation!" Get specific about what you appreciated and the impact someone has had. You need not give a long speech or write a novel to say thanks, but a few specifics about what made their work so great will take the impact of your appreciation up many notches.
Systematize it.
If you want to appreciate team members more, put systems in place to make that easier to do amidst all that you're juggling.
Set a weekly reminder to send out an appreciation or two.
Add a recurring part of a team meeting agenda (and don't skip it!) to invite others to give each other recognition for good work done.
Add to a project or event checklist to call the question of how appreciation can be built into the next time we do this project or event.
Start a Slack channel or Google Space called #kudos and ask team members to express their appreciation for each other as soon as they think of it.
Use a system like Thanks to give everyone on your team a budget for sending small thank-you gifts to each other.
Make time to discuss appreciation directly.
The best way to invest in a culture of appreciation is to discuss why it matters with your team and invest everyone in creating that culture. For my clients, this often looks like spending a few hours of a retreat or workshop discussing the research on appreciation, diving into how individuals like to be appreciated (we often use this book and its associated quiz as a tool), and brainstorming how to build that recognition into their existing systems.
But you can also start small as well. Play Totem together as a team (when I was a nonprofit Executive Director, I'd bring this game to team happy hours). End your next team meeting with 10-15 minutes doing this easy activity.
Appreciation resources you can use today
To support you in doing this with as little friction as possible, I've created an Appreciation Toolkit with a sample session facilitator's guide, handouts, a slide deck, and lots of appreciation-at-work resources that you can get for free at www.jessicaeastmanstewart.com/appreciation. I hope it's so helpful!
