Employee Appreciation Beyond Salary: What Actually Makes an Impact

Employee appreciation is something that must always exist in every organization. When employees are appreciated, it will make a significant impact because it fulfills fundamental psychological and emotional needs that affect how employees feel and perform at work. Job satisfaction is not only seen from salary, but how the company treats employees and starts from recognition. DYOW will explain the importance of employee appreciation, and how to create a positive work culture where people will always be enthusiastic and inspired to show their best.

How does feeling appreciated impact employee retention and loyalty?

There are two key areas about feeling appreciated has an impact on employee retention and loyalty. First, employees feel genuinely valued by developing a stronger emotional connection to their organization. This emotional loyalty goes beyond salary, people stay because they're recognized, feel respected, and part of something meaningful. 

Second, people whose efforts and achievements are seen will stay engaged in their roles, look for ways to grow, and contribute more to the progress of the organization. These keys are the key to reducing turnover triggers and exploring opportunities where they can grow rapidly in your place.

How does the lack of appreciation impact employee engagement and turnover?

Unlike being appreciated, lack of appreciation in a workplace has a serious negative impact on both employee engagement and turnover. Unnotified efforts make employees feel disconnected from their work, not enthusiastic to show their best, may stop going the extra mile. Employees who are often ignored will easily get stressed and burnout, especially when higher-ups only demand and blame employee performance without any reciprocity when they do good.

Top Ways to Celebrate Success at Work

If the condition of the organization continues like that, employees are less likely to trust leadership and cannot be aligned with the company's values. Teams will be low morale, and there will be no good collaboration between each other. An uncomfortable workplace atmosphere will make employees may start seeking opportunities elsewhere.

How appreciation improve collaboration and team dynamics?

Appreciation not only works on individuals, but also plays a powerful role in improving collaboration and team dynamics. How does it work? When team members show appreciation for each other's efforts (while each individual receives equal treatment from the organization), it fosters a culture of respect and trust. People feel safe to show up their skills, ask for help, and offer feedback without fear of being judged.

This will encourage open communication, making it easier for teams to communicate openly and honestly. People who feel heard and valued are more likely to listen and respond constructively. Team morale will be high and consider everyone's efforts matter. This will reinforce a shared sense of purpose and unity.

What types of employee appreciation are most effective?

Now, you might be wondering, which employee appreciation actually makes an impact? We will tell you some of the best staff appreciation examples that you can start doing and create a new culture for success.

1. Verbal recognition

This is the act of expressing appreciation by means of praise to an individual or team member through spoken words. Even though this method is the simplest, it is still the most powerful form of employee recognition, because it can be delivered privately or publicly. The key characteristics of verbal recognition are personal, immediate recognition right after a job well done, or flexible during the meetings or company-wide events. Verbal recognition is a low-cost yet high-impact way to make employees feel motivated and visible. A simple spoken word can make a lasting difference in company culture.

2. Public recognition

Public recognition is an act of recognizing and promoting an employee's or team achievements in front of others. Unlike private appreciation, public recognition is meant to amplify the message by reinforcing positive behavior across the organization with celebrating success. You can do this with shout-outs in team meetings, social media posts, award ceremonies, and company-wide emails. This recognition method works because it encourages peer recognition and culture of support, strengthens internal relationships.

3. Celebrating milestones

Celebrating milestones means honoring key achievements or important organizational moments in an employee's journey or in their business life. These can be personal or organizational milestones, and celebrated together to help reinforce a sense of belonging, progress, and appreciation. There are common types of milestones to celebrate such as work anniversaries, promotions, completion of major projects, and personal accomplishments.

4. Professional development opportunities

Professional development opportunities are programs, experiences, or resources from a company that help employees grow their career potential, skills and knowledge. These opportunities include the company's investment in its people, to elevate their current roles and future growth. You can provide training, courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, mentorship programs, or education support. Employees who are given the opportunity to increase their knowledge in their field will be much more enthusiastic in carrying out their roles, and feel indebted to the company in a good way.

5. Tangible rewards

This method is to give physical or material items to employees as a form of incentive and recognition. You can give various personalized items such as company swag, tech gadgets, wellness items, or customized trophies. Tangible rewards are effective because physical items provide instant satisfaction and are the best symbol for appreciation. Employees can see the reward repeatedly, reinforcing positive feelings. Is there an item that can be a cherished keepsake for employees? Yes, and you can get it at DYOW.

Personalized gifts for employee appreciation 

DYOW stands for DesignYourOwnWine, the best place for you to create eternal gifts with various luxury drinks that are suitable for celebration and a symbol of elegance from your employees that you want to appreciate. You can choose the best wine and customize it with portrait engraving, or create a wine trophy with a custom label and employee's portrait in the middle of the bottle. 

DesignYourOwnWine has been making wine gift sets for more than a decade, with various forms of gift sets such as a set with wine glasses, hampers, flowers, and also trophies. We provide some of the best wines, champagnes, whiskeys, and you just need to prepare the design for our expertise in hand engraving or laser engraving.

Are you curious about how our gifts can give a lasting impression to your employees? Immediately contact our customer service, consult your design, and get the best wine gift you'll ever give!